‘Prison Break’ Season 5 update: Sara Tancredi to Sara Scofield, Sarah Wayne Callies explains how she approached her new role
Sarah Wayne Callies recently revealed how she approached her revived role in “Prison Break” Season 5. It’s been seven years since Sarah Wayne Callies left Fox’s “Prison Break” after the show ended. She has come a long way, with commendable roles in “The Walking Dead” as Lori Grimes and USA Network’s ongoing science fiction drama series “Colony,” where she plays Katie Bowman.
However, fans still connect the most with Callies’ character in “Prison Break” as Dr. Sara Tancredi, who was instrumental in Lincoln Burrow’s (Dominic Purcell) escape from Fox River State Penitentiary, a plan devised by Lincoln’s brother Michael Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller.
Michael and Sara’s onscreen chemistry and relationship was much talked about and is still a driving force behind the intense fan expectation for the “Prison Break” revival, set to hit TV screens sometime in 2017.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Callies made it clear she approached her role in the revival series, not as Sara Tancredi but as Sara Scofield. She said not only has her character changed after Michael’s apparent death but Callies, in real life, has changed too. Hence, it was impossible to reprise her role as the Sara Tancredi of “Prison Break” Season 1.
Speaking on her character when the show ended back in 2009, Callies said Sara was a young pregnant woman, devastated by the death of Michael. But now, she is “seasoned” and has moved through her grief.
“She’s moved through her grief to the point where she realized that her grief was an extravagance her son couldn’t afford, and so she decided to make him her life’s work, and honours the legacy of his dead father by giving him a good life; that includes giving him a stepfather [played by Mark Feuerstein],” Callies said.
Moreover, Callies has also become a much better actress and hence had more confidence in her new role. She explained that Andy Lincoln and John Bernthal were amazing teachers from whom she learned a lot of things.
“I’m interested to see if I can do better than I did before. I realize I’m setting myself up to be completely panned ... but I hope I’m a better actor and I hope I can bring more to it than I did before, so that, to me, seems like a legitimate reason to do it,” Callies added.
