Shirley Manson at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con held at the Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

Singer Shirley Manson, best known as the front-woman of the popular rock band Garbage, has made quite a splash on Season 2 of the hit Fox television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As the newest model of the liquid Terminator, Manson has become an integral part of the franchise mythology. The Scottish rock star turned actress recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about this new chapter of her career.

MediaBlvd Magazine> What kind of convincing did it take to get you to make the move into acting, or was that something you were looking to transition into?

Shirley Manson> I wasn’t looking to officially get into acting. It was something I’ve always wanted to do, but I’d never really found anything that I was interested in. And then, Josh Friedman, the creator and writer of the show, called me up and said, “Would you be interested in auditioning?,” and I said, “Yeah!” I really didn’t think it through. It was a trigger response because I was a big Terminator fan. And then, he said, “Well, you need to come in for an audition tomorrow.” In the audition process, I got the part before I really understood the full implications of what I’d gotten myself involved in. I feel very fortunate. It’s definitely something I’ve wanted to do, in my life, and it came at a really great time, when I felt I needed to shake things up.

MediaBlvd> What can you say about your character?

Shirley> Her name is Catherine Weaver. She’s the CEO of Zeira Corp., which is a corporation that develops certain technologies. She’s very self-empowered, successful, self-assured and singular, so it’s a cool character to play. She’s a hard ass. She kicks ass, in her own way. She gets what she wants.

MediaBlvd> Isn’t being a corporate type the antithesis of rock and roll?

Shirley> Yeah, absolutely! But, she’s the CEO of a corporation that develops technologies and, as a musician, we’re dealing with technology all the time, nowadays. So, it’s not such a stretch.

MediaBlvd> Do you think your character is meant to represent something about evil corporations?

Shirley> I don’t know. There is a mild play on that concept of there being some duality to that figurehead, and the idea of the power they may choose to use or abuse. I’m sure that’s not an accident. As an actress, I thought it was an interesting and amusing idea.

MediaBlvd> How do you approach playing a Terminator?

Shirley> She is embodying a human being, so she’s still in the identity of Catherine Weaver. That, in itself, is interesting to me because she’s physically like a human being, but she’s unable to bring what is essentially human to the table. It’s a rumination on what it is like to not have emotions and not necessarily have a logical thought. The whole time I’m on the set, I’m trying to imagine what that is like, so that’s been an interesting discipline for me. It’s harder to be a robot than one would think because you realize they would probably be very economical with their movements, so I’ve tried very consciously to be as undemonstrative as possible. Being a musician, when I’m on stage, I’m very demonstrative, so that has been quite a challenge. I find it fascinating. This is a woman who is truly unassailable because she’s a Terminator, who is the CEO of a very successful company. I find it very amusing that she’s just completely on top of everyone and everything. It’s really a lot of fun to play.

MediaBlvd> Did you have any involvement at all in the development of the character, or do you just leave that up to the writers?

Shirley> None whatsoever. It got foisted upon me.

MediaBlvd> Is there anything about yourself that you’re bringing into this character?

Shirley> You have to bring parts of yourself. How are you going to know a character unless you reference your own life experience? So, there are probably aspects that will come into play, but the character’s quite different from me, that’s for sure. She doesn’t get as easily flustered as I do, and she’s not as talkative as I am.

MediaBlvd> What was your first day on set like? Were you nervous?

Shirley> It was pretty intense. It was a real challenge, in large part because I’d had no real training, but then, I’d never had any training for being a singer either. I decided that I was just going to throw myself in and see what I could do. It was very intimidating, and I really had a hard time keeping my heart rate and blood pressure down. I was really pretty freaked out and somewhat overwhelmed. It’s getting a lot easier now. I’m feeling much more relaxed on set, and I’m able to have a lot more fun, but it was a challenge, initially. Being a singer and a performer, you have tricks to calm yourself, when things feel a little overwhelming. I don’t do breathing exercises, but I definitely had to have an internal word with myself before things got completely out of hand and I fainted on the floor.

MediaBlvd> Given how popular the Terminator franchise is, how did you handle the pressure of stepping into the show?

Shirley> I just didn’t think about the pressure, to be honest. I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations, in my life, through being a touring musician, that I have just come to realize that you just have to block out people’s expectations and hopes, and just try to concentrate on enjoying yourself and having fun. At the end of the day, that’s really all you have. Life is so short. You really just have to engineer having a blast and freeing yourself up, and not be scared to take chances. Otherwise, life can become really boring. This is something I’ve been given the opportunity to do. I’m either going to be good at it or not so good, or maybe I’ll be somewhere in between, but I’m not going to let my own fears, or the judgment of others, stop me from doing it. I just jumped in and have tried to do my best. I’ve taken it very seriously.

MediaBlvd> Were you already a science fiction fan? Had you been familiar with the Terminator universe, coming into this?

Shirley> Absolutely! I was a big fan of the Terminator movies. I’m not a huge sci-fi freak or anything, but I’m interested in the genre. I was a big Terminator fan.

MediaBlvd> What was it about the Terminator franchise that appealed to you?

Shirley> The schedule actually doesn’t bother me. I’m not there every single day, like Lena is. It’s a light load for me, in some respects. And, the hours that I do work are very similar to musicians hours, so I’m used to that. Having shot so many videos in my life, I’m used to the technical side of it, so that wasn’t overwhelming for me, at all. I know where the camera is, I know how they light it, and I understand how that all works, so that wasn’t so much a challenge for me. It’s just the actual act of acting, so to speak, that is interesting.

MediaBlvd> What’s been the coolest thing you’ve shot, so far?

Shirley> I’m so overwhelmed. I’ve never professionally acted before, so it all seems cool to me. It feels like I’m playing in the sandbox, at the age of six. It all seems cool, for different reasons. In some of the scenes, I’m playing with an ensemble. Some of them are with Richard T. Jones, who I do a lot of scenes with. He’s such a great actor that I sit there, thinking, “God, he’s so good!,” and then I suddenly realize I’m supposed to be acting.

MediaBlvd> Has he given you any advice?

Shirley> No, but he’s been really gentle with me and really sweet. He’s really been very friendly and made me feel really welcome, as the whole cast has. That really means a lot, when you’re coming into something.

MediaBlvd> Aside from working with Richard T. Jones, have you had any scenes with some of the other cast members in the show?

Shirley> I have not. We have not crossed paths on screen, as yet.

MediaBlvd> Will you be doing any stunt work, like fighting the other Terminators on the show?

Shirley> I hope so, although I fear that she is so sophisticated that she doesn’t even need to fight.  That’s the problem with being at the top of your series. I don’t know if she needs to get her hands dirty, which might be the only downside to my character.        

MediaBlvd> Have you thought about what your future stunt work will require? Would you be excited to do a car chase, shoot a gun, or get into some kind of a fight?

Shirley> Yes, of course I would! I would love to do something like that, but whether I’ll get to, I don’t know. I do know my trainer has started having me box a lot more, in the off chance that they’re going to ask me to do some stunts. I would like to do something like that, for sure, but we’ll see.

MediaBlvd> Will you and Cameron (Summer Glau) mix it up at all this season?

Shirley> I don’t know. They don’t really tell us much about what’s going to happen, from episode to episode. Unfortunately, we really learn on a need-to-know basis, so I have no idea where it’s going to go.

MediaBlvd> Does Catherine butt heads with Sarah Connor at all?

Shirley> Not that I know of. They send the scripts in little installments, so I have no idea where the arc of the character will go, at all, which is sort of exciting.                    

MediaBlvd> When they do the liquid Terminator effect, what sort of special work is required by you? Do they have to tape ping-pong balls all over you, or scan your body?

Shirley> I basically act the scene out, physically, and then I have to go and stand in a flesh body suit and have my entire body and face scanned, 360 degrees. Essentially, they take digital photographs and compile a digital manifestation of my physicality, and then they can do with that what they will.

MediaBlvd> Why morph into a urinal? Was there an inside joke there?

Shirley> Why not? I don’t think it was an inside joke. I do know that (executive producer) Josh Friedman found it amusing that it was every man’s nightmare, to lose security of a male bastion, such as the urinal. He liked the idea of a woman, who had already irritated this particular man, being able to infiltrate somewhere where he felt he was very safe. He thought that was a true terror.                                                                       

MediaBlvd> In Terminator 2, Robert Patrick played a T-1000 Terminator, and in this you play the T-1001. What are some of the upgrades that you have?

Shirley> It’s almost like an upgrade from one television set to the other. I’m not sure you would be able to detect much of a difference. I’m not 100% sure what she can do that Robert Patrick couldn’t do, but I suppose we’ll find out.                

MediaBlvd> Did you want to emulate Robert Patrick’s performance at all, or did you decide to do something different from that?

Shirley> Actually, no, I didn’t want to try to replicate his performance. That would have been the most obvious thing to do. I actually thought a lot about Glenn Close, in Damages, because I felt that she was very threatening and very powerful in that television show, and her performance was incredible. It’s rare when you see a woman on screen, where you truly believe she’s capable of unworldly deeds, so she was a muse. Also, for some inexplicable reason, I thought of Margaret Thatcher. She was really a very powerful and seeming unassailable character when I was growing up, and I really didn’t think very kindly of her, so I thought she was someone who was a great inspiration for a CEO of a company that didn’t have the kindest and warmest of hearts. I looked her up on YouTube. My performance is nothing like those two people, but they certainly informed me.                          

MediaBlvd> Do you have any expectations for your character, or an arc you want your character to take?

Shirley> I haven’t really stopped to think about it because I’ve enjoyed where they’ve taken my character so far, and I feel like I’m in good hands. I have noticed that all the Terminators on the show want to meet the other Terminators. All three of us are always making hints that it would be great fun to have us all take our super-powers against each other. But, other than that, I’m perfectly happy with where they’re taking it. I’m just trying to concentrate on my job, never mind everybody else’s.                                   

MediaBlvd> As you pursue acting, are you looking to shed the music image of Shirley Manson to create a new identity, or does that not factor in at all for you?

Shirley> Once you’ve been in a successful band, I don’t know that you can ever truly shed that image. In the music industry, being in a band is like being in a minor mafia. You never really get out alive. One way or another, you’re scarred in some way, and you carry that baggage with you forever. During my Garbage years, I was haunted by my very first band in Scotland, Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie. So, it’s not something that I’m interested in shedding. It has been a very important part of my life, and hopefully will continue to be. I also would love to do more acting, and I see no reason why I can’t. I know there is a lot of criticism whenever a musician steps into acting, and whenever an actor steps into music, and I understand where that comes from. I’ve certainly been guilty of being very suspicious of people who have done cross-overs. But, at this point in my life, I’m 42 years old, and being an active musician on the road is a tough life. I don’t know if I necessarily want to continue that kind of existence. I want to be continually challenged and excited, and acting has provided that for me, at a time in my life when I felt very confident in the music realm. I knew I could go out and play shows, write good songs, and get on well with my band. I can’t say it was boring, but it didn’t frighten me any more. To keep life exciting, you have to push yourself towards things that scare you a little, and that’s exactly what I’m finding on this show. I’m scared, excited and challenged, and I’m being pushed, so that feels really good. It makes me feel like I’m alive, and I like that feeling.

MediaBlvd> Do you want to be thought of as an actor now, more than as a singer, or do you like having that duality?

Shirley> I don’t know. I would like to do more acting. I certainly love the experience of it. It’s exciting and it’s new for me. Hopefully, I will always make music. That’s just been my whole life, since I was 15, so I think I’ll always carry that through. Whether I do that in a public forum or not remains to be seen. I don’t want to close any doors in my life. I just want to see what happens and roll with it.

MediaBlvd> Musicians making a transition to acting are often overly criticized. Do you think that will be less so, with you starting out on TV?

Shirley> No, I’m sure I’ll be totally, 100% criticized. But, I’m criticized anyway, regardless, whether it’s making music or acting. There are always people who love what people do, and there are always detractors. You just have to get to the point where you stop caring what other people think. I judge my own performance pretty stridently, and I’m harsh on myself. You have to live life, listening to yourself and listening to your own judgements, try to self-regulate, and just try and keep doing a good job.                    

MediaBlvd> Are you going to have any time to continue to work on music with this role?

Shirley> Yes, I’m still working on music. Obviously, I’m not a huge lead in the show, so I have plenty of downtime, despite some of the crazy hours we work. I’ve been working all year on stuff, and will continue to do so.

MediaBlvd> Will there be an album anytime soon?

Shirley> I hope so. I have a lot of material. I’m actually intending to go in next month and start recording some of the songs live, so we’ll see if I manage to pull it off. I’ve recorded a lot of material for Geffen records, and we just recently parted ways because they had a different idea of my musical direction than I did. And so, it’s a really great time for someone like me. I can develop my own template for when I release new material. We shall see. But, I have to make it clear, as a lot of fans are up in arms against Warner, I was never signed to Warner Bros. They have to lay off Warner. It has nothing to do with Warner at all.

MediaBlvd> How do you think acting will influence your music at all? And, how has music influenced you, in doing the show?

Shirley> Musicians, in general, tend to be quite sensitive to the environment around them, which helps when you are trying to interact with others on screen. You have to be aware, be sensitive, and try to understand what’s going on in the scene, and being a musician has been helpful, in that regard. Obviously, from the experience you get from making videos, you understand where the camera is and how some of the actual technicalities work.

MediaBlvd> At what point in the process did the song come about that you recorded for the premiere episode?

Shirley> Josh Friedman, the creator of the show, took me out for dinner, wined and dined me, and then, after my fourth glass of champagne, introduced the idea. To be honest, I was a little wary of doing the song because I understood I was really setting myself up for a lot of flack, or certainly making it harder for the audience to believe my character. That is what is so hard for musicians, when they step into acting. They’re not coming in as a blank slate. They’re coming in with a real set idea of who they are, where they’re coming from, what their politics are and what their tastes are. I didn’t really want to remind the audience I was a singer. I knew that would create difficulties for me. But, at the end of the day, Josh asked so nicely. He’s given me such a great opportunity with this show that I just bent to his will, and I did it as a favor to him. I’m pleased, though. It was a challenge for me because it’s a kind of music I hadn’t ever really investigated. It was a folk song that was five minutes long, so it required some kind of emotional arc to it. It was an interesting challenge for me.

MediaBlvd> What do you like about living in L.A., and what do you miss about Scotland?

Shirley> What I like about L.A. is that it’s easy living, so to speak. It’s not urban, at all. It’s a very soft place to live. Whereas, living in the city, where I come from, it’s much more urban. I like having an edge in my life, in that regard, but I also love being comfortable. I’ve loved living in L.A. I’ve got a lot of friends here. There’s a huge fraternity of musicians here, which is really special. I’ve never had that in my life, except here in L.A., so I’ve got really good feelings about the city, for that reason alone. There’s a lot of people here that are friends of mine, who live here. That’s great! We can all support each other and play together, and that’s really special. But, I miss Scotland. I miss the humor, particularly. It’s really self-effacing, quick and brutal, and I miss that verbal sparring with people. Here in L.A., people are a little aloof to really verbally spar. It’s seen as confrontation. I miss that.

MediaBlvd> Are there any foods or drinks from Scotland that you miss?

Shirley> You can get everything now. When I first came to America, there were things you couldn’t get, but you can get everything here now. You can get Heinz beans, you can get Crunchies, you can get Eiden brew. So, it works out good. 

MediaBlvd> Now that you’ve been in this world and become much more used to it, what are you gaining from your co-stars, in terms of watching their performances? Are they inspiring, almost like new band mates?

Shirley> It’s very much like being in a new band, except I’m not the lead singer anymore. I’m the bass player, which in some regards, allows me to sit back and watch and be more of an observer than I had been in my band. I find it fascinating, watching them work. They all have their different styles and techniques that they bring to their craft, and they’ve all been very helpful. Richard T. Jones, in particular, is my main man on screen, and he’s been incredibly patient and generous with me. He’s given me some tips, along the way. I really have been very blessed by having him around because I’m sure it must be very annoying to have some upstart musician come in, who really knows very little about the craft of acting. I’ve been very lucky.

MediaBlvd> After this experience, do you think that you will want to do another show or maybe a movie?

Shirley> I do, actually. I’ve really been bitten by the bug, and I find it really exciting and very challenging. It reminds me of being little, when you get to play in the sandbox, or with your dolls. There is something really innately childish about it, but also, as a result, it’s really thrilling and exciting. I would like to do more, definitely.

MediaBlvd> There are some people who have successfully made the transition from music to acting. Is there anybody in particular that you look to as a role model, or is there someone you wanted to emulate, in the way they were able to cross over?

Shirley> I can’t say there’s anybody whose career I’ve ever wanted to emulate, but there have been some musicians that I think have done an amazing job. Tim McGraw does an amazing job, every time I see him on screen. Courtney Love did an amazing job. David Bowie did an incredible job in The Man Who Fell to Earth. There have definitely been singers who have done some great work on screen. It’s very different for me, but I think it’s possible.

MediaBlvd> Having the acting bug now, who would you love to work with?

Shirley> I haven’t even gotten to that stage. I swear to God, it all seems so new and so surreal that I just feel like I can’t even think along those lines because I just don’t feel like I’ve earned the privilege to even begin to dream about that kind of thing. I’m sure there are a billion actors I could reel off, but it would sound so presumptuous and ridiculous that  I’ll keep that to myself, for the time being.