Sabrina Lloyd Interview with The Trekker on April, 1996

Kathy (K): You`re in L.A. now, Sabrina?

Sabrina (S): Yes, I just got caught up in a traffic jam. The difference between here and New York is, while here I`m driving, in New York I don`t drive. I let the cab drivers do the driving, they can do it all. (Laughter). Here it`s terrifying.

K: How long are you going to be there?

S: I`m just here until tomorrow. Then I`m going back to New York for a couple of days, and then I`m going to Vancouver.

K: That`s where you`re going to be filming?

S: Yes.

K: How often do you go to New York, do you go for the summers?

S: Yeah, I live in New york, so I base myself out there, so I`m pretty much there shooting. I`m pretty much there in the summer time. I seem to be filming in the winters a lot.

K: I was in New York recently.

S: Really! Where were you?

K: I went to see Patrick Stewart in The Tempest.

S: Oh, how was it?

K: It was so beautiful. I don`t think I`ll ever see The Tempest like that again. It was gorgeous, the special effects, the music, and Patrick`s forceful acting.

S: I heard it`s amazing, I just have not gotten a chance to see it.

K: It will be there for twelve weeks. This was the second week, so you have lots of time.

S: I`ll be in Vancouver, won`t be able to see it. I`ll probably be able to catch it the next time.

K: You started acting at the age of twelve, in Annie, and you did other musicals.

S: Mostly musical theatre.

K: That`s exciting. Are you musically inclined? Why do you like playing in theatre?

S: Yeah, I am musical and I enjoy theatre, but I never wanted to just do theatre. I always wanted to go into film. I love film. I loved growing up in the treatre, but I always wanted to do film all along. But, I still pursue music separately.

K: In what way?

S: I write my own music, I play guitar.

K: That`s great! I taught piano for 18 years, it`s all the same creative stuff.

S: I`ve always wanted to play the piano, but it`s the instrument I`ve never gotten to.

K: Since you travel so much, the guitar is probably best.

S: Much easier to take with me then a piano. (Laughter).

K: (Laughter). Yes. Unless you`re like the fellow in the movie Big, when he (Tom Hanks) opened up the large piano and rolled it out. Was acting your idea in the first place? Did your parents encourage you, how did it happen?

S: I grew up with my mother and she was the one who actually pushed me into the theatre. She thought I had a lot of (pause) energy, I guess would be a good word for it.

K: She wanted you to focus it in that way.

S: She wanted to focus it somewhere. I tried horseback riding. I was a big horse rider and did a lot of horse showing. But, as soon as I tried acting on the stage, I said, "this is it!" I pretty much have known my whole life what I wanted to do.

K: I think actors are usually better when first trained in theatre.

S: I feel really fortunate that I`ve grown up in the theatre. I think it`s definitely helped.

K: You like animals a lot, you worked with horses. Tracy Torme likes animals a lot also. We met in the Florida keys with his fiancee to swim with the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center.

S: Great place to film.

K: It was outrageous fun.

S: That sounds wonderful!

K: Your first feature was Chain of Desire and then you did Father Hood. What was your favourite role, besides Sliders?

S: Father Hood was great. I`d have to say the movie Heidi Leiter which was the character I played. It was an HBO special, and it was the part of their series called Families in Crisis. It was based on two incidents. It was a story about this girl who took her girlfriend to the junior prom in Virginia a few years ago. It`s about her trying to come out in a small town as a lesbian. That was probably my favourite role. We were nominated for two Emmys for that. It was pretty wonderful.

K: That`s exciting. Congratulations!

S: It was VERY beautifully shot and a beautiful story.

K: What are your hobbies off screen? You said you like to play guitar?

S: Yes, I love to play guitar, and I LOVE nature. I`m a big nature buff, I love to hike, backpack, any water sport. I grew up in Florida, so I`m a huge water person.

K: What part of Florida?

S: Outside of Orlando.

K: There`s a lot of filmmaking going on in Florida right now. When you have your days off, what do you like to do? Do you snorkel and scuba dive?

S: I try to. unfortunately, I can`t do that sort of thing living in the city. But, I definitely snorkel. Right after we finished shooting last time, I went to Abercoast Islands in the Bahamas. I went snorkeling, it`s just beautiful.

K: I just did that for the first time this summer. To avoid getting sick next time, I`ll have to get a plane to drop me right off at the spot, so I won`t have to get there by boat. (Laughter). It was gorgeous.

S: (Laughter). yeah, good idea.

K: Do you like to write? You write songs.

S: I write music. I tried to sit down and wrote a novella. So many of my friends say I`m good at writing. I thought, "Maybe I could try to write." It`s something that I`m just starting to get into, it would be interesting to see where it goes.

K: What kind of music do you like?

S: I like Rock and Roll.

K: Your fans will be pushing you to make a record, you better start getting ready. (Laughter).

S: You`re right. (Laughter).

K: I interviewed Tim Russ (Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager) a while ago and he does the same thing as you. He`s a musician and on his days off he often plays guitar and sings. It`s a good outlet. You play a strong, self sufficient woman. The Sliders writers put that into the scripts and don`t make you the weak woman type. I think that`s terrific. Do you like that about your character?

S: Yes! Definitely. We have even been speaking recently about making her even stronger. As the woman on the show, I`m very animated about her having her own voice and really it`s going to be even more so this time around. She`s definitely going to have a lot to say! (Laughter).

K: Good! It`s about time they are doing that in film.

S: Yeah, it is good. I think so too. And fortunately they are really open to my suggestions. Really open to make her more vocal, more aggressive in what she wants. She`s going to blossom a lot, I think.

K: I love your character. She`s very strong and has a lot of chemistry with the others.

S: Yeah, we love each other. I think that`s one of the things that makes the show so great, is that the four of us have a great relationship.

K: I think that`s one of the reasons the fans pushed to bring it back, because of the chemistry.

S: Which they helped so much with that!

K: I was part of that Internet uprising.

S: Really? Thank you!

K: I think it`s such a good show, and intellectual too. And it`s a good theory too, jumping into other parallel universes.

S: I think it`s great. I`d watch it even if I wasn`t in it.

K: It`s the kind of series you get addicted to watching. I go out of my way to try not to miss it. I know a lot of people are waiting, for it to come back. Do you ever sit back and think of a good script for Sliders, anything come into your mind for an episode, any ideas? Any particulars you would personally put into the scripts?

S: Sometimes. We sometimes all sit around and think and talk about it like, "wouldn`t it be cool if," or "what if?," you know. I have actually wanted to sit down and try to write a story line. But when we`re filming, I`m so caught up in what we`re shooting and the story that we`re on, it`s kind of hard to leave that and try. I mean, yeah, I`m really into this. I`d really like to go into a world where we would have alien contact. I`m a big alien buff. A HUGE alien buff! So, whenever they ask me about any story, I say, "I just want to see aliens somewhere on the show!"

K: That`s terrific! I know everybody would love that. Pitch that one to Tracy! Do you have a favourite episode you were on? Jerry said during an interview that his favourite was the sports one, where he was the sports star.

S: Oh right! (Laughter). Me? I thought, "nah, who wants to be a sports star?"

K: (Laughter) Which one was yours?

S: I LOVED the pilot. That`s probably my favourite. I just loved that. Out of the episodes probably either the Prince of Wails, which was when the British stayed in America. That one, or The Luck of the Draw. Intellectually, I thought the last one was the best. I thought it was an interesting story that we did because it shows this world where people volunteer to die to control the population. I found that to be the most interesting one of all of them.

K: I was wondering what you thought of that as a topic.

S: I loved it. It was so powerful, because it wasn`t like the world was rebelling against this thing. It was like the way society was and people accepted it.

K: yes, it`s odd, population control. That sort of thing it addressed. And also that people should speak up when they think something is wrong in society. Changes happen because people question, speak up. That was a great stroy. Where were you and how did you react when you heard Sliders was renewed?

S: It wasn`t like, "Oh my gosh, I can`t believe it." It was like, "You didn`t get picked up in the fall schedule." But, still I had a LOT of calls in that said, "Don`t worry. We`re probably going to be picked up again."

K: So you kind of had an indication.

S: Yes, I did have an inside scoop. And I kind of heard it was almost official before it was official. So, when I finally heard the official new at home, I just felt relief!

K: The fans were extremely excited because they were pushing in on the Internet.

S: Yes, I was told that FOX was flooded with calls and letters and that made me really happy.

K: When you tried out for the part, I assume it was for Wade, because she`s the only female. What was that day like? Was Tracy there?

S: The first time I read it, I knew I was going to get it. I thought, "This character is me!" I haven`t felt that connected to a character probably since Father Hood, which I knew I would get. Just because that character was me. So I was reading it and inside I knew this character was me! I`m going to get this!

K: Having that positive attitude helps. (Laughter).

S: Right! Maybe if I went into every audition like that, I`d be working more. (Laughter).

K: I think you get the right ones that are perfect for you.

S: I think you know. I auditioned for so many pilots that year and sometimes felt, I`m not going to get this, they are just not looking for me. And I read Sliders and I fell in love with it, because I am a huge science-fiction buff! I thought, "Yes, this is a science-fiction show! Oh, my gosh! I would love to do a science-fiction show!" And then I read the character and I said, "Woo, this is so perfect! The first time I went in, it was just on tape with the casting director. And they put me on tape. And then I found the producer wanted to show me to the director and see who I am. And then I went in again for them and they said I was hired.

K: That`s great. Would you like Wade`s character to develop any way? Any traits or hobbies, maybe showing more of her family. We had a little of Jerry`s (Quinn) but we don`t see yours too much.

S: We`ve never even dug into Wade`s family too deep. We were almost going to see Wade`s family in an episode but it just never made it to the final draft.

K: That would be nice.

S: I`m not really sure if they are going to do anything with that.

K: It probably depends on how long the series runs.

S: Sure, I think if the show`s a success, they will go there at some point. What I would like to see more of, what we were talking about today, she was kind of young. "The girl next door," with her family a lot. I think this experience really opened her eyes! It`s going to be a little bit more of a wild show. She`s definitely going to be a little more wild. She`s on this adventure.

K: Do you remember the flower child episode, that was great.

S: Yeah! That was probably my favourite episode! Because I got to be treated like a Goddess. (Laughter).

K: That was really "cool."

S: Yes, and fun.

K: Do you like the science end, the parallel universe theory in the series?

S: Yeah, I love it! It`s cool. I was reading a great book on the subject before we started called, Parallel universes. And it was based on quantum theory. How it could actually fit, scientifically.

K: It is possible. That`s why it`s so exciting to watch Sliders. Because it`s possible. It`s not like some shows that didn`t do well because they were too cartoonish or too much fantasy. With your show, the concepts are possible. There are black holes.

S: Yeah, exactly! Black holes could easily compare with it.

K: There could be time folds, and many other possibilities that surround us. Scientists have many theories that explain how these things are possible. You read some books about that, and you liked it?

S: Yes, I love it. I love it.

K: You like science-fiction?

S: Oh yeah! The X-Files is my favourite show!

K: That`s one of my few favourites as well. Besides yours. (Laughter).

S: The X-Files and Nowhere Man, love that show. Have you seen it?

K: Yes and I love it too. Nowhere Man is one of our recent reviews we featured. The scripts and main character (Thomas Veil plyed by Bruce Greenwood) is just spectacular.

S: I love it! I think it`s really smart and intelligent.

K: It is. And it`s cast very well.

S: I love him! You know, he has to be really charismatic to be the only true lead on the show. One man.

K: That`s so true. They have to keep on intoducing other people. I interviewed Tracy Torme, and he said he almost got arrested for sneaking onto Area 51 looking to see just what was going on there. UFO study, or what he may find in that secretive place. Do you believe in UFOs? Do you think about that?

S: Oh, absolutely! I believe in them. I think anybody would have to be with out common sense to think there weren`t aliens. There are billions of planets, and I am convinced Earth is not the only one that`s inhabited. It would be quite an ego trip to think that. I think about it all the time. So many people get to see them, and I get so upset sometimes because I think, "here I am, in the belief of aliens and would love to see them. Here we have all these people that live in the mid-west that don`t even necessarily believe in them, getting to see them! Wait a minute, this isn`t fair!"

K: You go to Vancouver in all those great dark night spots around there. I am into astronomy and I bring my telescope out. I spotted two UFOs above my old house and they were following each other.

S: Really! You saw to UFOs?

K: Yes, and I brought someone out to witness it, and then I called the police and tried to report a sighting. That was before they had these new hotlines, 24 hour numbers and that sort of thing. It`s better nowadays if you spot something, because it can be documented properly.

S: Right. I was at a lake with a friend of mine this summer and she said that she saw a UFO in the sky. It was in New Jersey, believe it or not. I didn`t know aliens would be in New Jersey.

K: Well, it is a busy place, so who knows? Maybe we`ll know pretty soon.

S: I hope so! I think we will, hopefully by the end of our lifetime.

K: Arthur C. Clark said, "Within the next twenty years, we should know."

S: Yeah. I think we do know.

K: We just need some real proof. Let`s talk about your "Jerry Chemistry." You really have a great chemistry with him, like Fox and Scully have on The X-Files. You and Jerry have that. Why do you think that is? Jerry said he thinks it`s because you both are from New York.

S: (Laughter). Jerry`s right! It`s that New york camaraderie. We look at each other and think, "Yeah, we`re the New Yorkers on the set. We have to stick together." But, you know I think we just generally get along. He`s a very easy person to get along with. He really is. I am too. We`re both in there to just do a great job and we love the show, and we`re New Yorkers.

K: Both used to a fast pace.

S: Yes, exactly.

K: Would you like to see any more love triangles with Quinn? I`m asking this because a lot of the fans like that.

S: They do?

K: Yes, and some don`t as well.

S: No, I think actually we`re going to be going away from that a little bit. Wade has come to a point now where she`s not really the little love-sick girl.

K: Like she was in the beginning?

S: Yeah, she`s come to terms with their relationship and I think we`ll see Wade with different love interests, as well you`ll see Quinn in a different love interests. I don`t think their relationship is going to go anywhere.

K: Like it was in the cliffhanger.

S: Yes, exactly. It`s that whole love-sick girl who likes the guy or the guy who loves the girl. I think the writers and I agree it`s been played out many times and it`s just not very interesting anymore. I`d like to see Wade be much stronger then that and I think many other people agree.

K: He accepts you as a strong woman. Would you be attracted to someone like Quinn, in real life, the serious, studious type? What kind of men are you attracted to in real life?

S: I think it`s got to be a balance, artistic of course. Intellectual absolutely. Adventurous. I could not possibly be interested in one type. I think I just like men in general! (Laughter).

K: (Laughter) How old are you?

S: I`m almost twenty five.

K: You have a lot of time to travel and go on adventures. When you`re in Vancouver will you be backpacking there?

S: Yes, I`m going to go to Alaska this time, backpack with some friends of mine that are going to come from New York.

K: That`s great. I was there and loved it. You know how you feel when you visit the zoo? And all the animals are caged? Well, it`s the opposite there. You feel like you`re the stranger, and they live there. Animals all over the place. Always looking over your shoulder for those grizzly bears and wolverines. My favourite place.

S: I bet! I can hardly wait to go. I`m really looking forward to it.

K: It must be interesting being the only woman in a foursome on Sliders.

S: It`s great. It`s me and "my boys."

K: Do you think your character is a good example for other TV shows and films? Do you think it`s good that you`re doing this, they will be doing it more? We always used to see women portrayed as weaklings, where the men took the main roles. They said last year that it was the year for women in film, but ironically they didn`t have any films that won any awards that women were leads in. There weren`t many at all anyway. Do you think your show is a good example of that?

S: I think so. I definitely think it is. I would like to see it grow even more in that direction, yes, I`m a good example. I think The X-Files is a great example of that. I think that Gillian`s character is just wonderful. Probably the best character on television. Oh, yeah, I`d definitely like Wade to be that strong, which she is. I think Wade is that strong woman, not just their "Babe" on the show. It`s not like, "Here the girl." They don`t look at her in that way at all. It`s good, because I wouldn`t want to be part of a show like that. I`m not "anybody`s Babe." I am an independent woman.

K: Right. And you can be very choosy in your films.

S: Exacty.

K: Have there been any lasting friendships through your filmmaking and theatre work?

S: No, always we keep in touch, but I think we all travel too much to do that. We try, but it always seems to fade out. But, once you run into people again, it`s like, "Never, never fall out of touch."

K: Are you on line?

S: No I`m not. I don`t even own a computer.

K: What are your future projects besides Sliders?

S: I don`t have anything lined up as of yet. I`m working towards having something for next summer, during hiatus.

K: Would you be interested in directing an episode of Sliders or other films? A lot of actors, especially in Star Trek take that path.

S: I could definitely see that way down the line. Not right now, because I feel like I`m still learning so much behind the camera. I`m sure I`ll always be learning, I don`t think I`ll ever know everything. But, I think I have a lot to learn before I get behind a camera.

K: What genre would you like to be cast for in the future? You seem to like sci-fi a lot.

S: I want to do a little bit of everything. I love sci-fi. I think it`s more the characters that draw me towards things. I like strong women. I`m very interested in futuristic stuff, anything.

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