The Tail Section

Last summer she was the obsession of any LOST fan with an internet connection, from cracking the evil Hanso Foundation’s armored networks, to her thug dodging web cam tussles, all the way to the shocking reveal of her identity as the illegitimate daughter of Alvar Hanso himself, the mysterious and beautiful Rachel Blake was without a doubt the center of The LOST Experience universe.  Almost a year later we caught up with the actress who brought life to the Experience’s Rachel,  Jamie Silberhartz, to get her reflections on what it is like to be an icon in the LOST-verse.

DocArzt: How did you wind up getting the role of Rachel?

Jamie Silberhartz:  This was a three-week audition process for the role of Rachel.  The third callback was actually for the comic-con confrontation.  Of course, I didn’t know that when I auditioned.  They asked me if I would be comfortable speaking in front of 2,000 people…I thought they meant set extras!

Did you know once the project started how your character was going to evolve?  From Persephone, to Rachel, to Alvar’s daughter?

I knew from the beginning how the character was going to evolve. The writers are brilliant, they had everything planned out from the get go.

Did you have friends or family that were into the game?  Was it tough keeping them in the dark.

It was very hard not telling people about the game. My friends and family are all LOST fans.  They would talk about the show and I could not say a word.

The ’street theater’ portion of the game, at comic-con, was definitely a high point for you performance wise.  Were you nervous?

I had always wanted to go to Comic-con.  So it was really a dream for me to go in such a capacity.  I was nervous leading up to it.  Yet, the second I got up there I had a great time!  That was the highlight of the project for me.

Were you/are you a LOST fan?

I was and am a HUGE LOST fan. I am pretty much a LOST geek, so getting the inside scoop was such a blast.

How did the game impact your public life?  Did people approach you a lot during the game?

I never got approached during the duration of the game, which is good because I wasn’t able to say anything.  Rachel was supposed to be in hiding, so I have no idea how I would have explained my being in Los Angeles.

Do have the sense that we will be seeing Rachel Blake again?

That is really a question for the producers, but I would play Rachel again in a heartbeat.  She is a fantastic woman who, I was proud to play.  I’d love to follow her story line

What kind of impact did your role in the game have on your career?
 
The show has such a great fan base.  It’s always a topic of conversation in any meeting I’ve had.   I feel lucky to have been part of LOST!

Where will we being seeing you next?
    
I am recurring on “Without a Trace” as Bonnie the FBI receptionist. I just shot an episode of “Derek and Simon,” directed by Bob Odenkirk that will be premiering on SuperDeluxe.com in May, and perhaps with enough fan support Rachel will again re-appear. 

So there you go folks, you know from my interview with Cuse and Lindelof that at this point there is no sequel planned.  If it is something you want to see happen, the time to start asking for it is right now!  Huge thanks to Jamie for taking the time to do the interview, and for helping keeping us LOST fans entertained last year.