Sophia Bush on landing lead role in Surveillance and raising millions for #GivingTuesday

Actress Sophia Bush talks about how she helped create her lead role in the upcoming CBS show Surveillance, and says she hopes to raise millions for #GivingTuesday.

She’s an actress, fashion model and philanthropist. While Sophia Bush is more popularly known for her roles in shows like One Tree Hill and Chicago P.D., the Hollywood star has put her celebrity status to an even more noble use, supporting a wide range of charities and speaking loud and proud for women’s rights and issues.

Now, Bush has not only landed her dream lead role on CBS’ new spy drama Surveillance, but is also hoping to raise $64 million in honor of #GivingTuesday.

Hidden Remote had the opportunity to chat with Bush about how she got involved with the Surveillance script, helped to develop her own lead character and why this is the “most fulfilling” project Bush has done thus far in her acting career. Bush also shared why advocacy is her priority and how work can’t be “it.”

Hidden Remote: Hi Sophia…I want to get into the #GivingTuesday in a minute, but first I really want to congratulate you on your role in CBS’s Surveillance. That’s very exciting!

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Sophia Bush: Thank you, yeah it’s very fun. We’re in pre-production and about to get going on filming and it’s been a really exciting year just developing something and working with such an incredible writer and such an amazing production team. It’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve done in my career this far for sure.

Hidden Remote: That’s awesome to say! It sounds like you have an amazing team already with Matt Reeves from Batman and David White and Patricia Riggen…How did you get involved with the script and what was it that drew you to the project?

Bush: I’ve been reading a lot of scripts, you know. When I decided to take some time off, and I established my production deal over at [20th Century Fox], I started reading everything. There was a lot of good material out there but nothing that made me say, ‘Oh, I’m ready to commit.’ And I read this script Surveillance and it was so good but, ultimately, not a script I think I was even meant to see because it didn’t have a role, theoretically, for me at the time as it was originally written. And I just said, ‘That’s the one.,’ you know?

I read hundreds of scripts and I was like, ‘There’s this one show that I can’t stop thinking about.’ So I sat down with David and Rafi and Adam over at [6th and Idaho Productions] and I said, “You know, what if we redevelop this and we change up this woman and this leading lady who you have written in here? I know who she is at the time it was originally written.’

I was like, ‘I get who she is when she’s about to be 50, but who is that woman when she’s 35? What is her journey and can we explore that?’ So we re-calibrated the show and brought Patricia on board, and she’s so incredible. It’s been a really fantastic adventure so far.

Hidden Remote: I know that Reeves and White had tried to start a project like this in the last year’s season of pilots, but the pilot never actually aired. But it sounds like you guys have really set it up for success this time.

Bush: Yeah, you know, it was a script that Dave wrote because he made a documentary about the NSA and knew that he wanted to tell the story but, ultimately, it hadn’t ever been made. It was just a script that had been sitting around because I don’t quite think anybody knew what to do with it and we figured out what it needed. We needed to make some changes and enter into this world with this woman a little bit earlier in life. So, here we are.

Hidden Remote: Well and it’s cool you have your own creative contribution to that to help make it what it is now.

Bush: Definitely. It’s been a very exciting thing to be a part of it from the ground up. It’s very special.

Hidden Remote: So, you’ve got that going on and, not only that but you were also the lead role in Hard Luck Love Song which is in post production now. But you’ve got all this going on and it’s awesome that you still have time to do another part of your life that you love which is philanthropy. 

Bush: Yeah, advocacy is the thing that I prioritize, I would say, most. It’s my purpose and my mission and where I find the most personal inspiration outside of work. Because work can’t be it. You need a life outside of that. And I think that, because of my work, to have such a platform is really such a privilege and I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I weren’t using it for advocacy.

So, to be able to travel and speak at events, functions, conferences, colleges…to be on the ground activating around political campaigns, to be supporting people whose messaging I believe in, that’s incredibly exciting for me and trying to find the best ways to do that throughout the year really matters because advocacy is a long game. It requires investment and longevity.

I get very excited about #GivingTuesday in particular because the holiday season, as the year’s wrapping up, can very often feel intense. It comes with a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of hustle and bustle, everyone’s a bit stressed. To reign all of that in and remind people that the holidays are so special because of community, and that the spirit of gift-giving can be so much bigger than a sweater or a pair of socks, it can be about how to advocate for your neighbors, your community, your country, that feels very exciting.

Hidden Remote: Can you talk a little bit more about what #GivingTuesday is and how people can get involved?

Bush: #GivingTuesday is the big movement started around advocacy. It’s the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the whole day revolves around charitable giving. I have partnered with PayPal for the last two years to work on their #GivingTuesday initiative because they do incredible charitable match donations. Last year we actually raised $64 million.

Hidden Remote: Wow, congratulations!

Bush: I mean, it’s the craziest, most amazing thing and the way that they do this is on #GivingTuesday, on the actual day, they match 100 percent of donations made on paypal.com/giveback up to half a million dollars, which means we could stand to raise a million dollars in one day and then afterwards, the day after #GivingTuesday, all the way through the end of the year, they match one percent of every donation made and that’s how you wind up with a number like $64 million.

Hidden Remote: That’s awesome. How can people get involved? Is it something they can do online?

Bush: It’s super easy, you just go to paypal.com/giveback and search a charity either by name or by topic. So, animal rescue, cancer research, education…figure out what matters to you and search it on PayPal and then donate away.

Hidden Remote: So you’ve got these two things that you’re doing. You’ve got acting, writing and producing and all that and then you’ve got this philanthropy part and #GivingTuesday. How do you balance the two? I know you said the philanthropy takes priority but how do you find that balance?

Bush: I don’t have the answer to that question yet. I think that’s something I’ll be working on forever.

Hidden Remote: Well, it seems like you’re doing pretty good so far.

Bush: Oh, I’m thrilled. Great. Glad it looks that way. I always feel like I could be doing more so I appreciate it.

Hidden Remote: One more question about Surveillance…How close are you guys to production?

Bush: We’re on our way, we’ll be filming the pilot before the holidays are done.

Hidden Remote: And what’s been your favorite moment on production so far?

Bush: Truly, casting has been a really special experience because as an actor and also a producer on the show, I’ve really wanted to be in the room for my fellow actors. So I’ve gone in to read with everybody, because it’s a very different experience to read with a person who you’ll actually be creating a world with than just a casting person who’s in a chair. It’s been a really special experience to go in there and just start to make it happen.

Hidden Remote: Well I’m super excited for both your roles in the films you’re doing right now and TV shows and I’m also excited for #GivingTuesday and I’m thrilled you were able to talk to me about it today. 

Bush: Yeah, thank you so much for taking the time.

What other new shows are you most excited for this pilot season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.