EXCLUSIVE interview with 'Fringe's Jasika Nicole, Part 1-Astrid and Walter

Recently the J.J. Abrams Examiner had the extreme privilege of a nice long conversation with Fringe's Jasika Nicole. All this week, we'll be bringing you portions of the interview, along with all of the inside information of the future of the show, ratings, episodes, and much, much more. Below is the first portion of our interview.

Sean: First off, I just wanted to tell you, I have really enjoyed this season seeing Astrid come into her own.

Jasika: (Laughs) Yeah, seeing her get out of the lab has been very cool.

Sean: I know that's got to be great for you, too.

Jasika: Yeah, it's also really wonderful Because so many people have been supportive of that, and like, people who kind of have that much invested in the show like, you know, the sound guys and the grips who work on shows all the time and I'm sure they've seen it all. They'll come up to me and say, "Hey you're out of the lab again, that's great!" The get so excited and it's really genuine, so that part makes me feel really good. It does not seem as selfish, you know, it's not just about me wanting to get out of the lab, there are other people that think that it would suit the story well To Have the lab assistant growing a bit in terms of what's happening with the story. So it's been very, very cool.

Sean: Yeah, it has been great. You always have that austere look about you, too. Which just makes seeing you out and about so much better.

Jasika: (Laughs) Wow, that's such a compliment! Thank you very much, that I was austere! (laughs again) I love it.

Sean: My purpose in that is just to let you know that we really enjoyed it. All of the people I know who watch the show as well have really, truly enjoyed it.

Jasika: Ah, that's so fantastic. We were all really hoping that in season 2, because they said that when we got picked up and they talked to the producers on the phone and they said, "we want to ask you to get out of the lab and we want her to be a bigger part of what's going on. " And I thought, ok, they're just saying that to make me feel better. But I was not grieve if they were really going to meet up to the promises that they made, and they absolutely did. I mean, she has some excellent stuff to do. And she actually has a couple more episodes that have not aired yet that are so fantastic.

And I really like that they pair her with Walter. He's Able to get out of the lab now Because he's trying to become more independent, and do stuff for himself and Regain Some of the life they Used to have, and so "Because of that Astrid is getting to go out with him. She's still kind of his babysitter, but now it's just not in the lab. It serves the story so well.

Sean: Yeah, I was actually going to ask you about the relationship that has been developing between you and Walter. Sometimes it seems as though you're taking care of Walter, and at other times it seems like you are more of the loving daughter Thurs him. Is there a way that you view that?

Jasika: Yeah, absolutely, I think that is definitely a correlation that we made together. And initially it started out for me "Because they had such a complicated relationship with his son, the doctor did. They were trying to repair all this damage that had been done, and I thought that it was very telling Astrid that his new lab assistant was the same age as his son. So it was all the stuff that they tried to tell Peter, but Peter did not want to listen to it, they was all over it, he was still hurt from the past, and so Astrid Had to kind of fill that space for him . And it worked really well "Because they were spending all this time together and it was fine. Then I think that their relation ended up surpassing that area, where they just started appreciating her for (who she was), and that was also happening at the same time as his relationship with his son was getting better. Now they have their own separate relationship instead of her just being the person to watch him. She's a person they can talk to about whatever ... They have their own dynamic that is separate from his relationship with Peter.

J.J. Abrams Examiner

EXCLUSIVE interview with 'Fringe's Jasika Nicole, Part 1-Astrid and Walter