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By
Suzanne

Interview with Marianne Jean-Baptiste of "Blindspot" on
NBC 10/13/15
This is a really good show, and Marianne is one of the
many reasons why. She's a fantastic actress that's been in
so many wonderful roles already. She's awesome as the
assistant director of the FBI, the slightly-shady Bethany
Mayfair. I enjoyed this call quite a lot.
Moderator: Matthew Mitchell
October 13, 2015
1:30 pm CT
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by.
Welcome to the Blindspot Marianne Jean-Baptiste press and
media conference call. During the presentation all
participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards we
will conduct a question-and-answer session.
At that time if you have a question, please press the 1
followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at any time during
the conference you need to reach an operator, please press
star 0. As a reminder this conference is being recorded
Tuesday, October 13th, 2015. I would now like to turn the
conference over to Matthew Mitchell. Please go ahead.
Matthew Mitchell: Hi, there. Thank you. Hello, everyone.
Thanks for joining today’s call. We’re really thrilled to
have Marianne Jean-Baptiste who plays Bethany Mayfair the
Assistant Director of the FBI on the phone with us today. On
Monday October 19th we’ll air our fifth episode entitled
“Split the Law.”
To start off we’re going to allow each of you the chance to
ask a question and should you wish to ask a follow-up, we’ll
just ask that you please reenter the queue. Just so a quick
reminder that this call is being recorded so let’s start.
Please welcome Marianne and we’re now open for questions.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hey.
Matthew Mitchell: And we’re all set to go.
Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to
register for a question at this time, please press the 1
followed by the 4 on your telephones. Our first question
comes from the line of David Martindale from Fort Worth Star
Telegram. Please go ahead.
David Martindale: Thank you. Hi, how are you?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Good, thank you, and yourself?
David Martindale: I’m good, thank you. It’s a good day.
Thanks for doing the call. I’m enjoying the show so far.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Great.
David Martindale: I’ll start with since I’m first I’ll start
with a basic one. What was it about the show’s premise in
general and about your character in particular that turned
you on, made you want to be part of this?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Well, I found it a very quick and
exciting read. I love puzzles, conundrums, mysteries and so
this sort of thing was right up my street. The element of
tattoos and Jane being a sort of treasure map sort of, you
know, made me very excited about trying to sort of solve
those pieces.
On further conversations with the creator who obviously went
into a bit more about Bethany Mayfair, I felt that this
would be a great opportunity to explore something slightly
different. Although I played an FBI agent before, this woman
is the Assistant Director and is not at first what she seems
to be.
There was a bit of intrigue, there was some secret that, you
know, as the show goes on would be revealed so all those
elements excited me quite a bit.
David Martindale: Cool, cool. I’m going to follow the rules
and come back with a second question. Thank you very much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Joshua
Maloni with Niagara Frontier Publications. Please go ahead.
Joshua Maloni: Thank you, thank you for your time today,
appreciate it.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hello?
Joshua Maloni: Yes, hi, there you are, thank you, thank you
for your time today, appreciate it.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you, sorry, I didn’t hear at
first...
((Crosstalk))
Joshua Maloni: That’s okay and now let me say I think you
are really terrific in this role. I’ve really been enjoying
it.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Oh good, thank you.
Joshua Maloni: I want to ask you, you know, NBC has had some
really interesting takes on crime and government in the past
couple of years, some really high-concept type profile shows
and, you know, for whatever reason they haven’t worked so
well with the audience.
Your show is definitely resonating. It’s, you know, an
unquestionable hit at this point in the season. And I’m
wondering why do you suppose that is? Why do you suppose
that this show is working so well with the audience?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Well, I think they have very
cleverly have been able to weave-in great action, you know,
you have the overall mystery of the whole thing so those
people who love to solve a mystery or a puzzle, that’s for
them with the action but also just sort of weave-in some
great character stuff where characters are slowly being
revealed and I just think it’s a really sort of magical
combination that hooks a lot of people.
Joshua Maloni: All right, very good, thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Bridget
Liszewski with TV Junkies. Please go ahead.
Bridget Liszewski: Hi Marianne, thanks for doing this call.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hello. You’re welcome.
Bridget Liszewski: So I think it was pretty surprising that
the show has already revealed that Jane is Taylor Shaw and I
was just wondering if you guys were at all surprised that
the show seems to be revealing secrets rather than keeping
them for later on.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Well, you’ve got an entire body
covered from head to toe with these tattoos so it’s like
there’s no end to stuff that’s going to be revealed, do you
know what I mean, and I think it’s great because it’s like
there’s been quite a quick payoff to some of the mysteries,
you know, that are being revealed.
And I mean, at first I was like oh come on, let’s string it
out a little bit more but I think that, you know, we’ve got
a great team of writers and that are extremely clever and I
just think that they know what they’re doing, you know?
Bridget Liszewski: As a quick follow-up, does that mean that
we will be learning more about what Operation Daylight is
sooner rather than later?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Most definitely.
Bridget Liszewski: Thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you so much.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Suzanne
Lanoue from TV Megasite. Please go ahead.
Suzanne Lanoue: Good morning. I’m a big fan of yours...
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Good morning.
Suzanne Lanoue: ...since Without a Trace. I loved you on
Broadchurch, too, and you’re doing great on this one.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Suzanne Lanoue: You mentioned that the
producers talked to you about the back story a little of the
character. Did they give you a lot of character history and
did they tell you what Daylight is and that kind of thing or
are you still in the dark?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, no, they told us quite a bit. I
mean, (there’s not too much) (unintelligible) being granted
but I mean, they know where this story is going. I mean,
they’ve worked-out the entire thing.
Suzanne Lanoue: That’s good.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: And you know, on a personal level I
love getting (the strength) and going oh my God, you know,
and being surprised because I don’t always get to see the
episodes when they air because it’s, you know, I watch
(unintelligible) etcetera, so it’s lovely to sort of like
read them and discover (them). Obviously seeing sort of the
character which (unintelligible) to make sure to sort of
like give us a heads-up (unintelligible).
Suzanne Lanoue: All right, thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Stephanie
Piche with minglemediatv.com. Please go ahead.
Stephanie Piche: Hi, and congratulations on getting more
than just a few episodes...
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yea!
Stephanie Piche: ...with, yes, a full season order.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: I know.
Stephanie Piche: That’s nice, lots of tattoos - well not a
lot of tattoos - but a lot of secrets and you’re keeping
some secrets.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: I know (unintelligible).
((Crosstalk))
Stephanie Piche: So how close are you to in real life are
you to your character because you pull it off amazingly?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, you know, I mean,
(unintelligible).
((Crosstalk))
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: I think, you know, (unintelligible)
I take my job very seriously and I want to do well and so
that type of thing, you know, where they’re (pushing) the
narrative so, you know, I try and use every opportunity to
explore someone who is very unlike me.
That’s always sort of been my goal so, you know, she’s very
well put together and, you know, business and official and
in charge and bossy and it’s great just sort of step into
her six-inch heels every day and do that.
Stephanie Piche: Uh huh, well you do it well.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Stephanie Piche: You’re welcome, thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thanks.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Joseph
Wiesner with tvovermind.com. Please go ahead.
Joseph Wiesner: Hey Marianne, thanks for talking to us. I’m
really enjoying the show so far and I’m liking how much I
guess how much more complex your character seems than we may
realize with the pilot.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, yes.
Joseph Wiesner: But I want to ask since you are playing the
Assistant Director of the FBI, how if you could talk a
little bit about how you prepared for the role? Like did you
go over FBI procedures or anything like that?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, I did, I mean, I kind of did a
bit of a refresher because I’ve done it for a show that I’ve
done years ago but obviously she’s in a higher position so
just sort of like reacquainting myself with protocols and
all that stuff but then, you know, you look at the character
as a whole and then you have to decide how much attention
they pay to that?
Do they slightly bend the rules? I mean, in this particular
story that we’re telling, Weller is sort of a bit of a loose
cannon at times and she sort of, you know, although against
her better judgment knows that he’s got a really good gut
feeling and lets him do things that she may not necessarily
believe is the way to do them.
So yes, I mean, that’s been what I’ve really been exploring
with it and trying to, you know, you want to keep it as
authentic as possible but still with that sort of creative
license.
Joseph Wiesner: Yes, still be able to tell the story you’re
trying to tell. Okay, well thank you so much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Erica
Schaaf with Talk Nerdy With Us. Please go ahead.
Erica Schaaf: Hi, Marianne, thank you so much for talking
with us.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hello.
Erica Schaaf: This is probably my favorite new show of the
fall.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yea!
Erica Schaaf: And I just I can’t believe how cohesive it is
just right from the start between the actors, the
characters, the setting, the writing. What do you think has
made that possible?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: You know, I think Martin Gero is a
very clever guy, you know, and it’s the perfect combination
for me anyway. He’s clever and he’s kind so he’s sort of,
you know, he selected a great group of writers, a great
cast, you know, we all get on really well. We go out and eat
and all that so when we’re on set it’s sort of like there’s
already a little shorthand developing in how we work and
interact with each other.
The scripts are very strong. I mean, I’m reading them, you
know, as soon as they land whether I’m in the middle of an
episode or not because I just want to know what’s going to
happen next and I know that my other cast members feel the
same way and it’s where they’re excited about getting hold
of them.
You can only imagine what it’s like for the audiences
discovering these puzzles every week.
Erica Schaaf: Thank you so much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as a reminder to register for
a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your
telephones. Our next question comes from the line of (Agatha
Kasbrack) with (Oh So Great). Please go ahead.
Agatha Kasbrack: Hi Marianne, how are you?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hello, I’m good, thank you.
Agatha Kasbrack: Thank you so much for joining us, I mean,
it’s such a pleasure to talk to you. I love the show.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: My pleasure, thank you.
Agatha Kasbrack: It is one of my favorite shows right now
too.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yea!
Agatha Kasbrack: Yea! Where do you want your character to
be by the end of the show?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Oh, probably an island in the
Caribbean somewhere...
((Crosstalk))
Agatha Kasbrack: That’s awesome.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: You know, I don’t know. It’s very
exciting just not knowing, you know, you kind of have a
rough overview of things that are going to take place but
it, you know, it’s a roller coaster ride. It’s sort of okay,
she’s doing this, okay, you know, which I totally embrace.
Agatha Kasbrack: Uh huh, that’s really great...
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: And I trust that it’s going to be
very exciting, you know?
Agatha Kasbrack: ...I’m very excited, I can’t wait for the
next episode.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, oh yes.
Agatha Kasbrack: Can I ask another question?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes. Go on quickly before you’re in
trouble.
Agatha Kasbrack: Okay, so you’re currently in two shows,
Blindspot and Broadchurch and it’s a crime drama mystery and
Blindspot is a drama mystery thriller and is there any
difference in the way you approach a role for an American
audience versus a British audience?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: No, you can’t think like that.
You’ve just to - it’s got to - be about the character. It
really has to and it has to be about the integrity of the
piece that you’re doing. I mean, obviously in your U.K. they
take much longer with things. They don’t sort of it’s not
like an eight-day or nine-day turnaround.
It’s like you get for 2, 2-1/2 weeks on an episode but then
they will only do eight so there isn’t that need, you know,
to keep driving it through but yes, I mean, yes, it’s great.
It’s great sort of being able to work in that way and just
be focused on, you know, you don’t look at the big picture,
you know, you hope people will like it and respond to it but
you’ve got to compartmentalize and really focus on telling
the story to be the best of your ability and then hopefully
the people go I love your show.
Agatha Kasbrack: Yes, thank you so much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Tiffany
D’Emidio with Eclipse Magazine. Please go ahead.
Tiffany D’Emidio: Hi Marianne.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hello.
Tiffany D’Emidio: Are you ever like astounded by how the
difficult the - how intricate and difficult - the tattoos
and the puzzles that are related to the clues that are all
over Jane’s body as part of the story?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Am I every what, sorry, I missed the
first part?
Tiffany D’Emidio: Oh, that’s okay. Are you ever like blown
away and just baffled by some of how intricate the actual
clues are that are placed across her body?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Constantly. I mean, I’m constantly
blown away by how they’re deciphered and what and who is it
that has, you know, created that puzzle in the first place.
I mean, it’s very, very exciting for us, watching how it all
unfolds, you know, the cast is going oh my God and there are
little tiny ones like the first one in the pilot that was
behind her ear, the Chinese writing behind her ear.
I mean, that’s like that was amazing and if you can imagine,
she’s got little bits on her elbow, you know, there might be
a number here and it’s all going to lead to somewhere. It’s
all been sort of really well thought-out and planned ahead
and it’s great.
Tiffany D’Emidio: And I mean, it really is someone creating
like ciphers and things like that to create these, correct?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Oh, yes.
Tiffany D’Emidio: Like a puzzle-maker, correct?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, yes.
Tiffany D’Emidio: Thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question is a follow-up question from the
line of Bridget Liszewski with TV Junkies. Please go ahead.
Bridget Liszewski: Hi, I was just wondering why Mayfair
feels so protective of Jane despite the fact that she poses
a clear threat to her?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Aha, does she?
Bridget Liszewski: That’s what I like to believe, I suppose
with the redacted file and everything.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, I mean, it’s interesting
because I think that, you know, the whole show is based on
things that seem extreme, very apparent, then sort of being
turned on their head and you don’t ever quite know for sure
what is going on, I think without sort of telling you
anything, the story.
Bridget Liszewski: Thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as a reminder, if you would
like to register for a question, please press the 1 followed
by the 4 on your telephones. Our next question is a
follow-up question from the line of Erica Schaaf with Talk
Nerdy With Us. Please go ahead.
Erica Schaaf: Hi, again.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hi.
Erica Schaaf: I was just going to ask well last night’s
episode, we found out at the very end that the DNA and the
isotope did not match but were both conclusive. Are you able
to tell us anything about how your character might react to
that news?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: I think that Mayfair is very
level-headed and will assess all the evidence that is placed
before her before making any kind of decision or assertion.
Erica Schaaf: Okay, that was just one of what I’m assuming
is going to be many twists, correct?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Yes, I believe so, yes.
Erica Schaaf: Are you finding out about these secrets and
these twists as you go along or are any of them ones that
you’ve been told from the beginning to be aware are coming?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: For the most part, it’s a complete
and utter surprise but obviously ones that affect the
character and, you know, their overall arc, you sort of have
to know up-front.
Erica Schaaf: Thank you very much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Sheldon
Wiebe with Eclipse Magazine. Please go ahead.
Sheldon Wiebe: Thanks for doing this today.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Sheldon Wiebe: I was just wondering, there are as many
different acting methods as there are actors and they range
from very method to Lawrence Olivia’s it’s all just pretend.
In that range, where does your method fit and how does it
work for you?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Oh, gosh, that’s a good question
actually. It depends. I mean, I’m somebody who loves - I
love - creating characters and being as true to them as
possible in the moment. I do not do method really but I like
detail.
I think it’s coming from the (Mike Dees) kind of school or
working with them and his star whereby you find out as much
as you possibly can about the person and have as many of
their things as you can so that you can move organically
through the story that you’re telling.
Sheldon Wiebe: So you find the walk or particular piece of
clothing or the way they wear their hair or something and
build from that?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: And you build from that, yes. You
build from that so you also, I mean, but it’s the inner
world starts first and then you start to call on the outer
accouterments if you like.
Sheldon Wiebe: Ah, very good, thank you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: And ladies and gentlemen as a reminder if you
would like to register for a question at this time, please
press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephones. And there
appears to be no questions on the line. Ladies - so we do
have a question that just popped in the queue - it’s a
follow-up question from the line of Erica Schaaf with Talk
Nerdy With Us. Please go ahead.
Erica Schaaf: Hi, again.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Hi.
Erica Schaaf: Considering all of the twists and turns and
all of the tattoos from head to toe, how long do you think
that this premise can be drawn-out season and series-wise?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Oh my God, I mean, I don’t know. I
mean, you could draw it out for a good like five-six-seven
seasons I think but I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know how,
yes, I don’t know. I don’t know. I just know that there is a
wealth of material to clip through and, I mean, are we going
to stay with the tattoos? Is it going to evolve in a
different area? I mean, I don’t know.
Erica Schaaf: Okay, that was my kind of next question was do
you think that there is going to potentially come a point
where Jane’s mystery is figured out, the tattoos’ messages
run out and the show is still going?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: It could do because it could lead to
something else, you know, something else could show-up that
they have to decipher that’s attached to, you know, the
tattoos and attached to her so, I mean, I’m stunned each
week by the stuff that they’re having to find.
And I’m only on Episode 10 so it’s like wow and it gets
bigger and it leads back to this and this, you know, it’s
actually genius. It’s really clever and really intricate.
Erica Schaaf: Thank you very much.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Operator: And there are no further questions on the phone
lines at this time. I’ll turn the presentation back over to
you.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you.
Matthew Mitchell: Thank you for taking the time today to
participate in the call. Should anyone have follow-up
questions or need additional information, please feel free
to reach-out to me and I’ll do my best to get you whatever
you need.
If you’d like a transcript, also just let me know. We’ll
have that within the next 48 hours. At this point I just
want to say thank you Marianne for taking the time today and
I hope everyone has a great rest of the day.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: My pleasure.
Matthew Mitchell: Have a great day. Bye, everyone.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Thank you. Brava.
Matthew Mitchell: Bye bye.
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