By Lori Acken
Though she has a lithe frame and strikingly delicate features that any model might envy, Jaimie Alexander is happiest playing tough cookies — something she’s done to great effect as Kyle XY‘s Jessi, the Thor movie franchise’s Sif and, most recently, as the tattooed, ass-kicking amnesiac Jane Doe on NBC’s Blindspot. Alexander comes by her gutsiness honestly. Headed into Wednesday’s Blindspot fall finale (Nov. 9), Jane has taken charge of her fate (even if it hardly keeps her out of harm’s way), a philosophy the 32-year-old, South Carolina-born actress — raised amid four brothers — embraces, too. “It’s been a really cool arc, because in the beginning, she’s looking to everybody else like, ‘Help me! I don’t know who I am!’” Alexander says of her onscreen alter ego. “And now she’s like, ‘You know what? I’m going to help myself. I’m going to figure this out.’ It’s almost like the moment Jason Bourne has where he’s like, ‘I’m not doing this anymore. I’m going to lead my own path.’ I’ve always identified with that movie in general and, now that I’m playing a character like this, even more so.” We asked Alexander to take the mystery out of our “5 Questions” — and discovered she’d prefer that her own path not lead down a jetway, thank you very much.
1. If your TV carried just three shows or networks, what would they be?
Stranger Things, Ancient Aliens and The Last Man on Earth.
2. What are three foods you have to have in your fridge or pantry?
Almond milk, cheese and hot sauce.
3. Tell us about a memorable fan encounter.
One of the servers at an event I attended happened to be a fan. He was holding a tray of drinks and when he noticed I was standing there, he said, “It’s happening!” His hands started shaking and the drinks were going to fly off, so I grabbed the tray. He was very sweet.
4. Tell us about a time when you were starstruck.
When I met Anthony Hopkins. He gave me a hug and told me to call him Tony. Definitely a highlight.
5. Jane is so brave, and you’re no shrinking violet either. So what is something that genuinely scares you?
I hate flying in an airplane.
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