Exclusive: Katee Sackhoff on Making LONGMIRE Home, Fan Kindness

Just before the finale of Longmire (Monday, 10/9c on A&E), actress Katee Sackhoff took the time to talk to us about the show and about her work, both current and past, and her life as an actress, highlighting what she loves about working on a variety of genre television and one of her most famous roles.

As part of an ensemble show about the life of a Sheriff in Wyoming, Katee is proud to see that her fish-out-0f-water character and her role as a deputy is a way for viewers to have some perspective among the characters and the situations that the shows tackles each week.

When describing the show, she focused on the procedural aspects combined with serialized moments depicting how “a lot of bad stuff happens in a very small town.” But then again, bad things always need to happen in order to progress the action of the show, which she also admits. (If this fictional town were real, I’d rather not live there for fear of being killed, which is something that she admits has to happen for the narrative to work.)

Katee sees a lot of similarities between her work on Longmire and previous shows like Battlestar Galactica and Bionic Woman, because each of the shows is about the human struggle and how that can be overcome. All of the shows are dramas and while setting and tone change, each show demonstrates how people work against when their backs are against the wall. Facing different challenges – be it figuring out a case for the week or trying to save humanity – is the focus of each show and each of her characters.

Shooting Longmire on location in New Mexico has its advantages and disadvantages, Katee says. The cast and crew get along very well and work hard just as hard as they play, but she misses the little things about being at home – her bed, her favorite restaurants, her family, her animals, and even her car. To that end, when we talked, Katee was looking forward buying a trailer at an RV show in Los Angeles and to live in while filming Longmire‘s next season. In that way, she’s looking forward to having her own space while so far from home. She thinks that the space will be calming and that she’ll have a sense of home and place.

While Katee is looking forward to creating her own space on location, there are also little acts of kindness from fans that help to make the interaction with other people better. She always appreciates the fan that brings her a nonfat latte to set, just as much as she appreciates the fans who quickly and politely say that they appreciate her work in a public place and then leave, while still respecting her privacy. When looking at other celebrities that she admires, Katee recalled doing the same thing the first time she met Michelle Rodriguez and how quickly she was able to express her gratitude.

Before our time was up, Katee took a moment to reminisce about Battlestar Galactica and mentioned how much she appreciated some of Starbuck’s stronger skills, hoping that she could do something similar in future projects. In Starbuck she was able to work out all of her demons from the day through Starbuck’s aggression and determination, shooting guns, punching people and screaming while also being a character who was more than just a fighter. She looks back at that time knowing that there was so much trust and freedom to create a character that has mattered so much to so many women (and men) and also appreciates that the creative team gave her that.

Hopefully many of those qualities in Starbuck will keep showing up in more of Katee’s work, especially in Longmire, which airs its season finale on August 19 at 10PM/9 PM Central on A&E.