NIKITA: Melinda Clarke On Amanda in Exile, Plus 10 Years of Firefly

What an unexpected treat to be part of an interview with Melinda Clarke, Amanda on Nikita, at Comic Con 2012. Being a veteran actor, she was at ease and confidant. And she gave us great insight into Amanda’s character.

Melinda talked about how Amanda had empathy for Nikita, and Alex, and for Percy, then she was betrayed by all of them. She almost never left Division. Now Amanda is in exile from Division and has to go underground like Nikita did last season. Now she is probably headed down a darker path and she will probably be obsessed about getting Nikita.

Asked if she has any theories about her character’s background, Melinda agreed that we know very little about it. And she hopes they will explore it some this season.She speculated that she could have a background similar to Nikita’s. Or she could have been from a wealthy family and and had some traumatic happening that changed her forever. Another thought was that she was trained to be a killer by the government.

She talked about when you play a character, you try to get in there and peel away the layers and how she understands it is hard to think about the fact that Amanda has feelings. And she hopes that they will address the fact that Percy is no longer there and what it does to her. “Amanda never saw herself without him…” yet he probably saw himself without her. She could have killed him, but she is angry that Nikita did.

This year was also the 10th anniversary of Firefly, on which Melinda played brothel madam Nandi. When asked what her thoughts were about the very large group of Firefly fans attending Comic-Con, she said they were the “most loyal” fans of anyone! And that she wished she had brought a suitable costume. She also reminisced about the cast and their love for one another.

“You loved coming to work every day,” she said.

Nikita returns to the CW for its third season on Friday, October 19 at 9/8c.