EXCLUSIVE | 'Motherland: Fort Salem': Lyne Renee says the queer female lead character has set a new norm
Lyne Renee is one of the stars of 'Motherland: Fort Salem,' portraying General Sarah Alder, a nearly immortal woman who brokered a deal with the United States to stop persecuting witches in return for their service in the war. In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), she talks about General Alder's secret to everlasting youth, what makes 'Motherland: Fort Salem' stand out from other TV shows out there and what's next in store for Lyne Renee.
A woman in General Alder's position can't afford to show a lot of emotion show. But the older, hive-mind like women surrounding her, seem to be expressing her feelings. Is there a deeper connection there we should keep an eye out for and what can you tell us about that?
My biddies, how I love and miss those women.
They are what keep General Alder alive. They carry her war wounds and age so she’s able to stay pristine and continue to lead. They’re really young girls having made the sacrifice of their youth in order to serve Alder. It’s considered an honor. Alder is nothing without them and thus considers them like her daughters.
Further along in the series that too will be explained and will show the audience how that all came about. They feel what Alder feels. Experience what she does. They almost form an entity as one.
You're a seasoned television actress. What makes 'Motherland: Fort Salem' different from other shows you've been a part of?
Well, I guess it’s safe to say that the biggest difference is that I get to play a part that would normally be portrayed by a male. That the world created that is Motherland is so unique and portrays a world answering many challenging questions: "What if? It’s a beautiful exercise. It was also my very first time working with a green screen and the special effects used in the show which opened up a whole new world and experience for me. It took me back to being a little girl. I was lucky to have been brought up in the countryside in Belgium and I used to go and play in the woods for hours and make up all these different worlds. To be able to revisit that was truly incredible.
Eliot [Laurence], our maker/writer and showrunner has such an incredible imagination and wasn’t afraid to explore that was most shun away from. To really push the envelope into new thought processes and fiction. I remember having long conversations with him. The beauty of being involved in the creative process. For every question I had, he had an answer as he had lived and written this new world for the last 10 years. And to be given the freedom that I got to explore with Alder and understand her motives and decision making was truly magical.
I don’t think I've ever been on a television set where I worked so hard. Many of my friends and family kept asking me whether Vancouver was beautiful and if I had traveled around much. But most days were waking up at 4 AM, returning and falling into bed at 11.30 PM to do the same for the rest of the week. The days off were consumed by learning a new language, mother-tongue, training for the battle scenes and learning a new weapon and studying my lines for the upcoming week.
Motherland: Fort Salem inspires some difficult conversations - what kind of debates are you hoping Alder's Salem Accords will spark?
I’m not sure if they should be called difficult conversations rather than necessary ones. Most important one would be the women we get to see in leadership. That change has slowly but surely started to come about in our everyday life. I feel this is just a portrayal of that too. The fact that our lead girl Raelle is queer is refreshing, and a beautiful change to what the norm has set out to be. It’s 2020, and I feel that our show gently but surely creates a platform where what seems to be out of the norm in our real-world seems pretty normal in the world of 'Motherland.' Change is the law of life. I hope it sparks many conversations and questions into "What if?" That’s the beauty of this story.
Is it right for us to assume this Motherland has introduced a new brand of a superhero?
Absolutely! One that doesn’t necessarily need to wear a cape to prove it. Yet the hero that lies in every girl and woman out there.
What's next for Lyne Renee?
Well, with the current situation of the world, our industry too is on hold. I do have another movie coming out next year after 'The Gentlemen', that came out earlier this year: 'Cash Truck,' Guy Ritchie's latest. I'm so honored that he asked me back after 'The Gentlemen' and having gotten to work with him once more. I got to work opposite Jason Statham this time around.
I’m also writing a one-woman show that I never had the time to get to and hope to find a platform for that when the time is right.
I’ve been able to embark a little more in my other creative outlets. I paint and draw if my free time. My @lyneartrenee on IG is getting some love as I started drawing a new mural and finally have the time to revisit some old songs I wrote and composed so playing the piano and writing should keep me busy in the interim.
'Motherland: Fort Salem' airs Wednesdays at 9 pm/8c on Freeform.
