New Interview: Robin Tunney talks about The Mentalist Season 5

I've translated the Chilean Interview of Lasegunda.com in which Robin talks about The Mentalist Season 5, and her career.

To read it, click on Read More.



June 9 Warner Channel will premiere in Chile The Mentalist Season 5, a series that has kept the audience's attention high since its beginning in 2008. The success' key? Put together intrigues - as in every good detective series- and play with the classic question: who is killer?

"During this season we are going to start unfolding that", Robin Tunney says to La Segunda. Robin Tunney plays Teresa Lisbon, the unit's boss in which Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) works as a consultant. In particular, Patrick Jane has one goal: find out who Red John is and catch him. Red John is the mysterious killer whose bloody curriculum includes the killing of Jane's family.

Tunney adds: "We will find out that Red John is among a list of seven people. It is going to be a very strong and dark season", giving the Latin-American fans a glimpse of a season that ended last night in the US television.

Q: Is the tension between Jane and Lisbon going to have a conclusion?
RT: There are strong feelings, either of friendship or of love. Our relantionship has changed over the time, and now Patrick is doing things for me, he's helping me. Teresa loves him.

But love doesn't come easily on "The Mentalist". Despite his charm Jane hides trauma and violence. And we can say the same thing for Lisbon, a woman who has been hardened by life.

"She's very strong. She's the boss, she tells everyone what they have to do. I like this side of her. I don't know what's going to happen at the end of the series, but I'd like to see Teresa totally honest with her feelings for Patrick. Also, I'd like her to stay alive. I wouldn't like to see her kidnapped by Red John and killed in a basement. It doesn't sound funny. But I'm confident, because Bruno Heller feels a lot of empathy for this character."

For Robin, The Mentalist has been a big challenge. "I had never played a character for so many years. Especially a character that inspires so many people around the world. It's incredible for me to think that there are people in Pakistan who watch the series... I feel very lucky. There are a lot of actors who are looking for a character with consistency, and a lot of series don't get to continue after the Pilot. Because of that, I'm very grateful. There is always a sense of fear of the unknown. You never know if you will be able to pay the bills in the future. This industry is very mysterious."

Despite her fears, Tunney is a consolidated actress. She began with series like "Class of 96, and "Law And Order", becoming a sort of icon of the '90s, thanks to "Epire Records" (1995), where she plays a depressed teenager who works in a record store. Two years after, she surprised everyone winning the Volpi Cup as Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, thanks to the Indipendent Film "Niagara, Niagara".

"At the moment, I don't have plans for the cinema. When the series will be over, I'll look for more things to do, but it's a very slow process and a studio film takes at least three months. I'd like to write and produce".

Q: You've began your career in the tv series. How much is the genre changed?
RT: Very much. The films that we see in these days are not based on the characters anymore. For this reason, good actors look for roles in the tv series, because they can play real characters, who can evolve with the time. I've recently read an article by director Steven Soderbergh, who says that there are more interesting actors in the tv world because the public likes complex characters. Like Bryan Cranston's role in "Breaking Bad"(a terminally ill person who makes cristal). A character like that would never have success in the cinema, because you can't have an immoral character there. In the tv series, you have the possibility to develop a character over the years. And the good actors ask for that. Nowadays, you go to the cinmea to watch 3D or Imax.

Q: A lot of people know you for "Empire Records". Do you miss the '90s?
RT:  The '90s were fascinating. And it's coming back, and that makes me feel old. "Grunge" is coming back in music and fashion; the new bands play like Pavement or Gin Blossoms... I had a great time being in that film, and being part of something that really captured the teenagers. Everyone liked my character: the punk girl who shaved her head. I loved the experience, but I don't know if such a movie would have success today. Although today I could be the old owner of a record store (laughs). That would be cool.