‘The Marksman’ Star Katheryn Winnick on Getting into Character, and Working with Liam Neeson

“I really wanted to make an impact and make strong choices and to add the heart in the relationship with Sarah and her father. I think that was important to have.”

“The Marksman” is a new action thriller starring Liam Neeson and Katheryn Winnick that follows a retired U.S. Marine named Jim (Neeson) living on a ranch in an Arizona border town who becomes the unlikely guardian of a young boy escaping a Mexican drug cartel. Jim must take the boy on a cross-country road trip to the only family he has left in Chicago with both the cartel and law enforcement in pursuit.

Winnick plays the role of Sarah, the step-daughter of Neeson’s character, who happens to be a border patrol agent. In the film, Sarah has a complex relationship with her stepfather, and struggles to really connect and communicate with him , but by the end ultimately must choose helping him and doing what is morally right over her work in border patrol.

Winnick is a seasoned Ukrainian-Canadian actress best known for her lead role in the hit historical drama television series “Vikings” as the shield-maiden Lagertha, as well as her recurring role as Hannah Burley on the crime comedy-drama “Bones.”

She is no stranger to movies, however, as she has featured in “The Dark Tower” with Idris Elba, the Netflix Original “Polar” with Mads Mikkelsen, and stars in the upcoming drama film “Flag Day” where she shares the screen with none other than Sean Penn.

When asked what drew her to play Sarah, Katheryn said, “I had one big reason to do this movie,  it was really to work with Liam Neeson. I’ve been a fan of his for ages, honestly, back to the “Taken” days and “Schindler’s List,” and for me just getting the chance to work with him and play his daughter was the main attraction.”

Katheryn went on to describe the other draws to this role, including the importance of the subject matter and the relationships within the film. “I think for me, as the story’s unfolded it’s also a very interesting topic with the border and a story really about him finding kinship with this young boy.”

When asked what it was like to work with Liam Neeson, Katheryn revealed just how great and kind of an actor Neeson really is behind-the-scenes. “It was nice to see that Liam was such a giving actor.” And to give a personal anecdote from the set, Katheryn had this story to share: “It was Liam Neeson’s only day off in weeks and he actually came in specifically, I was shocked to see him, he was in his joggers and he comes in and he’s like “I’m here for your off-camera lines”…He actually stayed on his day off just to read off-camera, just so I could hear his voice over the telephone. I thought that was really amazing of him, and definitely very giving as an actor and I commend him for it and it’s something that I look up to him for that and it really kind of set the tone for who he is as an artist and he has the heart to be the best actor possible.”

Despite being known for her two black belts and her propensity for action roles where she masterfully performs her own stunts and choreography, Katheryn spent the most time preparing for this role in developing and figuring out her character’s relationship with her stepfather. When asked about this, Katheryn said, “I definitely was trying to make the most of the scenes that I had…I really wanted to make an impact and make strong choices and to add the heart in the relationship with Sarah and her father. I think that was important to have. It wasn’t necessarily written on the page, but I thought it was really important to have the journey for herself to choose her family over her work, which is the final scene in the movie for her. I think it was important to really have somewhat of a glimpse into the relationship.”

Opening up about her experience on set and working with director Robert Lorenz, Katheryn said, “[Robert’s] very well-prepared, he’s very soft spoken, he knew what he wanted and he had faith in the actors to bring their best performance…without really getting too in their space, and really trusting the actors to make their choices…I enjoyed the vibe on set and I enjoyed my time with Robert.”

When asked about her character and what she did to channel Sarah, Katheryn said, “Sarah was very [nondescript] …you could make her anyway you want, it’s not like you know about her backstory. You don’t know if she’s married, you don’t know where she was born…so I could really make whatever creative choices I chose. I think the most important thing is that relationship that she really is trying to help out stepfather and really trying to help him find his way. I think that was the most important thing to me.”

Katheryn went on to describe her history in action roles, how she goes about choosing her roles moving forward and onward after “Vikings”, the future of cinema on streaming, and more.

“The Marksman” is playing at select theaters nationwide. Check out our full interview with Katheryn Winnick below.