The Lostpedia Interview:Robin Weigert

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Sam McPherson is responsible for this interview.

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Robin Weigert is an actress who portrayed Juliet's sister, Rachel Carlson, who played a major role in two of her flashback episodes, "Not in Portland" and "One of Us". The interview was conducted over email, and was posted on August 24, 2008.

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Lostpedia: How did you come to be on Lost?

I came to be on Lost partly because I know some of the show's writers. I think it was Carlton who first thought of me for Rachel, because I carry myself a bit like Elizabeth Mitchell does in real life, so bear a bit of a resemblance to her. Some of the other characters I've played on TV or in films have been character parts that have involved physical transformation, so the resemblance wouldn't necessarily have been so apparent to people who didn't know me personally.

Lostpedia: Do you watch Lost? If so, are you a casual viewer or a more serious fan?

I'm a huge fan of the show. I watched the first season in a giant binge, one rented DVD after another. It was absolutely addictive. I've followed the show ever since, and thought this last season may well have been the best so far. We know these characters so well now and the writers and the actors keep delving deeper and deeper. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Lostpedia: What was it like working with Elizabeth Mitchell and the rest of the Lost cast and crew?

I adored working with Elizabeth Mitchell. She's a generous, kind woman who loves acting. I've rarely met an actress more thrilled to be doing exactly what she was doing, who had such a powerful sense of being in the right place at the right time, and it was a pleasure to be around her.

Lostpedia: Are there any interesting stories from your time on set?

I do have a funny story about working on the show, but its related to the weather. It was my first time ever in Waikiki and it was the day before I was supposed to shoot my first Rachel scene. I was staying way up high in one of those incredibly tall hotels they have there, maybe twenty-seventh floor. It was early in the morning and I was watching Battlestar Galactica in bed on my laptop with my new Bose headphones on, and was all caught up in this scene of Starbuck flying around in space, dodging and weaving. Somewhere in the middle of that action sequence, Hawaii was hit by an earthquake. I remember my first thought was, "Wow, these Bose headphones are amazing! I feel like I'm actually in the cockpit!" Then I sat bolt upright, "Wait a minute, that's not a cool visual effect amplified by a great sound system, that's actually my hotel room flying through space!" I still hadn't caught up with what was actually happening yet, having never been in an earthquake, and having certainly never experienced one on the twenty-seventh floor of a building built on rollers, so the first thing I had an instinct to do was rip off the Bose headphones and throw them down on the bed, as if I could make the motion stop if I could just get rid of the sound effects. What I heard next was a terrible noise; it was a kind of groaning, as if all of the building's core structural elements, steel, concrete, were grinding against each other. While the bottom of the building rolled to absorb the shock of the earth moving, the upper floors were, literally, soaring around through the sky. The curtains on the windows were actually swaying back and forth with the motion. I felt like an ant somewhere near the top of a pole very poorly balanced on the chin of a clown on a unicycle. I snapped into gear. Still in my pajamas, I grabbed my room key, slid on my flip flops and, steadying myself against the walls as I went, made my way down twenty-seven flights of unlit concrete stairwell. Once at the bottom, I ran through a lobby full of confused and disoriented people, onto the street, where it was pouring rain, and down to the ocean. All I knew was that I wanted to get away from all the tall buildings, since it seemed to me inevitable that they would be toppling to the ground any minute; having been in downtown NY on September 11th, 2001, I knew what a grizzly scene that would be. Only later did I learn that in the case of a tropical earthquake, the thing you need to fear most is tsunami. Running to the beach to escape the buildings was not the best move I could have made. Thankfully, there were no giant waves to swallow me up and, as I got wetter and wetter in my pajamas there in the rain, and as the rumbling earth seemed to have settled down somewhat (tiny aftershocks went on all day) I finally decided it was time to make my way back to the hotel, where I encountered the strangest scene... I was told there was no food to be had anywhere on the island and that some relief organization would be coming in the middle of the day with sandwiches. I was told I was not allowed to go back to my room because the stairwells were deemed unsafe. The power in the building was out, so candles and glow in the dark wands were lighting the way to the second floor where I was told I could get a cup of coffee. This coffee, as it turned out, was there courtesy of a revival meeting in full session. The cost of getting a cup was walking through a room full of people clapping their hands by candle light singing, "Kumbaya, my Lord!" I was so unsteady from the aftershocks, that I thought it best to rest for a moment, and as I sat huddled in the corner sipping coffee in my soaking wet pajamas, the singing portion of the meeting came to an end, and a member of the group stood up and started talking about the End of Days. The absurdity of the situation finally hit me, and I started to laugh. I thought, "I came to Hawaii to act in an episode of Lost, and here I am living one in real life!"

Lostpedia: What is your opinion on Juliet's story?

I find the character of Juliet fascinating. The audience spends many episodes wondering if her desire to get off the island has so distorted her ethics that she would be willing to do anything to get a ticket home. Though my part on the show was a small one, I think the relationship between Rachel and Juliet is an essential key to understanding Juliet's motivations, and is one of the main reasons the audience first learns to trust her. The devotion Juliet shows towards Rachel in that one episode allows the audience to sympathize with her need to return home. Also, once the audience understands that Juliet is fundamentally motivated by love, it also becomes plausible that her behavior can change drastically once that love attaches itself to people on the island.

Lostpedia: Do you think that Juliet will ever be reunited with Rachel and Rachel's son, Julian?

I hope that Juliet and Rachel are reunited, but have no idea after this season's finale if Juliet will ever make it off the island. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It would be a beautiful scene to play and, because I'm such a fan of the show, I can feel even now, in the pit of my stomach, just how emotional that scene would be.

Lostpedia: What acting work have you been doing since your time on Lost? Do you have anything planned for the future?

Though I was briefly on another series, much of the work I've done since Lost has been in movies, many of them yet to come out. In Charley Kaufman's new movie, "Synecdoche, New York" I play a tattooed German stripper named Olive, daughter to Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character, Cayden. In "Winged Creatures," which stars Forrest Whitaker, Dakota Fanning and Kate Beckensale, I play a mother whose son witnessed a terrible act of violence and who feels helpless to bring him back. I just finished two movies, one called "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" in which Julliane Moore and I play lovers, and another called "My One and Only" in which I play Renee Zellweger's sister. I'm waiting to hear about a possible recurring on another one of my favorite TV shows. Don't want to jinx it by saying what it is, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Lostpedia: Would you appear on a future episode of Lost if asked?

I would do another episode of Lost in a heartbeat.