With just a few days to go before the Season One finale of Sullivan’s Crossing, airing Wednesday, December 13, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Morgan Kohan, who stars as Maggie Sullivan, about her role over the course of the season and what her character’s mindset is heading into the year’s final episode. You can read the interview below.
I want to begin by saying how much I have enjoyed your performance as Maggie Sullivan. I recognized right away that you knew this character through and through. Do you feel you had an advantage with the character already being established in the book series?
When I read the the first book it gave me a good idea of the circumstances of who she is and the relationships, but I think then I tried to really take it on myself and not put too much on what I thought that people would expect of me in that role. I think I was trying to make it my own. Hopefully who I am and what I bring to it made it work out properly.
Contrary to that, when creating the onscreen version of the character, where you are bringing to life not just the showrunner’s vision, yet also the original author’s vision, how much freedom did you feel you had to bring your own ideas, interpretation, and influence to Maggie Sullivan?
I felt very free to do that. Our showrunner Roma [Roth] is so collaborative. Whenever I have questions or ideas or I think maybe this scene could go more this way because of this having happened she is so open to it and is always wanting to make it work for everybody. I had a couple auditions for this role and I feel like I gave them my version of what I wanted to do, so once that was like, “Yes, we want you”, I felt confident in my choices of who I am and what I have to bring.
Over the course of the season, you brought so many layers with such subtle differences depending on whom your scene partner was. Maggie is different around different people, more guarded with some and less with others. How did you juggle all that, to know exactly where she is with that other person in that moment, especially when I expect you were filming scenes out of order?
[Laughs] Yes, we were definitely quite out of order. I just try and keep really good notes of where we are in timeline, where the relationship’s at, where we’ve just come from, what my last conversation with this person was like. So it’s like a lot of kind of [laughs] “Maggie-ish” organization on the backend to then prep for what that scene looks likes and where I’m at with that person.
You spoke of the collaboration with the showrunner. Was there the same kind of collaboration with the directors when going into those scenes? You got to work with director Gail Harvey on nearly half of the episodes. Did you enjoy the stability of having a single director to work with that often, or do you like having different directors rotate through that perhaps bring new ideas and perspective?
I think both are really interesting. I think it’s always an interesting balance to having new people come in and their version of what they want the episode to look like, but also being the same character through it all. You have to be able to hold on to what you know is true for you and be open to their notes and their ideas, and be able to take them, or be able to stand firm and say, “No, I think what I’ve developed that’s not quite the way she would go about it.” So it’s a really interesting learning experience of having both sides of that.
Your costar Scott Patterson said he took the role in part because it scared him. Was there anything about your role as Maggie that scared you, or any particular scene you were nervous to film?
I think I’m always scared. [Laughs] I think it’s a good way to do it. Because you’re scared of failure, I’m scared of living up to an expectation I have for myself and wanting to be able to deliver everyday. So I think it’s always scary, but that’s the fun of it, too. Seeing the scripts as they come out and what is being asked of you. I think the trick is being able to turn the fear into excitement and then try and attack it from there. But, yeah, I’m always a little scared.
Something that may have been scary, one of my favorite episodes was episode eight, where you and Chad Michael Murray’s character got to spend pretty much the entire episode getting to know one another. One scene in particular stood out: The Primal Scream therapy. When so much of being an actor is about that meticulous detail you spoke about, that control, especially with a character such as Maggie that is so composed, how do you approach a scene like that, where the object is to lose control?
That’s a good question. [Pauses] I think you just lean into it. That’s a vulnerable thing to do in front of a lot of people who are holding cameras and staring at you, but you just kind of have to let it go. The same thing as her, she has to let go in that moment and you as an actor have to let go and trust that all the work that you’ve done, and all the prep that you’ve done, and let parts of yourself into that moment and, you know, wherever you’re at. It was very cathartic for me, too.
The first season tackled many themes and ideas, including second chances, self control, and reconciling the past to move forward with the future, often accompanied by wise words from characters such as Roy, Cal, and Frank. Was there any idea or lesson from the show that you personally connected with that you’ve incorporated into your own life, or or paralleled your own experiences?
I think definitely I’ve taken that slowing down and being able to lean into simpler times is necessary and welcomed, and you do not need to be moving at 100% at all times to be a productive, good human being. And that the people you surround yourself with are so important, so telling to how you’re going to live your life and how you want to be seen in the world.
Heading into the finale with Maggie’s trial, part of me has wondered whether she wants to win. There’s been the tug-of-war between her two separate lives, her two paths to choose from. She’s been kind of avoidant of making decisions. Is she hoping the outcome of the trial decides everything for her? Can you give us an idea of what she is feeling going into that? Does she want to win?
I think no matter what, someone wants to win a trial. Because her license is on the line on top of it all, it’s not just the one thing. There’s so much more riding on it. But I think she’s very conflicted to how she feels about it all, too. Because she’s there at the trial with Phoebe and Walter and eventually Andrew and they’re all pushing to fight against this and it doesn’t matter how it impacted the other person, it doesn’t matter that what you did was right but they didn’t feel that way, or whatever, they’re all about the career and the goals and forget everything else. But she’s obviously changed over this time at the Crossing, so I think she’s really conflicted in how she feels about it all and where she stands in having to see Mrs. Markiff again having had this whole revelation in her part in all of this. But I think no matter what someone wants to be able to keep the job that they love and to make amends, so I think she’s very conflicted. It’s a tricky one.
A second part of my interview with Morgan Kohan will be posted here on KSiteTV later in the week, where she reflects on the events of the finale and even what we can expect from Season Two! Keep an eye out for that and do not forget to watch the finale Wednesday, December 13, at 8/7c on The CW, streaming free next day on The CW app. See some photos from “Sins of the Father” below.
