We spoke to her about transnational crime, the scars of war and deadlifting sixty kilograms.
I want to talk to you about your character Naomi.
Clues can come in many forms.
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The training aspect was fantastic.
To play a soldier, ultimately youve got to train as a soldier.
You change within that period of training and in military training.
By the time we were shooting I was deadlifting 60 kilos with a company in Derbyshire.
They were called Born to Move.
They help you with you character in that way.
I did military training with them to get me up to the standard of what would be acceptable.
Is that something youve kept up?
Can you still deadlift 60 kilos?
[Laughs] Ive tried to keep it up.
Ive just finished a movie actually, which was a very different character.
It didnt feel appropriate to do the amount of weightlifting I was doing.
Im still keeping fit.
Im having the baby, Im breastfeeding, Im eating healthily, not worrying.
Its all about my family and my kids.
I go into work and I approach those characters that Im taking on.
Youve mentioned Naomis process of changing and how her military experience was profound for her.
She sees things as they perhaps ought to be rather than as they actually are.
How much of that do you think is left in her by the end?
Youre hurt for a moment, youre wounded for a moment.
Your wing is broken but youll fix it and fly off.
Its that kind of character, that spirit.
Its her sense of spirit that keeps her strong.
Its not just plot and story.
I mean, there is, obviously, its fantastic but yeah.
No, not at all.
It all happened so quick, everything thats gone on.
It all happens within a very short timeframe.
I think that people, when theyre in very heightened situations, whether its war… you kind of… Everyone is living on adrenaline in those circumstances.
So I think when shes going through this experience shes just living in the moment.
Why did he do that?
and ultimately its finding the man who saved her.
She doesnt know that, you know?
Why did you save me?
Its a very curious moment, isnt; it?
One of those moments in life.
Yeah, but she cant tell her boss that.
Its personal for her.
Youve seen four episodes yeah?
How come youve seen six?
They let me see the previews.
Oh my God, OK.
When did you see them?
I saw the last two earlier this week.
He was a friend of her father.
When we first see them meet, shes trying to weigh him up I think.
In her early twenties, like some upstart.
She says youre MI6, those kinds of things.
Hes a very strange presence in her life.
Yeah, and I like how a lot of that isnt totally explained.
We know the history, we perform what we perform and theres the layers of history.
I think thats what beautiful about it, its not.
Everythings not signposted all the time.
Its not given to you on a plate.
Everybody were saying what they were feeling all the time, telling the plot all the time.
It was bonkers and I was like, thank god I did something like thePanthersbecause its so intelligent.
Obviously Sky Atlantic funded Warp Films to make a quality, quality drama.
Its not about the viewing figures instantly, its not about instant gratification, its about game-changing drama.
We have this kind of safety of a company just wanting to do quality.
And theres more room, isnt there, when youve got several episodes to tell your story.
Especially with whats been happening in Paris lately and the guns and we can trace this European history.
Well, they started it four years ago.
I mean the guy has been doing research before that.
Its what the hell is going on?
What are we creating?
The ramifications of bombing Syria, what are we going to create?
The ramifications of the Gulf War, what are we going to create?
What happened in Bosnia, what are we going to create?
How is it going to happen?
Its such a recent history though.
I can remember being at school and it all kicking off, it was huge.
Michael WinterbottomsWelcome To Sarajevowas an incredible film.
People are getting numbed to it all.
And thishappened,its what we were part of.
Why dont you regenerate?
Certainly Serbia, which is dreadfully poor, cant.
And the countries, you know Nato, which were bombed, are we going to clean it up?
And not easy to shoot in.
Theres also the transnational aspect, the networks.
It wouldnt have worked unless it was fully European.
Yeah, and it makes perfect sense, when you realise.
It seems bizarre to us but its like going from Leeds to Manchester.
Its bonkers, but the criminal underworld are very organised.
Maybe even more organised than our politicians.
Well, theres the criminal underworld and then theres the criminaloverworld.A lot of this is done in plain sight.
This isnt just shadowy people, its politicians, its business leaders and so forth.
I think its all touched upon really subtly, really subtly in Panthers.
Its likeThe Wirein that way.
The Wirechanged the way I view the world.
It wasThe Cornerthat they did first, then they didThe Wire, which was the game changer that everybody… You nurture talent, the Johans of this world.
A horrible phrase, but you get what I mean by that.
There are always actresses that will look good, they really cant cut the mustard but theyre edited well.
I was really proud to get it and be part of it.
Its something that television does particularly well.
Yeah, totally, that was my grounding, that was my training.
But they were terrestrial.
Its not like a thing of going back to television, thinking oh, Im going back to television.
It didnt feel like I was making television.
Samantha Morton, thank you very much!
The Last Panthers continues on Sky Atlantic Thursday 9pm.
