Last Light -- a new five-episode mini-series premiering on Peacock -- is primarily focused on the Yeats family. Andy (Matthew Fox) and Elena (Joanne Froggatt) have been juggling their own marital issues along with the drama of their teenage daughter, Laura (Alyth Ross), and health issues regarding their son, Sam (Taylor Fay). All of this is complicated by a global catastrophe with the world's oil supply, which results in the family -- already separated across three nations -- scrambling to survive the ensuing chaos.
At the heart of Andy's plotline is the mysterious Mika, an apparent agent of the British government who always seems to be moving one step ahead of any given situation. During an interview with CBR ahead of Last Light's debut on Peacock on Sept. 8, Amber Rose Revah sat down to discuss Mika's unique role in the globe-spanning thriller, what elements of the mini-series drew her in as a performer, and how much she loves getting to dive into the show's surprising action beats.
CBR: By design, Mika is something of a cipher when we first meet her. What surprised you the most about the character?
Amber Rose Revah: Well, I think what we discovered a lot along the journey with Mika... I mean, I think the character was stripped back, and there were so many iterations of her character. I think there may even have been one where [her connection with Matthew Fox's Andy] did develop into a relationship. I am unsure. There were so many different changes that we made.
I think for me, it was great that once we came to what this character was and what her and Andy's relationship was, we have to find what their connection was: how they helped each other, how they, in some ways, tried to manipulate each other -- all those small nuances that made it really interesting to play and, hopefully, interesting for an audience to watch. It was really enjoyable to do because it was a challenge.
As a government agent in a setting where things are taking some pretty big societal turns, Mika has to make some shady decisions -- like giving Andy a chance to talk to his family, but in reality, just spying on him. All that can leave the audience wondering what she's really getting at. What was it like playing with that?
With moments like that, I suppose... I mean, in my head, we left it the way that perhaps we still don't know what her intentions were. She has this facade of being this very straight, kind of "I follow protocol" person, but also we see her connection with Andy, and we see those things like that. We don't know how she gets on the phone because of her empathy towards him. Has she given it because she knows she can find info...?
I love the fact that we keep guessing with her character because Mika does have a heart and when it comes to the end, and we find out more about her, she keeps a lot close to her chest. She's very intelligent. She's very crafty with how she goes about stuff, and she has been trained to be like that. When one realizes that she goes home and she's a different person when she leaves that world, it's kind of... You can look back at the other things and think, "Well, what was her intent?" Humans are complicated like that.
The series also has some pretty brutal action scenes for you to dive into. How did you approach the surprising -- and sometimes brutal -- physicality of the show?
It was great. I mean, with a bigger picture of what the show is about, Mika has her thread through it. I think in all those moments, what I got to do as an actor, and what Mika shows, they hopefully elevate all the other elements in the show as well. On a personal level, it was brilliant to do. I love, love doing the action sequences. I've done some before on shows. I got to learn new disciplines for Last Light, and I always enjoy it.
Something like Last Light touches on a lot of subjects, with Director (and Jack Ryan veteran) Dennie Gordon touching on some really big real-world influences. What was it about this series that really sank its hooks into you?
Well, you know, I haven't seen anything like this before on TV, somewhere where it moves so quickly. I think when things can be written for a TV audience, they can often kind of be a little drawn out. People want to create stories [that] they want an audience to keep checking in [on] week after week for eight seasons, or for however long.
With a limited five-episode series, with subject matter that moves like that, where one element happens, and it's a domino effect, and everything else kind of continues, it means that every episode is a completely different world. It keeps changing, and for me, I've never seen something like that. So you know, to kind of see it and go, "Okay, I get the opportunity to be part of that," I was like, I feel like it could really be kind of a big... It will start audiences talking.
Last Light debuts on Peacock on Sept. 8.