Banshee Q&A: Trieste Kelly Dunn On That Big, Bloody Episode
Hey there, Banshee fans. I know you're hurting. This week's INSANE episode brought the hammer down right from the jump and continued to beat us to an emotional pulp until the very last second—but the hour's centerpiece moment was of course the major death of fan-favorite character Siobhan, played by the wonderful Trieste Kelly Dunn. I was personally so affected by the whole ordeal that I had to call up Dunn personally to air my grievances lucky enough to speak to Dunn earlier in the week about the grueling process of shooting this excellent episode and when she first learned that Siobhan would be taking a journey to the other side, among other things. Hear it straight from her as you sob yourself to sleep:
For me, watching this episode was quite the emotional experience in my living room. What was it like for you to film it?
It was terrible. [Laughs.] It was so awful. It was an incredibly ambitious episode, first off, but when a space like that [the Cabi set] is supposed to look like it's constantly on fire, [with] debris, and bombs going off, that's what they're doing to you all day. They're throwing dust in the air, there were, I think, 3,000 squibs—in one shot I think about 2,000 went off—so it actually felt like it was being shot up. You're just inhaling filth all day long and getting blood thrown at you. You show up and you're clean and then you get to set and they throw tons of dust in your hair, all over your face, and you're just dodging bullets all day.
Did this episode take longer to shoot, or was there anything different about this one, other than the bullets and the dirt flying in your face?
Yeah, I think it was the confined space. We were inside, we didn't have any exterior scenes really at all. We were in basements, really tight spaces. I don't know they that they actually shot longer, but it felt longer.
Can you talk a little bit about that space? Is that set entirely destroyed from here on out?
They did destroy it. They rigged the entire thing. Glass went out, all the windows were destroyed. It was a total disaster.
One of the things that I really appreciated about this episode was that, despite the fact that all of this anarchy is happening, the pacing was so well done, where scenes would slow down and characters would share important moments with one another. Did you have that sense as you were filming the episode?
It was certainly a tough episode. There were definitely moments where we were thinking, "Ugh, how do we do this?"
How, or when, did you find out that Siobhan was going to die?
I found out really early. I mean it was months before shooting. It was the fall and we shoot in the spring, so I had tons of time. I've heard of situations where people are finding out the episode before, the day before, or at the table read, and I just think that's kind of insane, to be a series regular and find out that late in the game that your character is going to die, but that was not the case at all. There were lots of conversations and it made sense. It was a good storyline.
The best thing about this show is how much love there is with the cast and the crew, so first and foremost, [leaving them] was the saddest part of it. But the great thing is that we're all still really good friends. So when Odette [Annable, who played Nola Longshadow] died, we were crushed that she was going because that meant that we weren't going to be able to hang out with her anymore.
You guys shot this season awhile go, so you've known for over a year, as in the fall of 2013?
Yeah, it was back when they were planning Season 3 in the writers' room.
And when you learned that Siobhan was going to be killed off, did you know then that it would be at the center of this kind of big episode?
They knew exactly how they were going to do it. [Executive Producer] Jonathan Tropper told me that the Cadi would be taken over and that Chayton would snap my neck with his neck-snapping move.
Coming into this episode, did you prepare any differently, knowing it would be your last?
No, I don't think so. The nature of the episode meant that it was just different. It was an odd feeling shooting because we were always in this one space with a lot of characters and a lot of debris. To be quite honest—so much of the show, we're shooting outside and in different locations and that's fun—but we all started to go a little nuts. They had to black it out like it was nighttime. It was just so weird, with all the smoke. Luckily Mooresville [North Carolina] where we shoot is a cute town where in between takes [we can get some] fresh air.
But we did something really weird. The first week, we were all laughing a lot—just slap-happy, making fun of everything. I couldn't keep a straight face. Antony [Starr, who plays Lucas] would say a line and things were so funny. And then suddenly things got really hard and we all looked like we were going to burst into tears. It felt like Groundhog's Day, it was just bizarre.
Was it important for you that Siobhan know the truth about Lucas before she was killed?
I think that's part of why she had to die. You can't really see Lucas in a domestic relationship; I think the show stops. What are you going to do, have him cook dinner and have a kid? That's not Banshee. He has to be this haunted soul. Taking away some source of light for him, it keeps him on a rampage.
I wanted to ask you about that—what function does Siobhan's death serve the show moving forward?
I think it's the catalyst for his actions the rest of the season. Everything he does the rest of the season is a result of her death. Obviously, he's going to avenge it, he wants revenge [Laughs.] He's out for blood.
By the end of the episode, it was easy to see that this event will have reverberations for the rest of this season, and probably beyond that.
Yeah, we joke that if we just had one episode where not everything went wrong; one where it's a good day in Banshee. Like, "Today is a good day. Nobody's dying. Nobody's robbing stores and everything is good." I think that would be a really fun episode. You know how shows like Grey's Anatomy have done musical episodes? Banshee should do a "Good Day in Banshee" episode where everyone is happy, everyone is going to brunch.
I've been a big fan of Banshee since the first season, but it seems to me that the show made a jump in quality from Season 1 to Season 2, and then again from Season 2 to Season 3. And it seems like critics and audiences are catching on, too. Have you guys felt that as you've been shooting? Do you feel like the show changed in any noticeable way in that time?
It's definitely changed a lot. The style of shooting has changed, the writing has changed. In the first season, it was so much about Carrie, Rabbit, and Lucas, and now it's more of the stuff in Banshee. In those first couple of seasons, it was the bad guys coming to town and now it's the bad guys in town. But the style has changed; it has certainly found its tone. That first season was a lot of handheld, it was a lot shaky camera motions, which made it seem almost too realistic. In Season 2, the cameras got more still and it just feels more like a comic book-y kind of show, which is exactly what it is. They've gone further and further in that direction. I mean, this huge Native American gang called the Redbones? It's cartoonish. But that's what the show is.
And speaking more to the response to the show, have you noticed that more critics and fans have been paying more attention to it as time has gone on?
It seems like it, for sure. The first season it was hard. Cinemax was a new player in original programming, but it's gained some steam. I've seen more positive reviews, and so many more reviews in general. I feel like we've made a lot of lists and I'm always surprised—who was it that tweeted something? I think it was Samuel L. Jackson tweeted that he watches Banshee. [Note from Cory: Indeed he did.] And then people I would never expect to watch—pregnant women! I met a pregnant woman and she said, "Oh my god are you on Banshee, I love your show." That was not the idea I had in my mind of the people following the show.
People are really excited. We live-tweet of course, and it's really fun to see that people are super excited. The fans are really cool, really into the show, and they want to talk about it. and they have really good opinions about it. I love reading people's tweets.
Yeah, I was looking at your @replies on Twitter to see what people were saying leading up to the episode and there's already a lot of chatter from people who are scared Siobhan could die. So how do you think you will be handle their response come Friday night at 11pm Eastern?
Oh god. I don't want to get sad. Every Friday in January I'm talking to people I don't know on Twitter and reading their thoughts and if people are outraged, or if people are like, "Oh whatever, I'm glad that character died," whatever reaction they have, it'll affect me, I'll put it that way.
The fact that people are already saying these things illustrates what kind of impact Banshee has had on people.
One thing too is that she's one of the only characters on the show who's not a bad guy. She's trying to do a good thing. She's occasionally been the voice of reason. It's hard to see a character like that go. But this is television now. I remember when I watched Game of Thrones and all my favorites died in that "blood wedding." I remember thinking,"How am I supposed to watch this show now? Every single one of my favorite characters is gone." And then sure enough, there were plenty more favorite characters to follow.
Last question: Banshee has made great use of flashbacks and has obviously done some good things with Banshee Origins as well, so what are the chances that Siobhan makes a return this season or in the future?
[Laughs.] Oh, well! Am I allowed to say?
I don't know!
Uh, I would say that the...chances are good. [Laughs.]
