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Inside Reprisal Star Abigail Spencer's Coronavirus Lockdown

Meghan Markle's BFF opens up on Zoom chats, life in LA and her new binge-worthy show.
Reprisal actress Abigail Spencer
Tibrina Hobson via Getty Images
Reprisal actress Abigail Spencer

Former ā€˜Suitsā€™ star Abigail Spencer has opened up about what sheā€™s been doing during lockdown, and like many of us, it involves video calls, binge watching television and some solid self-reflection.

The 38-year-old ā€˜Reprisalā€™ actress and good friend of Meghan Markle said the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to ā€œpause and do whatever we can to keep each other safeā€, while remaining connected with close ones.

ā€œIā€™m so lucky Iā€™m so close with my friends,ā€ the LA-based star told HuffPost Australia.

ā€œItā€™s nice to be in regular touch, the Zoom meetings... I actually just before this [interview] had a Zoom birthday dance party for a really good friend of mine, so those are increasing,ā€ she laughed.

Abigail Spencer with good friend Meghan Markle at her New York baby shower i 2019.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Abigail Spencer with good friend Meghan Markle at her New York baby shower i 2019.
Meghan Markle and Abigail Spencer on Suits.
USA Network via Getty Images
Meghan Markle and Abigail Spencer on Suits.

Covid-19 cases in the US have been increasing, and Abigail said social distancing is very important.

ā€œItā€™s an interesting time, itā€™s an important time for all of us to take it seriously and to be at home,ā€ she said, ā€œand take this collective pause and do whatever we can to keep each other safe.

ā€œIt feels so collected like this connected tissue and yet weā€™re more isolated than ever, and yet I feel weā€™re all having this shared experience of sorts.ā€

Instagram/abigailspencer

This week her latest show ā€˜Reprisalā€™ is hitting Australian screens, perhaps serving as the perfect self-isolation viewing, she suggested.

Making a big departure from her ā€˜Suitsā€™ and ā€˜Timelessā€™ characters, she plays Doris, a woman seeking revenge against her brother and his gang.

ā€œIā€™m blonde on the show, I donā€™t look like me or sound like me. It was a little bit more of a physical process finding the character and then putting her on and taking her off every day,ā€ she said.

Abigail Spencer in Reprisal.
Hulu
Abigail Spencer in Reprisal.

As for her characterā€™s intentions, she added, ā€œDoris is a creation, she was basically left for dead by these evil men in her life.

ā€œShe was standing up to them in their small, little world and instead of listening to her, they tried to take her down but she didnā€™t die. And so years later where the story picks up is she decides to take back what was taken from her.ā€

While she may be binge watching her own favourite shows like Zoe Kravitzā€™s ā€˜High Fidelityā€™, Abigail said sheā€™s also tried to decrease the amount of time sheā€™s staring at a screen.

ā€œI think too itā€™s a lot of screen time and I have an 11-year-old son so for me, itā€™s making sure I still disconnect,ā€ she said. ā€œEven though weā€™re not going places, thereā€™s still a lot of screen time, a lot of looking at screens so I think itā€™s important to turn them off for parts of the day as well.ā€

Reprisal premieres at 8:30pm Wednesday 22 April on SBS and SBS On Demand.

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