Yvonne Strahovski on Killer Elite, My Mother’s Curse, and the End of Chuck

Recently we had the opportunity to catch up with Yvonne Strahovski to talk about movies, TV, and the future. Currently filming the final season of Chuck, she’s also promoting the movie Killer Elite, due in theaters September 16. We talked to her about both projects and more.

ChuckTV.net: We’re excited to get a chance to see you on the big screen. Are you looking for more feature film roles or will you be looking for another TV series once Chuck ends?

Yvonne Strahovski: I’d like to focus more on filming features after Chuck wraps, but you never know what’s around the corner. For me, the decision depends on the character. If a juicy one comes rolling by, whether it’s TV or film, then I’ll definitely consider it either way.

CTV: Do you find it challenging to condense a character into 2 hours after having spent years developing Sarah Walker?

YS: Not at all. Stories are told in so many different ways and that’s part of the fun to try and come up with your character’s journey. Also, they didn’t give me a rundown of my character’s exact story when I started. All you have is the pilot script on which to make all your decisions, and if you’re lucky, maybe a writer will divulge more information to you if they have thought that far ahead. So really, it’s almost harder to create a character for a series versus a feature. With a feature, you’re able to read the whole story beginning, middle to end. With a series, you just don’t know where they’re going to go.

CTV: That makes sense. So what can you tell us about your character in Killer Elite? 

YS: My character Anne in Killer Elite is a no BS, straight-forward country girl. She knows how to look after herself, and she is honest about her feelings. My favorite character trait is her ‘natural-ness’. I always saw her as very connected to the earth. Very real. I think it’s because of this trait that audiences will want to connect with her.

CTV: You were clearly thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Robert DeNiro on the film; what did you learn from that experience? Did he let you call him Bobby?

YS: He introduced himself as Bobby, so we all called him that. I loved working with him. It was amazing to observe one of the greats in action. He was so comfortable and took his time with his work.

CTV: Speaking of the greats, earlier this summer you filmed My Mother’s Curse; what can you tell us about that character and working with Seth Rogan & Barbra Streisand? 

YS: I play Jessica in My Mother’s Curse, who is Seth Rogen’s characters ex- girlfriend. In the movie, I’m married to Colin Hanks’ character and I’m 7 months pregnant! We play the ideal, happy couple. Working with both Barbra and Seth was a joy to say the least. Those two make a great comedic pair!

CTV: This is the final season of Chuck; looking back, are you proud of Sarah’s character development since the pilot? Because you should be! 

YS: I’ve loved Sarah’s journey throughout the seasons of Chuck. I love that she started off as someone who couldn’t express her emotions. And look at her now, married and semi-normal!

CTV: Are there parts of her personality you would like to see highlighted more in these last episodes? What would you like to learn about her before signing off?

I’d still like to meet Sarah’s mother and reveal a bigger part of Sarah through that final piece of the puzzle. I also like the fact that my character is getting to play a bigger part in the funny scenes!

CTV: What’s the Sarah-Chuck-Morgan dynamic like now that Morgan has the Intersect? Based on Twitter photos alone, it looks like you and Josh are working together a lot; how is that compared to when Sarah was first assigned to be Chuck’s handler?

I love the Chuck/Sarah/Morgan dynamic! Josh is a great guy who always makes us laugh, so it’s been really nice spending more time with him and doing the spy work together. It’s a little different for me because things have changed so much since the time when I was Chuck’s handler. Back then, Sarah was a lot more serious. Now, she’s a little more relaxed. 

CTV: We post a regular fashion column where Robin Lewis-West answers fan questions about where to find specific items worn on the show, and Sarah’s wardrobe is by far the most sought after. Do you have any favorite pieces from her closet? 

YS: I loved my belly dancing outfit!

CTV: That was an awesome outfit! How often do you collaborate with Robin on what to wear in a specific scene? Are there any costumes you hope you never have to wear again?

YS: I do get to collaborate with wardrobe about the clothing I wear, to an extent. There are certain pairs of REALLY high heels that I hope to never wear again!

CTV: Ha! I’ll bet. Yvonne, thank you for your time and thank you for giving us Sarah. We have enjoyed her so much and been so impressed with your work during the last 4 seasons of Chuck. We look forward to another season and to seeing you in other projects, making us fall in love with new characters.

YS: Thank you so much for your continuous support. It means the world to me. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

See Yvonne Strahovski in theaters when Killer Elite opens September 16, and on the small screen when Chuck returns October 21.

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14 comments

  1. Thanks so much for getting this interview, and thanks to Yvonne for the interesting answers and a great five years on the show. We learn a lot more about the show and her career every time she speaks with this site.

  2. Ditto to what drosejr said.
    Thanks so much for getting this interview up. Always a pleasure to her what Yvonne has to say about her career and her perspective on the beloved character Sarah Walker.
    Mel, thanks again for connecting.

  3. Today, Yvonne Tweeted a link to Maxim Magazine’s site. She’ll be the cover girl for the Octover issue of Maxim.

  4. Nice interview, judging by Yvonne’s eagerness to end Chuck in this past interviews she probably has huge projects lined up for her

    • Or she’s just being realistic. The end has been set by higher powers and there’s no hope of going further, so the only rational thing to do is to acknowledge the fact and make most of time you have left.

  5. “YS: I loved my belly dancing outfit!”

    – I assume a lot of us loved it, too…

  6. Thanks so much for this interview!! Really love Yvonne, she seem really down to earth..I’m truelly going to miss Sarah Walker but hope to see her in so many other proyects! any hopefully working with Zachary and the rest of the crew in some of them..

  7. Great interview! 🙂

  8. thank you for the new season of chuck can’t wait for it!

  9. Mel thank so much for getting the interview your the greatis so thank you Yvonne is just great as sarah walker so thanks yvonne

    Ali

    from

    ENGLAND

  10. I was on the MSN.ca entertainment page and they put The Killer Elite in a list of the hottest films at TIFF.

    http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/movies/tiff/

  11. I am heartbroken!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just when you find a show that you love!!!!! It will be missed!!!! 5 years the one thing I looked for on Mondays;Ripped of TV!
    This show cannot be replaced!