British actress Leo Hatton chatted about starring in “No Man’s Land” Season 2 on Hulu.
A thrilling mystery that takes us on Antoine Darman’s quest to unravel the details surrounding his presumed to be dead sister, traveling on a death defying journey with the YPJ, a unit of Kurdish female fighters through ISIS occupied territory.
All eight episodes will premiere on April 16th on Hulu.
Experience shooting ‘No Man’s Land’
“Filming it was insane,” she said. “We filmed it Morocco for four months, and everyone felt that the process was extraordinary. It felt like we were shooting theatre for television, and we had the best cast and crew.”
“We all stayed in the same hotel, which is not typical industry standard,” she admitted. “To be honest, I advocate for that, and it was amazing. I came from a production background, where there was separation between the two.”
“Actually, it made for a really incredible and integrated shooting experience to have the main cast and the main crew in the same hotel; we became like a family, and that was really special,” she noted.
Hatton on playing Ellie
On playing her character Ellie, Hatton said, “It is hard to talk about Ellie without giving away so many spoilers. So, I have to be really careful with what I say. What I can say about Ellie is that she is an extreme human story, where she explores to the extreme.”
“It’s a very extreme role, and she explores love, ideology, belief, and what it means to be alive. Ellie might not always make the right choices but her story arc was a dream come true. It’s a really deep role,” she explained.
“What is really special about shooting this show with this particular crew was that it was very guerilla filmmaking in a very high-end way,” she acknowledged.
“You had to always be on our toes, and you had to always be ready. They are very well-oiled and fast machine. It taught me that you can trust the process and that you can trust yourself. That was a really beautiful thing to learn,” Hatton elaborated.
Hatton on James Krishna Floyd
Hatton had great words about lead actor James Krishna Floyd. “James is amazing,” she exclaimed. “James is one of our great British actors and he is a really good friend of mine. He has become like a brother to me.”
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, Hatton said, “I think it’s a really special time. I love TV shows. I really come from cinema; I still will do films but with the golden age of TV, I love reading novels and I love books.”
“TV gives us the same type of experience. You get to stay with characters for many hours and you really get into them,” she said.
“I feel very lucky to have had that experience with this show and this character,” she added.
Advice for young and aspiring actors
For young and emerging actors, she said, “I started behind the scenes, so I did a lot of things in production. I was a set designer for a few years, and I was also a first AD on a short film, and I helped with production management for short films.”
Hatton continued, “When you are a part of a crew, and then you become an actor, then you understand what filmmaking is. The collaborative aspect of filmmaking is very much there.”
“If you are a young actor, you should go and do things on set, which is behind the camera, and it will give you everything you need to know about set life,” she added.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she revealed, “Adventure.” “These are the adventure years,” she admitted.
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Hatton said, “Success changes where you are and who you are. As you get older, success can come in many different forms. It’s not a means to an end.”
“Success is to always pursue what is motivating you at the time. I think success changes and it fluctuates,” she explained.
Closing thoughts on ‘No Man’s Land‘
For fans and viewers, she expressed about “No Man’s Land,” “I want people to enjoy this show. It’s a very heavy show because it asks the question of extremism.”
“It’s a very high-octane and incredible show and story, and it is based on events that happened. It is looking at the very deep moment of extremism so there are questions around that,” Hatton concluded.
To learn more about Leo Hatton, follow her on Instagram.
