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Tessie SantiagoOne or two interviews with Tessie were posted on various media and news Web sites. This is the only one we've been able to find so far. We are still searching for more old interviews and hope to post them here. |
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Newcomer Tessie Santiago stars in this series set in 19th century California as Tessa Alvarado, who masquerades as the avenging Queen of Swords. Tessa, a beautiful young Spanish aristocrat, returns to her California birthplace after the death of her father to find the country in the hands of a military governor who abuses his power, taxing his subjects to the point of starvation. Tessa's idealism is almost destroyed until her dreams reveal her destiny. She will take up arms to avenge her father's death, to protect the weak and punish the unjust - all behind the mask of the Queen of Swords. Aided by her long-time servant and confidante, Marta, Tessa leads three separate existences. She is Tessa, a young woman who longs for love and normalcy. She's the Queen of Swords, a disguised warrior seeking justice in an unjust world. And lastly, she's Maria Teresa Alvarado, a privileged aristocrat whose pettiness and snobbery hide Tessa's identity as the masked crusader. Her prime enemy is the deadly tryant Colonel Luis Montoya who is dedicated to his quest for wealth and power, and his mercenary, Grisham. Guest stars will include Bo Derek, Daisy Fuentes, and Cristian de la Fuente. Tessie Santiago is a Miami-born Cuban-American who grew up in a tightly knit family of artists, including a sculptor grandfather, musician father and painter mother. Santiago has immersed herself in creative endeavors from piano playing at age 7, to performing in musicals, to studying Shakespeare in London. At the University of Miami, she starred in the independent film, "Echo," and acted in many student films. Her life literally changed with the casting as the Queen of Swords. Santiago recently sat down to discuss her new life and her role as Tessa and the Queen of Swords.* Q: You've been praised up and down for your work on "Queen of Swords." Are you feeling any pressure? A: Yes, of course I am. It's a lot of pressure because this is new to me, but it's also very exciting. My life changed from one day to the next. I had a very simple life in Miami. I studied for four years at the University of Miami, and it has always been my passion to act. But I didn't think it would happen this fast. My life was turned around, but I'm still very normal. I go home to Miami and have my 80-year-old grandparents that I have to answer to, and they keep me humble. It's great. I'm just taking it one day at a time. Q: This show makes use of the tiny mask to disguise your identity. Do you feel differently once you've put that mask? Do you become that character? A: Yes. It's amazing. There are many different levels to my character. I thought it would be easiest to play Tessie - a real person. But it's easier for me to be the Queen, to just throw on the mask. I'm so much more confident. Just play the strong woman and fight and outwit all of these men. It's great fun. Q: Do you have any prior experience with swords yourself? Any fencing experience? A: Prior to this, I had no experience fencing or with the whip. I hadn't even ridden a horse in my life. But I did go through some rigorous training in L.A. for two months. I trained with Anthony DeLongis, a sword master. I also trained with Billy Blanks who taught me how to fight. I was very prepared for this part. Q: Are these swords specially designed? Are they a little lighter than they look? A: They're going to be lighter very soon. [laughter] They are very heavy and after two or three takes it is exhausting in the heat. Again, I was well trained for this part, so I was ready to do this. Q: Which one of those things that you were not used to before -- the dancing, the whip or the horseback riding -- are you becoming comfortable with, and which things would you like to tell the director, "Why don't you have my stunt double do that?" A: Actually, I'm strangely comfortable with everything. And I do dance a bit. I'm Cuban, so I was born into this culture where I learned how to dance salsa when I was six years old. Even fencing is like dancing. I think the hardest thing to master was the whip just because one day you have it and the next day you don't, and you have to be so patient. Everyday I learn more. The horse was also a challenge for me because I found it was very intimidating. Now I'm really comfortable on my horse. I love my horse. Q: What is your horse's name? A: Chico. He's strange. You give him an apple and he's happy. He follows me everywhere I go. He's great. Q: Had you ever been outside of Florida before filming in Spain? A: Yes I studied Shakespeare in London, and I also studied film in Prague. I also backpacked through Europe. Q: What do you feel about being a role model for Latinas? A: I'm really proud of this part I'm playing. I never thought that this would happen so quickly for me, and I certainly never thought that I would land a part like this. I'm playing not only a strong woman, a strong, intelligent woman, but a strong Latina intelligent woman. That's really important to me because the stereotypes are out there. I can't deny it. I always thought that being a woman and being Latin were two things that were going against me in this business, and they actually worked for me this time. I'm really proud of that, and I'm especially proud when I see these little girls on set who look up to me and want to learn how to fence. It brings me a lot of joy. Q: What about roles to play, or roles that you admired? A: I think Xena's pretty cool. I like her. Anything that involves just being a strong woman and just getting away from the stereotypes. Anything like this role [Queen of Swords]. I'm really proud of this role. Q: You listed your favorite authors as Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin. What is it that appeals to you about them? That's a sensual group. A: It is a sensual group. They write freely, there's no society in their life. It's beautiful. I'm just attracted to the way they write just because, they're not afraid to say how they feel. They say what's going on in here [points to her heart]. Lastly, "Zorro" leaves a "Z" behind. What do you leave? A: What do I leave? I leave a tarot card. The Queen of Swords card. *This interview is courtesy of the Synditel 2000 Summer Press Tour, conducted in connection with the Television Critics Association. | |
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Anthony LemkeThis interview was originally posted on the official Web site with a few pictures beside it. Other cast interviews were also supposed to be posted, but none ever appeared. |
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Burnout Productions had the opportunity to speak with Anthony Lemke (aka Captain Marcus Grisham) during a break from shooting QUEEN OF SWORDS. The interview was conducted near his home in Toronto on November 7th, 2000.
BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: Where are you originally from? ANTHONY LEMKE: I'm from Ottawa, Canada. Well, Nepean, outside of Ottawa actually. I'm from the suburbs, suburb kid. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: Can you tell us a little about your acting background and some of your past roles? ANTHONY LEMKE: I went to the University of Waterloo for acting. My first role, on TV, was on LA FEMME NIKITA, which is another Fireworks show, oddly enough. I was Guard Number Two or something like that. I don't think I had a name. And then, you know, it was just little roles to bigger roles which lead to slightly bigger roles. That's sort of where it leads me up to ROBOCOP. ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES was the first big lead-type character I had in anything. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: How is working on QUEEN OF SWORDS different from the other shows that you have worked on? ANTHONY LEMKE: First off, it's a TV series. I've never worked on something where it's been twenty-two continuous episodes. So your character can both unfold quite slowly, yet also has to be consistent over twenty-two episodes because it's syndicated television. And that's been a challenge, to keep a consistency over eight months. You can allow your character to grow but yet you have to make sure when people are watching the television show they don't go "wait a minute, this isn't Grisham, this is not the guy I watched last week" because sometimes they don't show (the episodes) in order. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: Did you have to go through any particular training in order to prepare for your role as Captain Grisham? ANTHONY LEMKE: Yeah, I had to practice growing bad-guy facial hair for at least a month and a half before I got (to Almeria, Spain) or else I never would have had this ever so wonderful goatee. But on a serious note, yes, the riding and the sword fighting and sometimes boxing. When I got there, I was taught a lot of that over the first few episodes and continued to learn specifically the horse and also the sword stuff. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: What's it like in Almeria, Spain (where QUEEN OF SWORDS is shot)? ANTHONY LEMKE: It's sunny all the time. Which in the beginning, I guess...it's fun in the same way it's fun to be in the sun on a vacation for two or three weeks. But after a while you miss the change in weather, you miss trees, rain. Like in Toronto. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: How would you describe Captain Grisham? ANTHONY LEMKE: Ask an actor who plays a bad guy if his character is bad and he won't say he's a bad guy. (Laughs) He has a different moral code than other people. He's extremely selfish, not necessarily evil. (However), he has no problem with killing because he's been a soldier in the military and fought in the War of 1812. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: Can you tell me a little about your co-stars? ANTHONY LEMKE: TESSIE SANTIAGO - I think she's doing a fantastic job. Personally, she is a joy to work with on set. We do a lot of scenes together and she's a lot of fun. BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: What direction do you see Captain Grisham heading in QUEEN OF SWORDS? ANTHONY LEMKE: I think if I were to choose a direction for him, I would try to create … another dimension that people don't see in that, sometimes, he does good things. I'm not saying have the Grisham children's fund and one day he's out collecting for that, I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that not everyone is completely evil. I mean, I think it would be interesting every once and a while if Grisham did something where people went: “Wait a minute, no, no, no he's a bad guy. Bad guys don't do that.” Just to give the impression the character a sense of completeness. Be interesting. But other then that, he's gonna overthrow the town and it'll become the "Captain Grisham Show"! (Laughs) BURNOUT PRODUCTIONS: Any words for the fans? ANTHONY LEMKE: Isn't this website fantastic? Thanks for watching the show everyone. Thanks for supporting it. Thanks for 30,000 people checking out the website in (its first) two months. I hope you guys enjoy it. | |
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