Interviews
THE BLACKLIST’s Parminder Nagra on Playing Lovely Hard-Ass CIA Agent Meera Malik
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Parminder Nagra plays the tough-as-nails CIA agent, Meera Malik on NBC’s The Blacklist. She surprised us all when she used some brute force while interrogating a suspect in one episode. That was our introduction to Meera. She asked a question and we said “OUCH!” In a recent press conference call, Parminder talks about her character and working on The Blacklist.
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Question: Is there a story behind how you got this great part and is it really empowering to you to play such a badass character?
Parminder Nagra: Well the story is – I sort of feel like it came out of a little out of left field for me. I was asked to go in and audition for this part. And so you’d probably have to ask the two Johns more specifically. But I was asked to go and audition (but many) auditions and didn’t know too much about the character and just sort of proceeded to find out what was going to happen with as, you know, as we’re going along now.
And playing a badass character I have to say I’m enjoying it a – probably a bit too much sometimes. It’s like now I’m just can you just give me and kind of let me run around with it I’d be really happy.
But it’s very empowering. It’s I love it. I really, really do enjoy playing such a strong female character. It’s nice. And you don’t get a lot of those, you know, you don’t get a lot of those parts especially on TV for women that are so strong. So it’s nice to be able to be able to do that and to be part of something like this.
Question: What has been the most difficult scene to shoot and why?
Parminder Nagra: God. I suppose the difficulty – the most difficult scene. But I suppose in terms of – just in terms of the scenes themselves they’ve – they themselves haven’t been too – I think sometimes for me like if I have a lot of information and things to give that can sometimes be a little difficult just in terms of that.
I think there was one night here and I – even though I know I’m from London I was like I can’t – I don’t know if I can do this. It was just too – it was too damn cold and too late in the evening. So there’s moments like that just this weather, you know, weather wise.
But I suppose the challenges for me is probably more like when you have those big chunks of information and just seeing James Spader do it is just amazing. I mean he’s just – he’s amazing at it.
So I – I mean those are my own personal challenges of when I have to do the scenes and make it look like that I’m, you know, that I’m not just giving information; that there’s something else to it rather than just sort of staying at the basin. So actually that’s sort of my own personal challenge.
Question: Was there anything about this character that wasn’t originally scripted for you that you added to the role?
Parminder Nagra: I have to say when I (interviewed) – I, you know, when I first was going to go in for this part I had actually learned the audition piece with an American accent. And I was pleasantly surprised and told I could do it in my own accent, which was just liberating on so many levels.
I think there have been quite a lot about Meera who’s – correct me if I’m wrong. But the – it’s sort of – it’s been revealed as we go along and being sort of like I think clashing around some of the stuff that we’ve been doing.
It’s – I guess we’re just – I feel like I’m sort of getting a bit more of a better handle on who she is as well. But I’m, you know, we’re constantly being surprised with the script, which is really nice because it’s just, you know, the reveals happening slowly and also for others actors the reveal was happening slowly.
And it’s nice to open the script ever week and not quite know. Like you sort of feel like you might be going in a particular direction but it makes you play – I feel like it makes you play the scenes truthfully in the moment without too much knowledge.
I mean you obviously got to have a basic background knowledge of who this person is. But it’s also – it’s the nice part of doing the series is you get to really create something that’s original that hopefully lasts for years. So…
Question: What do you think it is about The Blacklist that’s made it such a fan favorite program?
Parminder Nagra: I think it’s the mixture between, you know, a serialized drama between the procedural and the characters more importantly. I think, you know, you can often have so many shows that do the serialized part that – and just do that bit particularly well. And you never really get to find out about the characters.
And I think that’s what an audience craves. Certainly what I crave when I watch a show is like I want to know who these people are, what makes them tick. And the fact that Red Reddington and Liz Keen are such a mystery and people want to know the answers and it keeps them guessing; I think, you know, they want to know. They want to find out and they’re hanging in week after week to find out who these characters are.
And they, you know, people care about these characters as well. You want to have something to care about and something to relate to. And of course, you know, you’ve got all the action. You know, it’s thrilling to watch, you know, all the mayhem that occurs, you know, week after week.
And these amazing, you know, the bad guys as it were, you know, they’re such interesting characters in themselves and that it’s character and story and the action. I think it’s just one great package. And I think people love that. And I love watching that myself.
Question: With a show so intense like The Blacklist, does it ever get to you or how do you unwind and kind of relax and just kind of, you know? Do you get home from work each day just kind of all tensed up or, you know, how do you combat that?
Parminder Nagra: No. I mean I think the scenes I’ve been involved I mean we have a pretty good laugh on set. I think, you know, of course when you’re working, you know, in the particular scenes that you’re – I enjoy those moments of doing those scenes of like running around chasing bad guys because you’re playing sort of almost like cops and robbers.
But no I don’t come – I don’t come – I actually have quite a good laugh on set in between takes. So but, you know, when you get down to the actual work part of it and doing the scenes, you know, you enjoy that part of it and get focused for those moments and, you know, knowing what you want to do with it obviously.
But no, I don’t come home – and maybe the glass of wine at the end of the night helps me. But I think we have a pretty – I think, you know, we have a good balance on set. You know, nobody goes totally, you know, crazy or anything like that. But I think we have a good balance.
Question: Will we ever see you return to Psych?
Parminder Nagra: No, I don’t think so. I had fun doing it but no, I don’t think so.
Question: How far ahead do you know what’s going to happen and how important is it for you to know the direction of the story?
Parminder Nagra: I don’t know too far ahead at all. I had an instance recently where I was like, ‘this is going where?’. And then the Johns – the two Johns (Eisendrath and Bokenkamp) called me and said, “We can either explain this to you now or you can wait and find out till the next episode.” And I actually in that instance made the decision that I didn’t want to find out actually. I wanted to find out when the next draft of the next episode came out.
And it goes back to what I was saying before, which is like I like being able to pick up the next script like everybody else and open up and see, you know, a surprise. It’s thrilling to sort of to open up the scripts and go oh, this is where it’s going because that’s the part that makes it exciting.
So I mean I like to sort of have a general idea maybe but it’s also nice not to know. A bit like life really. Sometimes you just don’t want to know.
Question: What is it about you character that you find the most fascinating?
Parminder Nagra: For me (what) I find most fascinating. I feel like there’s this whole side to her because she’s in CIA, the things that she’s seen or has been through and the time that, you know, because initially when the character – when the character was described that she stepped away for a little bit of time and then came back onto this specific case.
But it interests me to sort of like go well, you know, having been in the CIA she’s thoroughly seen and experienced quite a lot and there’s this – clearly there’s this hard side to her. I find that really – I like that strong sort of like, you know, she can get down and dirty if she needs to. And that really appeals to me.
I love it when those moments are written and she can be, you know, there’s that sort of – that whole new serious side to her. That – I find that really, really appealing.
The Blacklist airs on Mondays at 10/9c.
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