Few actors have been as entrenched in the science fiction, fantasy and comic book genres as Morena Baccarin. It started in 2002 with the cult favorite "Firefly" and has continued through "Stargate SG-1," "V," "Deadpool," "The Flash" and "Gotham." There's just one peculiar thing about being closely associated with projects that make people flock to Comic-Con.
Carving out such a deep place in the roles wasn't something Baccarin completely planned.
"It just kept happening. My very first TV job was 'Firefly' and then people started thinking of me in those terms, so I started getting other similar roles," Baccarin says. "But, I also like looking for strong female characters and when I started, that's where the strong female characters were _ in the sci-fi, fantasy world. Now it is changing so much."
Baccarin continues to get questions about "Firefly," which ended 16 years ago. She is both amazed that people are still obsessed with it and proud she was part of something that people continue to love.
Baccarin has been able to work in other projects, with appearances on "Heartland" and "Homeland." Her latest job, "Ode to Joy," has given her the opportunity to show her skills with romantic comedies. In the film, she plays the woman who captures the heart of a man (Martin Freeman) who has spent his life keeping his emotions in check because of a medical condition that results in him passing out if his emotions spike.
Baccarin welcomed the change of pace because she had been looking for "something different, something lighter." The search was happening while she was in the middle of playing Leslie Thompkins on the dark and moody "Gotham." Once she landed the role, the film was shot during a summer hiatus from "Gotham" that stretched into the first few episodes of the series.
What surprised her was the medical twist. When she heard about Freeman's character's condition, she thought the writers had made it all up. It wasn't until after getting assurances from director Jason Winer the film was inspired by a true story that she felt comfortable with the idea.
Knowing the twist was real was important because without it, "Ode to Joy" would have been a typical romantic comedy. Baccarin has already shown with her work in "Deadpool" that she has an interest in romantic comedies that are different.
Once Baccarin got on board, she found herself working with another actor who has a reputation of working in science fiction, fantasy and comic book genres with Freeman, whose credits include "Black Panther" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
"He is a really nice guy who is very funny and very sweet," Baccarin says. "He is a really hard worker. We hit it off great. He is a very smart actor and I really appreciated that. We played around with every scene and the director had us improv a few things. We got some rehearsal time together before the filming started and that was very helpful because we could go through the scenes."
Not only was that time used to get comfortable, but Baccarin worked with writer Max Werner to fill in the blanks about her character's past. This has been the process for the Brazilian-American actress since she ended up following in the footsteps of her mother, Vera Setta, by going into acting. Baccarin was born in Rio de Janeiro, but her family moved to New York when she was young.
"My mother was acting in Brazil but stopped when we moved to the states when I was 7 years old. I had grown up around acting and it was something that was very familiar to me," Baccarin says. "I didn't really try to become an actor but sort of fell into it. I did it in high school and thought it would just be a way to enjoy school but somewhere along the way, I fell in love with it. Once I started acting, there was never any doubt of what I wanted to do."
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