Damages A quick chat with Damages actress Rose Byrne

Rose Byrne, who plays vengeful lawyer Ellen Parsons in Damages, talks yoga, killing and Kylie...

Ellen, your character in Damages, has certainly changed a bit since series one, hasn’t she?
"It’s been great fun and almost like playing a different role. Touch wood, I haven’t had been through the horrendous things that happen to Ellen, but I have huge empathy, which makes me enjoy getting into a character and doing my research. I’ve spoken to a post-traumatic stress counsellor and asked a woman from the FBI about being an informant and the toll that takes."

We’re intrigued by those scenes showing Ellen shooting someone in the future. Will we ever find out who it is?
"You will, I promise. When we filmed it they didn’t tell me who it was. That’s what’s maddening about the show sometimes, but you just have to trust that it will make sense."

What have you learned from working with Glenn Close?
"Tons. She is such a disciplined, hard-worker and really fights for her character (Patty) while still being a team player. Working with anyone that good makes you better because you have to keep up. It’s all about raising the bar."

What do you make of Timothy Olyphant, who plays your new love interest, Wes?
"I think we have a good dynamic on screen. He was wonderful in Deadwood and walks that fine line between comfort and danger. He is also pretty sexy!"

Some of your scenes are pretty intense. How do you unwind?
"I try to leave the heavy stuff at work. I’ve done yoga since I was 15 and I tend to take it pretty easy during the week and go home and read or watch TV. But New York, where we film, is such a distracting place that sometimes that’s hard!"

You grew up in Australia. Did you ever audition for Neighbours or Home and Away?
"I did audition for Home and Away a few times, but I never got cast. It’s a bit of a rite of passage over there. I was a huge Kylie Minogue fan and was mad about her Neighbours character, Charlene. I wanted to be a mechanic like her when I was nine."

Do you miss living there?
"I do miss my family and friends terribly. Australia is my emotional home and I guess I will settle down there in the long run. I have got used to this fractured thing of being here and there now, though, and I feel lucky to be able to work in lots of different places."