Treadstone: Tracy Ifeachor talks the layers to Tara and brilliant writing

Treadstone is shaping up to be a show you need to watch, Bourne fan or not. Tracy Ifeachor plays Tara Coleman and spoke to us exclusively about the layers to the character.

Whether you loved the Jason Bourne movies or not (or just some of them), Treadstone is a series that you need to check out. It’s full of complicated, layered characters, an intriguing conspiracy, and much more. One of the lead characters is Tara Coleman, played by Tracy Ifeachor.

The British actress is known for roles in The Originals, Quantico, Legends of Tomorrow, and much more. She’s no stranger to playing layered characters and those hiding secrets. But Tara is especially exciting.

In an exclusive interview with Hidden Remote, Ifeachor talked about that thrilling car chase, the travel, and layers, and much more.

Hidden Remote: I’ve loved everything we’ve got to see about Tara so far. What was it about the character that drew you in at first?

Tracy Ifeachor: I’ve been in love with the whole Jason Bourne franchise forever. I’ve seen all the movies so many times. There’s this whole world that most of us don’t know anything about that is going on. It’s like this undercurrent, so to find a project or TV show that does it is amazing.

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With movies, it’s fast-paced. I love that with TV shows, there’s the potential to grow. Where you start is not where you necessarily end, and it’s not even where you thought you would end in the beginning. I think the possibility of doing something that has so many possibilities, and so many different directions, is what was so appealing to me.

Plus, I get to play someone flawed but who has a really good moral center. That was slightly different.

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HR: I love Tara for her flaws but also for her belief in doing what felt right to her. What’s it’s been like building her character up?

Ifeachor: It’s been lots of fun, figuring out who she is, what’s going on, and what she wants to say. I’m very fortunate that [the Treadstone writers] are so collaborative. If I have an idea about something, I can talk to them. We can discuss and find different ways to make the character shine.

HR: It must feel like it’s someone closer to your heart that way.

Ifeachor: Yeah. And she wants to do what’s right. Most of us would look before we leap or think before look. She doesn’t do any of that. Tara has lost her family and she sees this as a way of justice.

HR: What’s been your favorite part of Tara to play?

Ifeachor: My favorite part? I love to travel. So, when we shot the car chase scene, we were in two different countries, in three different cities. I started in Paris, and we were in Budapest, and then back in Paris. At one point, I shot a scene in the morning, flew at noon, and then by the evening, I had to get ready for a midnight shot. That was when we did the chase through the subway station.

So, it’s the travel in the show, really. There was a moment in the pilot when we were testing different things out, and the creative team was like, “so, we got to Hong Kong.” I was like, “oh?” A lot of times, when you read a script, it says it films in Jamaica and then you’re in a studio somewhere that’s nothing like Jamaica. I thought it would be like that.

Then they started talking about visas. They were like “Didn’t we tell you?” I was like, “No, no, I’m pretty sure that’s something I would have remembered.”

You never really know what’s going to happen on set. The people that you’re working with is always changing, because we have such dramatic, different characters. We don’t really cross over, so you’re always working with different people.

But we have great relationships off-camera as well. We have a group chat, so whenever someone is in town, we will meet up and stay connected. I think that helps tie us together on screen.

HR: You mentioned the car chase. I have to ask how much of that you were allowed to do yourself.

Ifeachor: Oh my God, it was so fast! We are actually sat in the car when we were driving. We had someone else driving, doing all the weaving in and out because you need a special license and have special training for that. It’s not something we were allowed to do. There were people jumping out of the way seconds before the car got to them. It would have been amazing to do it, though.

But we were in the car. We had to make it look like we had full control of the car and not look scared, but you really have no control. There were some close calls to make it look real, but it was a really interesting experience.

I think it was the first time I’ve ever done anything that took a really long time, with so many moving parts. You have to make sure everything and everyone are safe, and you look down the street and do a couple of tapes, then you have to open the road and wait.

HR: I live in an area with a lot of filming and it’s definitely hard to film the road scenes. There are lots of stipulations of when roads can be closed and how long.

Ifeachor: Yeah, it’s hard but many people are really accommodating. They talk to their friends about the show and get their phones out. They come as close as they can and watch for hours.

Then there are others who walk straight through the public roadway. There’s a mix.

HR: Tara has so many layers. What’s it like slowly revealing these layers to the audience?

Ifeachor: It’s really exciting. Tara has an amazing flow. I would love for everyone to learn everything about her right away, but she’s richer for the slower reveal.

We get to see these moments where we’d likely do something different. Like, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to open the jacket and reveal the wire. But she’s like, “Okay, I’ll godown that rabbit hole with you.”

Throughout the series, I mean she’s strong in the beginning, but more of her personality comes out. It is really exciting. I wish I could tell you everything that happens now, though, because it’s so funny.

I did want to create a character that you can watch and need to see again.

HR: You definitely have that. I’ve already told my husband I’m keeping the DVR recordings because I need to watch this a second time to see what I’ve missed.

Ifeachor: It is a really great creative team. Really good writing. Everyone comes together and I love that.

HR: So, can you tease anything about what we can expect from Tara in the coming episodes?

Ifeachor: What can I tease? You’ll see lots more locations, lots of countries, cities, and places that are hard to get permission to film in.

The way we filmed was funny. We’d do one episode and be solving something, then we’d be needed for another episode entirely. This isn’t a show you can scroll through your phone while watching. You need to pay attention to the details.

What do you love about Tara? What’s been your favorite moment of Treadstone so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Treadstone airs Tuesdays on USA Network.