Posted in: CBS, TV | Tagged: blue bloods, boston blue

Boston Blue Star Maggie Lawson on Embracing Sarah as a Role Model

Maggie Lawson on embracing her role on CBS's Boston Blue, working with showrunners Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis, and much more.

Maggie Lawson is certainly not a stranger to playing authority figures with her time as SBPD's Det Juliet O'Hara on the USA series Psych for the better part of 20 years, and now, entered the world of Blue Bloods franchise with its first spinoff in CBS's Boston Blue as Boston PD's Superintendent of Detectives, Sarah Silver, who is also close to her mostly cop family that includes stepsister, Det Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), step grandfather Rev. Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson); Sarah's stepmother and Boston District Attorney, Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben); Sarah and Lena's younger half-brother and BPD patrol officer Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner). The Milk Chug star spoke to Bleeding Cool about how Sarah became a dream part, collaborating with creators and showrunners Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis, the recent episode "Blood Chemistry", and how Sarah became a role model for her. The following contains spoilers.

Boston Blue Star Maggie Lawson on How Sarah Challenged Her as an Actress in Ways She Never Imagined

BC: When you took on the role of Sarah Silver for Boston Blue, how did you prep for the role? What does playing Sarah allow you to do that you wouldn't normally do in your other work?

Lawson: Good questions. Prepping for Sarah was a normal audition process. Since it's honoring Blue Bloods, I think there was something in this script that was so special, and the way that Sarah was written, I love this so much. I kept saying, "This is a dream part." I was talking about this, where I had to tell myself not to get too excited about it, because that's how much I loved it. I did my audition and redid it a few times just because I wanted to get it so exactly right, since one of the things that I read in the script I loved is that they gave this boss character a kind of sarcasm, a little playfulness, and comedy. It is so layered.

I love doing comedy, and that's a very human thing to bring into a character, like sarcasm or whatever. It was important for me to make sure I brought that when I first read for it, and now, the writers have written Sarah to be very fun. Now, I get to explore that, but the other thing I want to say about prepping for her was that I didn't expect it when I got to work. We hadn't even shot anything yet, but we were doing hair, makeup tests, and our wardrobe when I put on the uniform. That moment was unexpected.

That's when I felt like I was transformed into Sarah. I stepped into it then in a way that felt different, because when you put on that uniform, even if it's just playing one on TV, it's honoring something. That changed a lot for me, to be honest, and I love that we keep Sarah in uniform, because it's not typical for a superintendent to wear one. It's something that I really love, so that was probably one of my favorite prepping points about the character, if not my favorite.

What did you like about working with both Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis as creatives? Were there any figures in your life that you took inspiration from for playing Sarah, in addition to the scripts?

Yeah, it's interesting. "The Brandons," as they call themselves, are showrunners everyone should be lucky to work with. They are so thoughtful and kind. They are cheerleaders for you. The speech that Sonnier made on our first day of shooting last year brought us to tears and also hyped us up. It was so great. Both have a deep understanding of how important it is to create an environment that feels like family. [Boston Blue] is based on Brandon Sonnier's family, so he brought a lot from his real life to this table, literally, and to share that, not to mention, be so vulnerable with us, to share stories with us to honor his traditions, his family, to bring that I feel like naturally put all of us in a space of feeling connected, feeling family, love, safe, and all the things that sometimes can be rare, especially when you've just met and you're creating a new project.

It's a getting-to-know-you process that I feel like we've got to skip many steps in, because they set the tone like that. We became a family right away, we're a part of theirs, and then, we made our own. I can't say enough about them. In terms of like drawing from a character or a person, I think what I tried to do with Sarah, I feel, actually…This is going to sound weird, but I feel like I'm learning a lot about myself from playing the character, so Sarah, and the way they have written her, has actually been my example of a way I want to be in my own life. I feel like she trusts her instincts and herself. I feel she follows through when she feels that there is, whether it's justice or something.

Right or wrong, [Sarah] doesn't shy away from that, and she also follows it to the fullest extent when she has a feeling about something. She really does trust herself, and she tries to be so fair in her work, then deeply fair, and emotional in her family. I know that sounds weird, but when people have asked me about the character, I'm like, "Wow! It's actually pushed me or forced me on a personal level, and also on a work and professional level, to step into parts of myself that I've wanted to embrace a little bit more. I feel so grateful for that, so I'm learning from Sarah's example (as a person).

In this episode, "Blood Chemistry," the squad must deal with this drug ring, and then there's Edwin's health scare. I was wondering how you all worked with Director Bosede Williams on that?

Oh my God! The director of the episode was incredible. We've been so lucky with all our directors; I feel like having these people, who have all become our family. They all step in with us, and they let us have the space to create while also guiding. I loved every single director we've had, because I feel they've allowed us to not only find our characters, but also taken on pushing us a little bit to dig deeper and find even more. We were incredibly blessed.

New episodes of Boston Blue, which also stars Donnie Wahlberg and Mika Amonsen, air Fridays on CBS.

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