The Expanse star Dominique Tipper calls season 5 their ‘Infinity War’

In an exclusive interview with Culturess, The Expanse star Dominique Tipper shares how she effectively built the backstory for her and Marco’s family nightmare.

In the fifth season of The Expanse, Dominique Tipper (Naomi Nagata) has turned in a harrowing performance as her character has been reunited with her son, then kidnapped by him, brought to the belly of the beast—the inner workings of Marco Inaros’s terrorist operation—and emotionally tortured by her former lover, Marco (Keon Alexander).

It’s been difficult to watch. Even scenes when she bonded with her son Filip (Jasai Chase-Owens) have been followed by family tension that chips away at any progress she’s made, most recently with Filip outright rejecting her to please his father. To top it all off, Nagata finds herself alone, in trouble on her ship, trying to cancel out the false emergency call to James Holden (Steven Strait) meant to lure him to a trap.

There’s been so much to love about the stellar fifth season of The Expanse, and one reason is Tipper’s performance, another is the chance to explore the backstory to her abandonment of Filip in the first place.

Culturess had the opportunity to speak with Tipper about her devastating storyline this season, her immediate bond with Jasai Chase-Owens, and the endgame for Naomi. Speaking with Tipper, it’s evident that she’s as much an enthusiastic fan of the show as everyone else.

Culturess: So, your story is really hard to watch this season. There’s a lot of emotional stuff you go through, but specifically—physically—you’re put through the ringer. Did you do anything different physically this season?

Dominique Tipper: I can’t say I’ve done anything differently, physically, outside of the work to prepare because I’m quite big on being fit. I do yoga, meditation, to kind of make sure I’m at a good baseline to do the work.

But I really had to give myself permission, in a way that I never have as an actor, to just really go there… this is definitely the most challenging it’s been for me, physically and emotionally.

I was very beat-up, like by the end of the season… and it took me three months to come down from it.

Culturess: Your storyline is harrowing and incredible. I wanted to ask you what it was like working with Jasai [Chase-Owens as Filip] this season. He’s just coming into this extremely, emotionally wrought storyline. How were the two of you able to connect right away?

Tipper: Oh my god. I mean, this sounds wild, but like I couldn’t believe it when I saw Jasai, how much he looked like mine and Keon’s son. So, I just very immediately found myself weirdly attached to him, like ‘this is my son. I don’t know how he got here, like Immaculate Conception, but this is definitely my son’ [laughs].

Both Keon and Jasai were so beautiful to work with because they really supported me. And also, [Jaisa] wasn’t afraid to go the full length with me… They were both incredible and Jasai, I mean, he’s just, he feels like my son!

Culturess: Yeah, you can tell, it comes across right away. You have this conflicting history with Keon. There’s a mixture of feelings you can tell between the two of you. Can talk about what it was like building that relationship? How did you build that history?

Tipper: Obviously, we’ve done a lot of our own work separately. I wrote loads of like imagined memories from that time that helped me with this season, that I find really helped with what I wanted to do—not just with Keon’s character Marco, but also with Cyn [Brent Sexton] and Karal [Olunike Adeliyi], like the whole group that I’m kind of thrown in between. I imagined all our histories, I wrote them all, I made up memories for everyone.

So, I guess like with me and Keon, what we kind of talked about was this idea of these two people where they fell in love when they were kids… They had Filip when they were teenagers. I think there’s something to say for this kind of heavily passionate, young, raw, revolutionary love. They were kind of drawn to each other because of their different strengths, and it eventually not only pulled them apart but was also each other’s kryptonite… I would say their thin line between love and hate is incredibly thin.

So, I think they’re always teetering on this raw passion they have, which kind of swings between love and hate… But I always think they’re at risk with each other because they did have such a raw passionate love as children and teenagers. And I think that’s some of the most pure love you can find. And so, we [Alexander and Tipper] kind of ran with that, like these people were just so in love: they were just so crazy about each other, they had this kid born out of that, that now the hate is also equally so passionate… So, there’s that saying that the people you love the most, hurt you the most.

Culturess: Well, it’s working on the show. How much do you miss the rest of the crew? This season of The Expanse must feel so different with you being on your own and also in these scary circumstances, right in the belly of the beast.

Tipper: It was so different… You know, we do rehearse every week, every Sunday… and I would see them outside of work and whenever. I was going to dinner with maybe like Jasai and Keon I’d call Steven, we’d be like ‘do you want to come?’ Because they’re kind of like my family and I actually really enjoy being with them all. And Frankie’s [Adams, who plays Bobbie Draper] like my sister, so’s Cara Gee [Camina Drummer].

We kind of don’t really want to be without each other outside of work so I think that helps… even though we weren’t in each other’s universes. So yeah, I did miss them, but I also really enjoyed working with the people that I had in my little corner of the universe, so it was kind of bittersweet.

Culturess: So, what can you tease about Naomi for the rest of The Expanse season? Whatever you want to tell me about Naomi’s journey this season, let’s put it that way, that’s spoiler-free.

Tipper: I think she comes to a very blunt conclusion about her role with her son. And what that looks like.

I think that’s all I can say, really.

Culturess: I can’t believe that Filip hits you. That whole scene was so hard for me to watch.

Tipper: That was so hard to shoot. That was so brutal to shoot.

Culturess: Well, that was one of the most intense parts of this season, I think. Now that we know that The Expanse season 6 will be coming—and I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that there will be two more—what are you hoping to explore with Naomi in the last season?

Tipper: I really would like Naomi to settle on what her version of Belters not being oppressed looks like, and what her role is in it. And I think she has an idea and I think Fred [Johnson, played by Chad Coleman, who died in S5E4] was… the right balance for her, and he’s not there anymore. So, I’m very interested to see what she settles on in season 6 because obviously she heavily opposes Marco’s way. And I’m just seeing if she works it out… Can she contribute in a way that she feels is enough? So that’s kind of where I would like to get to for her.

And, again, kind of conclude her relationship with her son. And that’s it, really.

I hope that has a positive conclusion, but we never know.

Culturess: This season of The Expanse has been really hard for your character, but what was your favorite moment from season 5?

Tipper: Oh, this sounds weird but, the end of it, because I think sometimes as an actor, you don’t really know. You might see a thing on a page and be like ‘cool, it fits.’ But you don’t really know, all you can do is prepare the best that you can, and hope that you do it on the day. And not only do it, but do it well.

And honestly, I was really proud of the work I’d done this season. Then I got to the end of it and it was like, ‘Oh, we did it.’

I was also really nervous about this season because I think it’s the pay off season. if you’ve been with Naomi from the beginning, and you kind of know a little bit about her history, this is the season when you really find out the whole thing and what happened, why she’s been so shady since season one, who has done it, and who her baby daddy is. Like these are really kind of full circle things, and so I just really wanted to do that justice. And I was very proud of how it turned out and that we are showing a woman in this light. And this kind of mother that had to leave her child and was in this kind of abusive relationship. I was really proud of how it was all handled and also how she handled herself, and what a survivor she is.

But I was also proud that I had the stamina to do the season, and I think do it justice emotionally. Regardless of what anyone else thinks I’m quite proud of what I’ve done so I think that’s my favorite thing about [this season]. That was my favorite moment: was getting to the end and looking back and going ‘oh my god I can’t believe I got through that.’

Culturess: Well, I think of all the characters, Naomi has really shined this season so it’s really cool to get to that point.

Tipper: Thank you. Yeah, it’s really cool.

Culturess: I can’t believe that there was ever a time where we never would have gotten to this season [when SYFY canceled after S3], because I think it’s one of the best so I’m so glad.

Tipper: I know! It’s one of the best, for sure. I mean, I love it. I know I’m in it, but I just think it’s grown and has kind of a different tone. I always call it our [Avengers] Infinity War and I just think it’s a really cool side of the universe, that these characters live to explore. So yeah, thank you for saying that.

Culturess: Thank you so much for your time and good luck with the rest of the season, it is amazing.

Tipper: Thank you very much.

The Expanse season 5 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with episode 8 just dropped. The final two episodes will air on Wednesdays.

The Expanse S5 finale is just two weeks away! How excited are you about it? Do you think Holden will try to rescue Naomi? Sound off in the comments section below!