Interview with Bridget Regan, “Legend of the Seeker”

Fans of Legend of the Seeker know her as Kahlan the Confessor, a powerful woman who can make anyone she touches tell the truth — but in exchange, they lose their free will and are compelled to obey her for as long as they live. And while the fantasy action series has been Bridget Regan’s breakout role, the 27-year-old actress has appeared in everything from The Black Donnellys to last year’s Sex and the City movie. (Regan played a hostess.)

We recently spoke to Regan when she was visiting New York to promote the Season 2 premiere of Legend of the Seeker. She’d flown in all the way from New Zealand, where she’d just finished shooting episode 10, and she was kind enough to speak to us about her co-star — “He does have abs of steel, that Craig Horner” — and their relationship, but the actress also told us about a brief encounter she had with a Hulu fan: “During the hiatus, I was in New York and this guy stopped me to say, ‘You’re the chick in the water on Hulu,’” she said. “I guess there was some picture of me smiling in the water on your home page. It was so cool, I was like ‘Yeah, that’s me! I’m the chick in the water on Hulu, sure!’” Keep reading to see what else Regan shared with the Hulu team. — Rebecca Harper (), Editor

Hulu: Before Legend of the Seeker, you were on a lot of dramas: The Black Donnellys, Six Degrees, New Amsterdam … What drew you to this fantasy role, which must have been a bit of a departure?
Bridget Regan: Oh, it was totally a departure. I actually knew nothing about fantasy. I hadn’t seen Lord of the Rings, and I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I just really liked the part. I liked Kahlan. I liked who she was, and I liked that it was really different than anything I had ever done. I liked that she was really tough and a total badass, but that she was really feminine and cared, was really passionate about what she did and what she was fighting for. I loved it. I liked that it also wasn’t casual. I grew up doing theater — I went to drama school — and there’s something really theatrical about this show. It’s heightened, and not “oh, let’s just play it casual, whatever…” sort of acting. It’s heightened and high stakes and life and death. I love it.

What’s it like playing such a strong female role? I can’t think of many others like yours on TV right now.
No, there aren’t! And that’s why I love it so much. I would audition for roles, and casting directors would be like “Oh, we love her, but she reads just a bit too mature.” It was like I couldn’t find my place often — I mean, I got lucky and got to do all the great New York shows, some pilots in L.A., some movies here and there, and a Broadway show. But I never found a part that embraced that side of me. You know, I’m not a teeny-tiny little thing. I’m 5-9; you can’t push me over — I’m solid. [Laughs] So I needed a character to play that was like that. You know, Kahlan’s tough. She’s really, really tough, and I love it because it’s empowering to play. I get to let off steam beating up grown men every other day.

The books obviously have a cult following, and a lot of them feel pretty passionately about the show. Were you taken aback by all the attention?
I mean, I knew of that section in the bookstore where the paperbacks lived — I’d passed by it, but I’d never really gone into that aisle and looked at them. I really had no idea what I was in for. I kind of surprised myself by how much I loved the books. I tore through Wizard’s First Rule and I’ve probably read it a dozen times now, because I always go back and re-read it to remind myself who she is and how I fell in love with her. I fell in love with her in that book. You know, there was no script when I auditioned, there were just the books. Craig and I auditioned with scenes pulled verbatim, dialogue from the books. I was a bit scared going into it — “Oh gosh, what am I in for, what am I doing?” — but it was kind of a good scary. It was scary and exciting, and I thought I should do this, take the plunge. It’s actually turned out to be really, really cool, and I’m proud that I did it, because it wasn’t an easy decision to pack up my life and move.

Speaking of which, how is life in New Zealand?
It’s pretty super. It’s so different than New York — I mean, I live in a house with a yard, where I lived in an apartment the size of my closet. It was one room, and it was above a pizza place on 14th and 7th in Manhattan. You walk outside, and you’re smacked in the face with New York City. There are no trees! And now I live in this lush landscape. I’m kind of like the odd man out. There are Americans there, and there’s diversity in New Zealand, but it’s certainly not like New York, where it’s such a melting pot.

Can you bring us up to speed with the show? Last time we saw Richard and Kahlan, they defeated Darken Rahl. What’s happening with the Season 2 premiere?
It’s kind of funny, I think we were all expecting a cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, and it felt like we won. We did it, and now we’re patting each other on the back. We’re celebrating for about two minutes when we’re totally attacked by this creature which is known as a “screeling.” We learn that these are from the underworld, which is kind of like hell. We learn that when we killed Darken Rahl, because he’s this powerful, magical force and Richard used all these forms of magic to kill him, it actually caused this sort of explosion and the earth opened up. Now there’s this crack that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. These crazy creatures are coming out to get us, and then we learn it’s not just these creatures — people are actually coming back from the dead, so it’s a bit like we don’t know what to expect. We don’t know what we’re dealing with. The Keeper is out to get us. That’s where we start Season 2. Our goal is to find this tiny little Stone of Tears, which is going to help us seal the rift in the underworld. So that’s the journey in Season 2, to find this stone.

The show is full of lots of action. Do you do a lot of your own stunts?
I do nearly everything! Sometimes they won’t let me jump off a horse or roll down a hill because they’re scared I’m going to break something, but I do all my fights. My stuntwoman, Dayna Chiplin, she choreographs them now, which is great because she wears the dress and she knows what it’s like to move in that thing. We have a ball together, I absolutely adore her. [During fight scenes], they shoot facing me and sometimes from behind, but they also shoot Dayna when they cover the “baddies” as they call them. When you see the back of me, odds are it’s Dayna.

Have you had any mishaps on the set?
Oh, there are so many mishaps. I went to the emergency room last year when I accidentally punched a shield during a fight. Everybody thought I broke my finger, but I kept going “It’s fine, it’s fine, let’s keep going, let’s shoot.” But they said, “Nope, you’re going to the emergency room.” And I was right! It wasn’t broken; they were just being wussy with me.

And what’s it like working with your co-star, Craig Horner, who plays Richard?
I adore working with Craig. We got so lucky that we like each other as much as we do, and that we have a connection. We don’t have to work at the connection between Richard and Kahlan. It’s just kind of there. When I look at him, the ground comes in underneath me, and I just feel “Yup, he’s Richard and yup, I’m Kahlan.” You just kind of play like you’re little kids in the background and you believe. I think you kind of need that sort of thing in a fantasy show. You kind of need that playful, childlike attitude towards it. He’s totally got that — he’s such a little kid at heart. And he’s the best movie quoter I’ve ever known. He’s so good. You give him any movie, and he could just go verbatim on and on and on. Get him to do Fight Club or Home Alone — he loves Home Alone.

The onscreen chemistry between you and Craig has caused a lot of people to wonder whether you’re dating. Can you define your relationship for us?
Craig and I are very close. We’re very good friends, and we’ve had a wonderful relationship over the year and half, but it’s just been that.

I just had to ask… On that note, thanks for talking to us, Bridget, and I hope we get to do it again soon.
And thanks for supporting us on Hulu, we love it!