Katrina Law talks about new role on The Oath plus her return to Arrow

The Oath and Arrow actress Katrina Law talks to Culturess about filming in Puerto Rico, staying grounded, and having hope for Nyssa/Sara.

A slave who rebels against the Roman Republic. The leader of a league of assassins. An officer in the LAPD’s special investigations unit. With 18 years of experience in movies and television under her belt, Katrina Law has tough women down to a tee. In her hands, these characters aren’t mere power fantasies; they’re human beings, with distinct personalities and rich interior lives.

Her latest role is no different. Created by Joe Halpin, a former deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, The Oath follows a group of police officers who moonlight as gangsters. Testosterone flows freely on the Sony Crackle web series, which stars True Blood alumnus Ryan Kwanten and features Sean Bean in a supporting role. But then, Law appears. As Karen Beach, the lone female member of the Ravens gang, the South Jersey-raised actress dispenses banter and bullets with aplomb. To borrow a line from her character, she’s the driver.

Earlier this week, Culturess spoke to Law over the phone. In addition to The Oath, she talked about her experiences in Puerto Rico and her upcoming arc on Arrow.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

What sparked your interest in acting? And how did you decide to commit to it as a profession?

I went to college for physical therapy, changed my major on the first day to marine biology. I was a marine biologist for a year-and-a-half. Then, I was at an audition for a summer stock theatre play, Chorus Line, and I got the lead role, Kathy. I fell in love with the entire thing. I went back and immediately changed my major to theatre. So, that’s kind of what sparked it and what made me stick with it.

Acting is a pretty tough profession. It has a lot of instability, even after you break into the industry. What motivates you to keep going when things are hard?

The thing that keeps me going is probably what keeps most actors going. It’s the love of what we do. It’s very true that most of us would act for free. Loving what you do and the hope that you can do it again is what keeps you going in the down periods.

Do you ever have to remind yourself why you love what you do? As a writer, I find that when your passion is the same as your work, you sometimes have to remind yourself that you enjoy doing it.

I think it’s good to just take a step back and remember why you do things in the first place, because this industry is very hit or miss, feast or famine. Even during the times when you’re riding high, you have to remember you’re in this for the art. You’re not there for the red carpet or the makeovers or the dresses, or for the Instagram followers. You’re there for the work and to hopefully portray a character that you come to know and understand… So, you have to remind yourself continually, on a daily basis, why you’re doing what you love, during the good times and the bad times.

What drew you to The Oath and the character of Karen Beach?

I fell in love with how Karen Beach was written… I was so excited to be able to just audition for the part, because these were sides that women normally don’t get to do. It’s the tough, strong character. She doesn’t back down; she didn’t cow down to anybody. She was holding her own with the men. And I just remember being really excited, thinking, “Wow, I’m actually reading for a man’s part that just happens to be a woman.”

I think the character is also interesting because she’s the only woman in the gang. The show explores what it’s like to be the only woman in a room full of men. That character being a woman changes the effect that the role has.

It is interesting being the only female in a gang. She does have to be harder, and she has to be tougher. There’s a line in there where it says women have to either manipulate men, or prove that they’re basically as strong as men or as tough as men. And I think Karen has definitely decided that she’s going to be the toughest. That’s her way of holding her own. And I do think that she constantly feels the pressure to not be considered “girly” or not take the feminine way out. Whether it’s fair or unfair, it’s just her reality.

Since you were the only regular female cast member on the set, were you nervous going into that? Did you feel welcome when you came on set?

You know, I wasn’t nervous about the cast mates. You always hope for a good experience and that your cast mates are great and wonderful. And if they’re not, it doesn’t matter anyway, because you get the work experience. Luckily, this cast is tight-knit, from the extras or the background players to our number one, who’s Ryan Kwanten. Everybody is just wonderful. So, I really, really lucked out on the cast. And, to be honest, it’s nothing new working with men. Like, Spartacus was pretty much an all-male cast. I was the only female gladiator for, I think, three months on that shoot… I was more intimidated by making sure my acting was good.

That’s true. Are you interested in action? A lot of your roles involve action or are very physical.

No, I’m interested in all roles. I do love the action role; I love the strong, feminine roles. But yeah, I’ve done a couple of Hallmark movies [Twelve Gifts of Christmas and Snow Bride], and I don’t fight anybody in those. And I love them just as I love kicking ass.

How did you approach the role of Karen? Did you do a lot of research beforehand? Did you start from trying to relate to her and connect to her emotionally?

The interesting thing about this [is that] it’s a police drama, but… we never actually do police work. So, there wasn’t a lot of research that I needed to do in order to figure out how to be a police officer or understand what the procedure was. That being said, when it came to the little things, like how to enter a house or how to properly approach somebody, we had Joe Halpin, our showrunner, who is a former LAPD officer, and our technical adviser, Reinhardt [Schuerger], there. We were all very comfortable. There wasn’t a lot of research that went into it ahead of time.

And for Karen Beach, as hard and as tough as the life that she has is, I find her to be very relatable. She’s trying to survive in this world, and she’s very tough on the outside but very vulnerable. She definitely tries to cover her underbelly and not show that she’s vulnerable. I can relate to that a lot.

How so? Just being in the film industry, is that why you feel like you can relate to her?

No, I just think that life in general can be hard. [laughs] I’ve been very fortunate. Most of my experiences in the film industry have been wonderful, with wonderful people, male and female. I’ve been pretty lucky that way.

Since the #MeToo movement started, have you seen any changes in the atmosphere of the film industry? What steps are people taking to make sure it’s safe?

You know, since the #MeToo movement, I haven’t been on a lot of other sets. So, when it was gathering steam and moving ahead, [The Oath] was my set experience. And, to be perfectly honest, on my set, I’ve been treated very fairly, from what I can tell. I don’t know about other experiences. I haven’t had any issues. So, I think it’s a little too soon for me to say I’m seeing changes yet. But I know they’re coming. I know people are talking a lot, and that’s the first step toward change. So, I’m optimistic for the future.

That’s good to hear. So, you filmed The Oath in Puerto Rico. Is it important for you to film on location as opposed on a set? How does that affect your work?

I’m good either way. I had a theatre background, so I’m used to dealing with make-believe walls and having to not stare at an audience member. Even on Spartacus, most of it was green screen. So, I’m comfortable on location or on stage, or on a set. It’s all the same to me.

That being said, Puerto Rico was basically another character on The Oath. The cast and crew and producers that we had in Puerto Rico were part of our tight-knit group. We were so devastated when the hurricane passed through. After Irma and Maria, we were very excited to go back and be able to finish and check in with our people and make sure they were okay. Puerto Rico is definitely another character on our show, and I don’t think our show would’ve been the same without it.

You were filming when the hurricane hit? Or was it after production?

We were filming before and after. So, they evacuated us for Hurricane Irma, and we were gone for about a week. Then, we came back, and we shot for another week, and all of a sudden, Hurricane Maria came. We were gone for about a month, and we went for two weeks to finish up.

That sounds chaotic. But it sounds like everyone was okay?

Yeah, it was chaos going back and forth. But I think the biggest thing was after the hurricanes hit, the entire cast and crew had left Puerto Rico. We were checking in on the people on the island every five seconds. And then, it was really scary when we lost contact, because the cell phone tower was down, and they had no electricity or power. Then, it became a loony bin just to see who was checking. Hopefully, they had been in touch with other people just to let us know they were safe. Thankfully, everybody from our crew and cast that was left down there was safe.

That’s good. So, you felt like you really got to know Puerto Rico? Maybe when you weren’t filming, did you spend a lot of time traveling and getting immersed that area?

Yeah, the entire cast and crew, when we had time, we just went all over the island. So, we hit all these stops — we went to the west, we went to the middle of it. We went to Culebra, we went to Cabo Rojo; we went basically everywhere. So, we definitely got to explore the island. Some of the boys went caving and went to the mountains. Even after [filming], a couple of us went with the American Red Cross and volunteered and handed out water and food, diapers, baby formula, water filters… When we first went there, it was just to explore and get to know the island. But when we went back, it was to volunteer, trying to get back as much as we could to the Puerto Rican people.

Let’s talk about your role on Arrow. How did you first approach the character of Nyssa? It’s a pretty different show from The Oath because it has a fantastical element.

That’s the biggest challenge that I had with Nyssa. I was so fortunate to have a great scene partner in Caity Lotz and a great director in that episode [“Heir to the Demon”], Wendey Stanzler. [The challenge] was trying to make Nyssa grounded and make her a real person. It would have been so easy to make her a two-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain. And I don’t think that would’ve been as fun.

I think the reason why people really like her is because she has so much heart and such a soft spot for Sara Lance. And she’s basically unstoppable when it comes to fighting. So, I think just the difference between the two made her well-rounded. Wendey really helped me out in shaping Nyssa in that episode. I don’t know if Nyssa would’ve been the same character without Wendey and her help.

Since you’re a recurring actor, how do you get into a rhythm with the other actors? They spend a lot more time with each other than you do with them. So, when you come back to set, how do you get back into the groove?

At this point, I’ve been together with that group off-and-on for five years. We do conventions together. So, I feel very much a part of the Arrow family. Yeah, I’m not a series regular; I’m not there all the time. But it’s such a wonderful cast, from Stephen Amell down to David Ramsey and Emily Bett Rickards and [Colton Haynes] and John Barrowman, when he was there, and Katie Cassidy. Everybody is just fantastic.

So, as soon as I walk on the set, even the crew, it’s high fives and hugs and “How are you?” It’s a beautiful set. It’s a great cast. Even Vancouver, I love going up there. Every time I go to shoot another episode of Arrow, it’s just fantastic all around.

Were you ever hoping that Nyssa would become a regular character? Or do you just like having a recurring role and doing other projects?

I really love the way things have turned out. Nyssa is a great character. But I think one of the reasons she is such a great character is you only get her in little bits. I think if you were to have too much of her, she might not be as fun. Because the great thing about the way the writers write her is that she kind of comes in, wreaks havoc, kicks a little bit of ass, and then disappears for a while.

Did you think of a backstory for her? Or do you just go off the scripts?

The writers have done a pretty great job of giving her a backstory, between her father and the way she was raised… So, it’s pretty easy to go off what’s been written on the page. But I think everybody is kind of hoping that Sara Lance and Nyssa get a backstory someday. We already know what the backstory is, but I think people want to see it. Caity Lotz and I would love to be able to have an episode where we just go, this is how we met on the shores of Lian Yu and how Nyssa taught Sara Lance how to fight and how they fell in love and all that.

You wouldn’t be able to say if there’s talk about it…

To be honest, I have no idea what’s going to happen on the show, so I can’t even lie to you.

So, you’re coming back for the episode on March 29. Is there anything you can say about Nyssa’s storyline in that episode?

I think it’s going to be a really fun episode for people. You’re going to have Nyssa back, and you’re going to have Roy Harper back. So, it’s kind of taking Arrow old-school. And it’s going to be a really interesting storyline. I think by the end of the episode, people are going to be like, “Oh my god.”

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Season 1 of The Oath is now available to stream on Sony Crackle. Arrow returns from its hiatus March 29 on The CW.