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Spoilers follow for all eight episodes of3 Body Problemon Netflix.
Rosalind Chao came to her first day of work on3 Body Problemprepared to die.
A little too prepared, perhaps.
We get up there and its a cloudy day, says Chao.
Were at the end of the cliff, mind you, and its windy.
Its a really scary drop theres no other way to put it.
I know this sounds crazy, but he kept having to tell me to stop, she continues.
Hed put his hand up: Too far!
Thinking back on it, I kept inching Marlo closer to the edge.
The weather was not with us, and the wind almost knocked us over.
Both of our eyes were so big because we came so close to … She stops mid-sentence.
Created byThe Terror: Infamys Alexander Woo andGame of Throness David Benioff and D.B.
Its also the first time Chao has watched her own work in decades.
Theres so much going on in this show that its hard to know where to begin.
Im kind of judgy, and its something I work on.
And given the way the world is right now, that sort of empathy is so important.
The need for empathys an interesting point.
But the pro-alien characters arent necessarily evil at all.Yes, exactly.
Ive been around people who are, for lack of a better word, enthusiasts.
One would be drawn to that if you feel that everything has fallen apart for you.
God, this is the first time Ive thought of that.
I guess people thought I seemed vulnerable to that.
Were you?No.
I mean, I had a really close family.
I think I appeared to be very naive, and I used to spend a lot of time alone.
I was very shy, a solitary person, and I think that emanated from me.
Look at me blaming myself.
Ye is fascinating because cults teach everyone theyre special, but she really is special.
My daughters a musician, and a lot of her teachers were like that.
Theres a sense of themselves, a confidence in their decision-making and moving forward in their field.
They dont question themselves like those of us who arent prodigies.
The show is predicated on the question of how or if people come together during times of crisis.
But in reality, we can see how.
Can we come together?
Im an optimist, and I like to believe that when push comes to shove, we can.
I do love that the show depicts the opportunity to come together to save humanity.
But its challenging to see, isnt it?
Ye does not give up, and thats what I love about her.
Even after she realizes shes been betrayed, she leaves Saul with a nugget.
What he does with it, well find out.
Im realizing now that Ye and Saul are parallel characters.
But she does have this break where shes confronted with the fact that the San-Ti view humanity as vermin.
To me, it was challenging because Ye has such a big thick mask on all the way through.
I never thought about it I just tried to keep that mask on.
Well, to suppress the part trying to hasten the alien conquest.
To lie by omission, lets say.Right.
Shes more of a shape-shifter.
Its not that she doesnt care about Saul or Jin or her daughter.
She doesnt think of it as a lie; she thinks of it as anadjustment.
To save the world.
It reminded me of the maladaptive behaviors people will adopt to survive abusive households.Exactly.
Ive noticed that friends whove been raised in that sort of environment have a really good mask.
And Ye is definitely the result of generational trauma, so its in her bones.
I dont think she thinks,Im going to lie.
She knows how to get what she needs.
What are you thinking about right now, Roz?
Im thinking about lunch.
Instead of not giving, it was trying to turn off my transparency.
Usually, as an actor, transparency is a benefit.
This was a good exercise for me to learn how to shut that down.
Lets put it in a more positive way: to put up the shield.
She really felt like a different person.
Also, I felt confident in I call them the boys, but theyre grown men.
Dan and David were there all the time, on set, at the monitor.
I really trust them, so I didnt feel nervous.
And I didnt want to miss out, because I missed out on watchingGame of Thrones.
My kids loveGame of Thrones.
My son was like, Maybe you should watch that beforehand.
But I had met them, and I knew it was going to be a unique experience.
Theyre so smart, and theyre very empathetic to actors.
Iwillbe intimidated by them.
I really tease poor David, probably more than anybody will I not feel comfortable anymore?
But that was the gist of the whole shoot.
They moved my first day because it was my daughters graduation.
When I thanked David, he said, Well,Iwouldnt want to miss my daughters graduation.
And director Jeremy Podeswa was so calm on that cliff.
They made me feel like it was all possible.
It takes away all your fear.
And they kept us safe.
Yeah, you didnt fall off the cliff.
Thats one for them.Despite my stupidity!
But I had no fear with them.
I have not had that experience before.
Theyve given me a new horizon, workwise.
Theyve made me braver.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
