24: Live Another Day – Dammit Chloe: Interview with Mary Lynn Rajskub

I had the pleasant privilege of joining Mary Lynn Rajskub on a conference call to discuss 24: Live Another Day. Below you’ll find a quick recap on some of the things that were discussed during the call. And don’t worry, there are no spoilers!

In her response to a question asked about filming in London, Mary said that she really enjoys the setting and feels as if it brings a new dimension to this season of 24. However, with the change in location and returning to the show after a four year break, it was all very different and unique for the actors. This is especially so with Chloe, with so much change in her character. It took a little bit for any familiarity to set in.

The familiar sense did eventually arrive for Mary and Kiefer, and it’s a similar situation to what I mentioned in my interview with Kiefer Sutherland. It was a scene where both actors were in a more heightened emotional situation with some yelling and bickering back and forth. Of course, a popular line was used by Kiefer during the bickering, “dammit, Chloe!” At the end of that scene is when Kiefer decided to break out his singing voice with a nice song of “Welcome Back!” That was a fun, personal moment for Mary that helped bring things back to a familiar state.

Things are normal again, at least for the actors. Of course, as we now know, things aren’t so normal with the characters, especially Chloe.

Mary discussed her character, saying how she is in distress this season, something that’s very different than what we’ve seen from her character before. Mary also said it’s a transformed situation to act in, compared to previous seasons of playing her character.

I bet time off really helped the actors separate themselves from their former character and then return to play their same character, but in a different light.

For Mary, though, she keys in on how it isn’t a new light, but more of a “dark side” that Chloe has fallen into. Mary describes Chloe’s pain as a loss to having any real personal lifestyle, and she has little hope of happiness at this point as she feels she has lost it all. Think back to Jack and how he is always there to save the day, but always pays a price on the home front. Mary feels that Chloe doesn’t have a lot to live for anymore, which has caused her to transition into the polar opposite of the person she used to be. This results in Chloe working for a hacking group that is now set on giving away government secrets, something that she was once fighting against.

It was definitely interesting listening to Mary describe Chloe on the phone, and she mentioned that we’ll find out much more on Chloe in the upcoming episodes.

On a more personal level for Mary, responding to a question that asked if she understood any of the technical speak that comes out from her month, she revealed that she has no idea what it is Chloe is rambling on about when it comes to all the computer and hacking talk. She also went on to say that she probably shouldn’t have admitted to that as an actor. But we don’t mind that, right? I totally buy in to her character, which means she does a wonderful job of portraying that type of role.

Mary also mentioned that she doesn’t know why she hasn’t been killed off the show when so many characters have been, calling her character a surprise for the show. Ultimately, though, she said that she was just lucky.

Quick fact, Mary totals the second-most episodes of any actor appearing in “24’s” eight seasons.