CTV.ca interview: 'Lost' guest star Andrea Gabriel has a girl-crush on Evangeline Lilly

Related Galleries

The End

The battle lines are drawn as Locke puts his plan into action, which could finally liberate him from the island.

Related Articles

Henry Ian Cusick guest stars on 'Law & Order: SVU'

The former “Lost” star plays Erik Weber, a graphic artist.

'Lost,' 'Two and a Half Men,' 'Big Bang Theory' earn Emmy noms

Conan O'Brien is gone from "The Tonight Show" but his short tenure as host is not forgotten.

'Lost' finale on Sunday on CTV draws two million Canadian viewers

Canadian fans of the program "Lost" were out in full force on Sunday.

Advertisement

by: Tyrone Warner
Date: 3/2/2010 12:17:00 PM ET

Gabriel’s Nadia has even earned the distinction of appearing in at least every season of the series (unlike most “Lost” guest stars, and several series regulars), beginning as an imprisoned suspected Iraqi insurgent, to later moving into a house of her own in Los Angeles. 

• Click here to watch the latest episodes of "Lost" on CTV.ca!

And like many characters on “Lost,” even though Nadia met her own grisly death last season following Sayid’s return to LA as a member of the Oceanic Six, that doesn’t mean Gabriel won’t be appearing on future episodes of the series.

In fact, Gabriel reprises her role as Nadia in the Sayid-centric episode “Sundown,” airing Tuesday, March 2 on CTV.

Sworn to strict secrecy, Gabriel was unable to give CTV.ca any details about her appearance or clues about where the current and final season of “Lost” is heading, but did offer up her own take -- as a fan -- on this season’s reality-warping flash-sideways twist.

“I think it’s fascinating because I kind of believe in that, so I’m wondering how they are going to tie it all in,” says Gabriel. 

“I believe there are alternate realities out there with subtle differences from our own, and whichever one is happening takes the least amount of energy to sustain. When the bomb went off maybe it gave an amount of energy to one reality over another in order to sustain it.”

On playing Nadia in a variety of world-spanning situations, from a dark Iraqi interrogation camp to the sunny streets of LA:

“I’m glad the Burka didn’t survive season one! It was very hot in there. I loved just being able to come back in different situations and wonder what would I do here? What would I do if I’m mugged? What if I was buying a house? In America, how good at the language would I be now? Would I know how to drive? These are the questions I was asking myself in seasons two and three. Then in season four, the whole thing behind my story was, I’m in America, and I’m comfortable here, but I’m going to be alone. Then when Sayid comes back, that adds to her joy, because I worked very hard to make it here on my own. It’s a miracle, you know? And then I die!”

On her approach making Nadia accessible:

“I always try and look at her as a woman, living under certain circumstances. How would any woman live under the type of circumstances she did. If the Republican Guard were happening in America, how would a woman respond to that? What if you’re a very intelligent, ambitious, idealistic woman, and you can’t express any of that? I don’t think Nadia was that directly involved as an insurgent, in the fighting or the bombing. She was helpful in a way a woman could be helpful.”

On working with Naveen Andrews (Sayid):

“I love working with him. Every time is just... it’s so much fun. We really do have shorthand when we fall into these characters. It goes to show you as an actor, in every job, really pay attention to the people, even if it might go nowhere... because we had such a wonderful time in season one, and he was so generous, every time I go back, it’s just easy to build off that positive initial experience.”

On her favourite “Lost” actor Terry O’Quinn (Locke), and their shared scene from the season two episode, “Lockdown,” when Locke inspects her new home:

“That was super cool. Terry is so cool. I was pleased I got to work with him. I would have loved to have worked more intimately with the entire entire cast. He was one of my favourites! I remember when we worked together; it was such a small scene. But the way he paid so much attention to it, like it were a pivotal dramatic moment. I remember he was underneath the house, looking for dry rot apparently, and when he came out, he had leaves on him, and we did our scene. And I was noticing he had this twig in his hair, and afterwards I was just like, I remember he said to me, ‘I wish you went and took it out, because God is in the details, and that would have said something about their relationship.’ I didn’t think of that. But that’s how his mind works about scenes. He always finds things that could indicate even more than what the characters are saying. My thing was my character, was that she was brand new in America, and she wouldn’t have touched a white man! But I was like, he and I did have this moment of trust in the exchange. And we probably would have been the only ones to notice it!”

On sharing a scene in a downpour in the season three episode, “Greatest Hits,” with Dominic Monaghan (Charlie):

“Dominic was the bomb. We were both so soaked, drenched in rain. I was really excited, because I see the rain all the time on Lost, and it looks so refreshing. But it’s not! It’s not a shower, and when you’re wearing wet clothes, it gets cold, you get wet again and again. They stop. You get wet again. But he made it fun. At that point I think he knew he was off the show. I don’t know if I did. His attitude was so generous and so grateful. We knew this was a big time episode. I think he just rocked it. Someone was saying to me the other day how that was one of the best episodes ever, and it was so heartbreaking.”

On her feelings for Evangeline Lilly (Kate), and when she shared a scene with her in the season four episode, “There’s No Place Like Home,” at Hurley’s birthday party:

“When I showed up at that scene, I felt like I was Sayid’s girlfriend and everyone knew me. Kate was there too. That Canadian, Evangeline Lilly! She showed Nadia up in the dress! That was a fashion “don’t” I was doing there. But for Nadia that’s a big deal, even showing some scar-age. But Evangeline was so beautiful. Everyone says that. When I was in front of her, I was totally girl-crushing. She has that effect!”

Full episodes of “Lost” are available online at CTV.ca