Reacher Brit Sonya Cassidy Shares Boston Accent Prep Diet: ‘Marky Mark, The Departed… Whitey Bulger'
Maybe you know that Reacher Season 3 co-star Sonya Cassidy is British. Maybe you don't. Regahdless, you probably have opinions on the Boston accent the Lodge 49 alum affected for her role as DEA Agent Susan Duffy.
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In the TVLine Q&A below, Cassidy shares how she gave her voice that special Beantown flavor, explains why she held back on her mad Taekwondo moves when Duffy gets to throwing hands, and reveals whether any Aquaman jokes were tried out when Smallville alum Alan Ritchson made like a (super-swole) fish.
TVLINE | Tell us, what drives Susan Duffy throughout Season 3?If there's a line that sums up how Duffy operates, it's, 'I don't let bad guys walk.' That informs who she is entirely. It's what got her into the DEA and she's worked her ass off to get where she is.
She is immensely smart and capable, but we meet her a point where she is just about keeping her head above water. Like, it has really hit the fan in a way that she would never have imagined, and she desperately, passionately has to make it right, and that's entertaining to watch, hopefully. You're seeing a woman who is aware of the mistakes she's made unintentionally, and she will lose everything if it means that she can save Teresa [the kidnapped CI].
What's wonderful about this season is there is much of Duffy and her trio. She cares so much about Villanueva (9-1-1: Lone Star's Roberto Montesinos) who has carefully mentored her through the years and is about to retire and have a well-earned rest. And she's got this rookie, Elliot (Daniel David Stewart), who is very green and she's responsible for him. But she's struggling a lot, so Reacher's entry into her life is very, very well-timed — even if it does throw open a whole other can of worms in the process.
TVLINE | I want to talk about the accent that you use on the show. What are we calling it, 'New England'…?Yeah. I was told 'Boston.'
TVLINE | Was it in case of, 'We really want to cast you… but can you do this for us?' Or did you know going in you'd have to do a Boston accent?When I was asked to audition, I was asked to do a Boston accent, so I very quickly watched as much as I could to do what was at that point probably not a very good Boston accent. And then when I got the job, I had time with a dialect coach and I just kept going back to clips I found.—
TVLINE | You watched every Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie.Oh, yeah. Affleck, all the Marky Mark, Spotlight… The Departed…. also lovely old clips from, like, when [Boston area crime boss] Whitey Bulger was caught. Now, that's pretty heightened, but it was just gorgeous to listen to. I love accents, they are so much more than sounds, they're like a psychology and a place and a culture, and it really helped inform who Duffy is. Like, none of what Duffy says would sound right in my like, 'Oh, helloooo!' British accent and way of being. But they asked for Boston and I tried to give them Boston. (Watch/listen to Cassidy discuss the accent in the video above.)
TVLINE | Any firsts for you as an actress in this role?Some of the stunt stuff was new for me. I'm not sure how much I can divulge without spoiling, but there were some pretty big stunts for me, dealing with pyrotechnics at the same time. It was highly technical, where we've 'got one chance to do this!' It's cold, it's dark, it's the middle of the night, it's taken hours to set up, and we've got one shot. That's terrifying — and very, very exciting.
TVLINE | You have a black belt in Taekwondo. Did you get to work that into any of Duffy's fight scenes?Well, I thought I would, but actually it's a very different type of movement and that's where what's right for the character comes in, because Duffy's more of a brawler. She would have had some combat training, but in a bar she'd just throw a punch if you grabbed her ass or something, whereas Taekwondo is a Korean martial art with a very different physicality. You're more centered and there's a kind of refinement to it, whereas Duffy isn't refined at all. So, it was nice to have to take on the challenge of 'unlearning' in a funny kind of way. And physically, it was quite hard. My body just kept going into the old movements, but we ironed them out.
TVLINE | There are a couple of scenes where we see Alan Ritchson swimming, and he play Aquaman on . Was there any take at any point where Duffy refers to him as 'Hey, Aquaman'?No, I don't believe so. And I've not done any in ADR. But we still have time, maybe we can work it in!Best of TVLine
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