For Amy Acker, it was so much fun to revisit her native Texas on 9-1-1: Lone Star – if only in spirit since the FOX first-responder series is filmed in Los Angeles.
“I wish we got to actually shoot there, but there have been several scenes that really remind me of home,” reminisced Acker, who was born in Dallas and is an alumna of Lake Highlands High School and Southern Methodist University in University Park, TX (during her junior year at SMU, Acker was a model for J. Crew).
Best known for playing Winifred “Fred” Burkle and later the goddess Illyria on Seasons 2-5 of Angel, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, and Root on Person of Interest, Acker’s also been a regular on The Gifted, Alias, as well as the short-lived series Happy Town, and Drive (playing the wife of a pre-Castle Nathan Fillion). She’s also had recurring and guest roles on Dollhouse, All Rise, Suits, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, among others. In fact, she was a recent guest on the podcast Supernatural: Then and Now, hosted by Supernatural co-stars Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr.
A New Romance?
Earlier this month on 9-1-1: Lone Star – a spin-off of 9-1-1 – Acker began her recurring role as Catherine Harper, the chief of staff for the governor of Texas, who encounters Capt. Owen Strand (former Brat Packer Rob Lowe, who also serves as an executive producer).
“Owen and I go on a date from a dating app and it doesn’t go well,” said Acker.
While on their date, Lowe made a sly reference to his previous show, The West Wing, mentioning the “walk and talks,” where characters would walk down a corridor hurriedly and talk just as hurriedly.
“It was time for Owen to start trying to get back into the world on a personal level,” explained 9-1-1: Lone Star co-creator/executive producer Tim Minear. “We wanted to create a woman who was formidable and independent. Lone Star takes place in the Texas capital of Austin, so it seemed like an opportunity to acknowledge that. Hence, Catherine Harper.”
Minear had Acker in mind for Catherine.
“Because she’s awesome and it’s been way too long since we’ve worked together. And I had a feeling Rob and Amy would have chemistry. I was right,” he said. “The character… was written with Amy in mind. We had casting check to see if she was available before we even wrote anything.”
According to Minear, Catherine will be pivotal in helping Owen looking at various life-changing moments that have happened to him, along with some of his lingering behaviors with new eyes.
“And Owen will be drawn into a dangerous situation when Catherine is the target of what might be a politically motivated attack on the state capitol,” he said. “Owen will continue to cherish the 126 and defend it from forces great and small. And he will learn that, even though his past is full of those grateful for his service, he’s also made some enemies along the way – some potentially very dangerous ones.”
So will Catherine and Owen become a couple? Acker was coy.
“You’ll have to see,” she said. “I’m not sure what all I can reveal, but there’s a lot of really fun things coming up.”
A Reunion of Angel Stars
9-1-1: Lone Star also serves as a reunion for Acker and Minear. The two worked together on Angel, Dollhouse, and Drive.
“I adore Tim,” said Acker. “He is one of my all-time favorite people I’ve ever worked with, and I am so excited to get to do it again.”
In fact, Minear also had fellow Angel star Julie Benz in mind for her role on 9-1-1: Lone Star. Minear – who wrote/co-wrote the majority of the key episodes featuring Benz’s character, Darla, on Angel – cast Benz as Sadie, an artist and outdoorswoman, who meets Owen in this year’s season premiere.
“I loved working with both of them again,” said Minear, who left the door open for Benz to return.
Minear also pointed out that Acker and Benz aren’t the only Buffy/Angel stars to appear on 9-1-1: Lone Star this season in addition to Gina Torres (who played Jasmine on Angel and appeared on the short-lived cult classic Firefly, which Minear also wrote for), who is a regular on 9-1-1: Lone Star as Capt. Tommy Vega.
“Besides Gina, Amy, and Julie, Captain Tatum – Mateo’s (Julian Works) cranky interim captain – is played by Jack Conley, who played the demon Sahjhan on Angel; Brigid Brannagh, who was Wesley’s (Alexis Denisof) girlfriend in Season 2 of Angel, was the mother of the little boy who fell through the ice this year; and Harry Groener, Sunnydale’s Mayor (Richard Wilkins III on Season 3 of Buffy), was one half of the turtle-rescuing couple,” said Minear.
Acker, who has various projects she couldn’t talk about in the works, is having a great time on 9-1-1: Lone Star. She not only reunited with Minear, but also Rashad Raisani and Carly Soteras, both of whom wrote for The Gifted.
“So I knew it was going to be a lot of fun,” she said. “Then Tim gave me some episodes to watch, and I loved it! I mean, who isn’t a Rob Lowe fan? But everything about the show was executed so well, I was thrilled to get to be a part of it.”
