One of the many shows screened this year at theATX Television Festivallast weekend was Condor, which premiered June 6th onAT&T AUDIENCE Network.
The spy thriller, which is based on the novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady and screenplay Three Days of the Condor by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel, follows a young CIA analyst who stumbles onto a brilliant plan that threatens the lives of millions.
I sat down with Katherine Cunningham, who plays the role of Kathy Hale, during the festival to discuss her role on the new series.
Cunningham said one of the reasons she was excited to be part of the show was because of its intensity.
“I’m just such a goofy person. I’m just such a goofball, and I laugh a lot and I play a lot of video games and I’m really into sci-fi, and it’s always really exciting for me when I audition for something that is so opposite of who I am as a person. There’s something about getting to explore all that drama and all that intensity and suspense, which I shy away from in real life,” Cunningham explained.
Cunningham is also proud that the series portrays strong women.
“We are living in a fabuloustime for women in the industry. There’s just good writing for women, and I think that the writers are also receptive to hearing what the actresses want and desire,” she explained.
“I think you see that in the show. The women, they’re all objective-driven, smart women. We’ve got a lawyer, a doctor, head of the CIA. It’s exciting and an honor to be a part of a show that has that.”
If you’ve already seen Condor, you also know that the premise of the show is very much centered on the theme of trust as it moves through its complex story.
“I think the themes the distrust and lying are probably always been relevant. People don’t trust each other, people lie to each other all the time. People lie to themselves all the time,” Cunningham noted. For her, that’s one of the reasons the show is particularly relevant.
“This show for me, specifically, was really personal and really spoke to me in that we need to be talking to each other. We need to be being honest with ourselves and with others; because when you’re not honest, you lose your moral compass. The more you lie, the more you lie, the more you lie, the less you are yourself. You lose yourself in that. And that’s what happened in this show. All these people lying. They’re okay with it, and then they’re doing terrible things. I think the world would be a better place if we all were just honest with each other.”
Cunningham also spoke to a powerful scene from Condor Season 1 Episode 2, “The Solution to All Problems.” Her character, Kathy, opens her home to Joe, only to find herself fearing for her life.
“Filming that scene was difficult and personal for me, and I think you can see that when you watch it. And we did it for a long time, we filmed that scene for a long time,” Cunningham stated. “There’s a weird part of me that’s grateful that I got to do it.”
“I will say any time that I get to do a physical scene, that’s always really exciting for me. Fight scenes, anything of that nature. It’s really fun,” Cunningham added.
“I trained in martial arts for five days a week for a good year and a half, until I ended up moving to Los Angeles about a year ago,” she shared.
“I love the physical aspect of fighting for yourself. There’s something about how Kathy — she doesn’t know that she’s a fighter. She really has no idea that her instinct to survive is so big. Which I think is so beautiful about her because she’s so sad and so dissatisfied. And I think a lot of people are like that. I think a lot of people go to work, they come home, they sit in front of their TVs — thank goodness they do that. But they don’t get up and live their lives. I think it’s really beautiful to watch Kathy instinctually just fight, and she didn’t know she had that in her.”
Cunningham also gave a few hints as to what we can expect from the remainder of the season.
“You are going to get something that’s very exciting to watch, you’re going to be on the edge of your seat, and you’re also going to have the pleasure of watching a lot of growth. These characters are going to grow a lot in ways that are unexpected,” she said.
Finally, coming full circle in a way, Cunningham shared a television series that made an impact on her early in her life: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
“Oh my goodness. I remember getting home from school and sitting at the TV, and being so angry on days Power Rangers wasn’t playing. It’s so funny, I think I do have a thing about fighting. I really like martial arts and I really like seeing these girls, especially then in the 90s, in the 90s when that wasn’t a thing. Seeing these girls, these strong, fun, also nerdy girls kicking butt.”
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Be sure to catch Katherine Cunningham on Condor, airing Wednesdays at 10/9c on AT&T AUDIENCE Network.
Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here.There is still more to come!
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.