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#Showbiz: An empowered role

IT'S part mystery and part thriller with a mix of the spy and superhero genres.

New miniseries The Rook which streams on HBO GO is the origin story of an empowered young woman who chooses to become the invaluable asset her agency always wanted her to be – entirely on her own terms.

The eight-episode series tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas (played by Emma Greenwell), a woman who wakes up in the rain beside London's Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and no explanation for the circle of dead bodies splayed out around her.

The only clue to her past is a letter in her pocket, the first of several she planted for herself knowing her memory would be wiped.

When Myfanwy discovers she's a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain's last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she'll have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory – and why.

As Myfanwy searches for her past, she is tasked with protecting those with special powers – or Extreme Variant Abilities (EVAs) – from the dangerous world of high-dollar trafficking, and along the way, she uncovers the truth about herself and her past.

The Rook also stars Joely Richardson as Linda Farrier, Myfanwy's mentor and ally who must defend her tenuous hold on the agency's secrecy.

American actress Olivia Munn plays Monica Reed from the US Bureau of Variant Affairs, who arrives in London following the mysterious incident at Millennium Bridge to investigate the death of her former lover.

Munn, who has starred in TV series such as The Newsroom and movies like The Predator, says that the series is a psychological thriller akin to classic British spy mysteries.

She adds that it also has a superhero element that's more grounded in reality.

A HEIGHTENED EXPERIENCE

"Monica is a part of the BVA. Her ability is that she has super strength. So, in The Rook everyone has these abilities that are grounded in real life abilities.

"Unlike superhero shows and movies where people have the ability to fly or be invisible, here they have the same abilities as normal people, but just some people have an extremely heightened version of it," says Munn.  

Talking about her character, she explains that, "Monica's strength is actually her strength. She's not afraid as she knows how to control it and use it."

"There's a quiet confidence and for someone like that there's nothing really to prove to anybody else."

Being the American in the group, Munn says that she wanted to portray the role in a less put together look.

"British people are I think known for just being very refined and having just this really great clean and crisp look.

"I think the image of people from England is that there's this really beautiful refined energy.

"So I wanted to come in and have a little bit of that American 'dishevelled ness'," she says.  

The death of Monica's boyfriend sets her down a path to find the truth.

"When she first comes to London she's just trying to find him unbeknownst to her that he'd actually had been killed.

"And once she finds out that he's been killed everything becomes this mission to find out what happened to him and trying to seek vengeance for his death.

"And, of course, when you start to go down a rabbit hole, you end up in a different world and things start to reveal themselves and start to really spin her out of control in a way that I don't think that she was prepared for," she says.

This also leads her to the amnesiac Myfanwy and together they're trying to figure out basically what happened.

Worlds collide as the journey leads them to more unanswered questions.

As for the various EVA, there's a kinship between these individuals with special abilities.  

"They're a chosen group of people signing up for a life that takes those gifts and tries to use them for the better.

"So there's a bond between everyone and I think that's where you see, boundaries start to bend.

"That's the thing that I really like about this show is that there is compassion that people have for each other especially in these situations where things seem so black and white," says Munn.

Although there are threats to the EVA, the actress is glad that her character is really strong.

"These EVA have all these powers, which are really amazing and really great.  But there are these Vultures that come in and kidnap them and force them to use their powers for whatever they want.

"So, they are really at a high risk of going to human trafficking for their powers.

"I don't know how that would work with my character though. Nothing really can stop her, having superhuman strength.

"If you push a boulder in front of her door so she can't get out, she's going be able to get out.

"So, I actually don't know and I would love to know where the limit is.  Like what is the limit for her strength, you know?"


Stream or download The Rook on HBO GO. New episodes premiere on Mondays.

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