Find out what Dichen Lachman revealed about shooting her daring sword duel in Altered Carbon . Get a glimpse into the preparation and minds...
Find out what Dichen Lachman revealed about shooting her daring sword duel in Altered Carbon. Get a glimpse into the preparation and mindset behind the iconic scene. The rich sci-fi thriller Altered Carbon by Netflix is full of new action scenes, starting with a duel at zero gravity to the death and ending with a confrontation inside a torture chamber in an imaginary reality. However, perhaps the most compelling and the most talked about scene is when Det. Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda) stands up to an almost immortal, naked, and armed with a sword, Reileen Kawahara (Dichen Lachman), and her army of lethal doppelgangers.
Showrunner Laeta Kalogridis says that in society we equate female nudity to shame, vulnerability and to sex. In this sequence I was trying to achieve an expression of something no one would usually think of as female nudity in the contemporary United States and that is power, not sexual power, but the physical seizure of power of your body that women are not really permitted to do. In our narration, Meths [rich individuals who live hundreds of years by possessing new bodies] think they have turned into gods. You would like to purchase in this scene that Reileen is a kind of god about at all levels, right up to the area where you cannot kill her. Whenever you kill her, she comes back and she always comes back just better and better. Dichen is a mother and a fantastic consummate professional actor who trained herself to the extent that she believed in all possible levels that she is otherworldly.... The horrifying and beautiful thing about her is that she is completely un-self-conscious and it is due to this that, she is even more powerful. Being--and I hope, being--something different than anything you ever saw before.
Lachman (The 100, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) confesses to removing the bold sequence below and includes some pretty amusing production stories (where appropriate to those who might be upset by being spoiled) on the same.
DICHEN LACHMAN:
When I originally auditioned on tape at home there was very little I knew. I did not use a script, I only had provisional sides. I had forgotten about it, and after the lapse of three months they called and said whether I wanted to do it. I requested to see the script and they just sent one episode, and Reileen did not feature in it much. I had no idea about my personality, so I felt excited about the script and the individuals involved in the project.
Have you made any pre plans to the fights or otherwise to prepare yourself physically to play a role where you are portraying somebody who is hundreds of years old?
There was, yes, a great deal of preparation. My daughter was two by this time and I was back in shape but not in the same way that Reileen has to be in shape. I began to train on my own, and they began to train me on the techniques of sword fighting, and the physical aspects in which I was to be engaged. That was very intense. I have never dealt with a sword so far, just a few episodes on The 100. The manner in which a TV network operates, there is not much time and they have a stunt person performing much of your work. However [Altered Carbon producers] were determined to make the fight scenes incredible, as good as they can be, they wanted us to do as much as we can ourselves. Three months of training, hours, hours a day, learning that choreography, learning to get the lines of the sword correct, learning how to respond when somebody hits you.
I have never really considered that, although acting to be hit in a realistic fashion must be somewhat challenging to achieve.
Oh, yes, and you are an ass! When you are only doing the choreography on your own, you feel very silly. Yet on the screen it is spectacular.
And then the first thing that came to your mind when you heard about the scene of the attack of the clones?
At that time I had received four scripts. And as I was heading home after training one of the producers called me and in a very careful manner informed me that there was going to be naked sword fight. I recall that I bent my head forward, in shock, and said, Oh! Before registering, I was unaware of it. And, of course, they were asking me whether I was comfortable with it. They were not advising me to do it. They were questioning whether I was fine doing it since this is the way the story is unfolding and this is a very great moment.
And what was your response?
Firstly, in a situation when you are being requested to be entirely nude, you are going to see your insecurities, all those tiny aspects of yourself that you do not like. I know even those who are blessed with unbelievable envious bodies are insecure of them in some respect. It is the first thing that came to my mind. Then they sent me the script and I remained nervous but began to become excited as well. Since as a woman, or perhaps this is part of what causes the trouble in our society, I had imagined that eventually I would be naked on screen but in a different manner, as in a sex scene, or as a manipulated object. But Reileen was fighting in this scene. And that was another woman that she was fighting, and it excited me as well. I consulted my family and reflected on it and began to feel strong because of the opportunity. I began to work harder and strive. When we finally did it I had four or five months of training behind me and felt good about it. I still felt insecurities but the character made me overcome that- since Reileen is not insecure in that way.
It appears as though it is one of such sequences whereby you are required to shoot each clone individually in numerous angles that might take a long period to shoot.
It took a long time. It was a scene that was very complicated. It grows tiresome when you are walking around with your bare feet four days. I had to first of all find eight girls who were physically like me. They would enter and we would talk of whether they were comfortable with the idea and all the men would have to leave the room. I was forced to stand near them and the female crew members would make decisions whether we were the right shape, our skin color was suitable and so on.
That had to be bizarre.
It was, and it was a wonderful bonding experience too. They also needed to locate two stunt performers, who were not afraid to be naked in the scene- and that was extremely difficult. Stuntwomen are hard to deal with as there is usually no room to pad a lady as much as they need to be given their dispositions. And with naked you can do no padding at all and so should you not fall right you can break yourself badly. Stuntwomen are ruddy and yet humble, and it is such a huge breakthrough to them. There was no easy way to find a girl who could skillfully wield a sword and who was ready to perform the scene naked and had the body type comparable to mine. Although I do most of the fighting, they did not have me jumping out of the glass pods since this is not safe, and I am a liability. It also had a flip which the stunt girls had to perform.
And this is amusing: We had to also make the merkin--a wig up there. We had to determine what it appeared like and how I had to feel comfortable. I also talked to the stunt girls in regards to the design since I did not want to be the only one who was comfortable with the design. It had a lot of people who had to be naked and doing all sorts of things and in various positions. The merkin was made by one of the best wigmakers in the business and I recall seeing it first and it was simply too long. I was in the trailer a total of one point fifty and thirty minutes with the makeup girls attempting to model and cut the trailer to make it not distracting. Otherwise, I would be suffering the appearance of a small animal.
Yeeeah, it is a show that takes place 300 years in the future, you would not assume that would be a trendy appearance.
It was a throwback to the '70s! I had a desire to rehearse the scene first and appear naked [on set] in front of the couple of people that I felt safe with. This way, by the day we started shooting I had already done it--I had already gotten the nudity over with. and there I stood toddling along there naked with my fingers and telling all of us that we must do something about this it was so distracting. Okay on the day itself, it was alright. It was fine-fine, but part of my nerves had gone away and there was in their place: How are we going to do this with the time we have to do it?
I suppose you were not really walking on all the broken glass?
It was made of silicone. This was counterfeit and when you stood on it, was turned to sand and then so slippery like black ice. So when you are filming a fight scene where people are fighting without shoes and everybody is sliding it is dangerous to everybody. And there you have the bodies lying about.
One of the stupid things is that when I eat I end up with a belly; a belly sticks out. The character does not fit in with Reileen having a belly when she just ate a couple burgers. Therefore, the food that I had eaten in those days was so little, thus, I was hungry, I was emotional, I was tired. And, yet, I was so grateful that I got an opportunity to do so and the people around me could not be more supportive. When I did it--which I had not supposed this at all--I felt like anything, like I was quite strong indeed. That was really a gift.
Have you watched the complete cut of the scene with it all assemblaged?
I think I saw the finished cut. I keep my hands over my face and watch, I can hardly be objective. I think it passes so fast. I do not know whether that is because in my case it was the eternity [to shoot]. It seems to me that I fought this battle, and then on your screen you can pass so quick, but I guess it is only an impression of mine. I wish that people will also like it and will not judge it so badly since many people made it many efforts and it was very expensive to do emotionally. It is a serious scene as well since it is the only one where Reileen is seen to communicate to someone besides her brother. She is a loner, she is constantly in the shadow, she has the Ghost and the Ghost is her eyes and ears, she does not really communicate with many people.
What was the hardest or the most fun part of the film to shoot? Below are warnings about the finale:
Obviously the naked fight. However when it comes to the character, that last scene when she tells Kovacs that she supported Quellcrist prior to the bombing is actually one of the most critical moments. It actually demonstrates the extent of her love to her brother regardless of her jealousy towards Quell. Reileen would prefer to have her brother to herself in an incestuous manner. She realizes and comprehends the extent of his love towards Quell and she knows he has to make Quell happy. So to me the fact that she supported her is enormous. It reveals that she is a devoted person and she really believes that people should have an opportunity to decide whether they should live or not forever. It is kind of freedom of speech to her.
That is interesting since when you have spoken with Laeta, that scene is ambiguous in regards to whether Reileen is lying to her brother or telling the truth however in the acting of the said character you are acting like she is telling the truth.
I suppose you are correct, it depends on the way you want to interpret it. But I could never doubt that she was lying because I pegged a little piece of humanity which I had left on her.
What goes through her head at the very end?
He seems to have blown her out of proportion. After all she is glad she died with him. That is what she has been struggling centuries long. This is one of the reasons as to why I believe she has left him on ice so long and has not gone and gotten him, she has had power long enough she is so scared to say to him what she has done. It is like having a kid that admired you who may be furious with you because of something you did and you are too scared to tell them because they do not understand.
Are we going to see Reileen somehow in season 2?
I'm not sure. We do not actually get in the loop. I hope so. I liked playing Reileen and she is a very complicated character and there is much in it. I would like to have the opportunity, which is yet to be determined. The other aspect I enjoyed is that these women in this story are actually making it go. Kovacs also does not want to go back. The show is more like a theatrical show which lasts 10 hours in which the women are driving the story and that is exciting to me. And, being an Asian person, it is also thrilling to perform such a central role. We are witnessing more of that and it is pleasant to witness more balance.
FAQs
Who is Dichen Lachman married to?
Dichen Lachman is married to actor and director Max Osinski. The couple got married in 2015 and have one child together.
What is Dichen Lachman's ethnicity?
Dichen Lachman is of mixed ethnicity — her mother is Tibetan, and her father is Australian of German descent.
Is Dichen Lachman in The 100?
Yes, Dichen Lachman appeared in the TV series The 100, where she played the character Anya, a Grounder leader, in the early seasons of the show.
Who is Dichen Lachman?
Dichen Lachman is an Australian actress and producer known for her roles in Dollhouse, Altered Carbon, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Severance. She is recognized for her versatility and multicultural background.