It’s going to be an excellent summer for Lyne Renée. Last month, Freeform premiered the second season of Motherland: Fort Salem in which Renée plays General Sarah Alder, a war leader in a world dominated (rightfully) by women and witches. And, this month, HBO Max premiered its much anticipated Gossip Girl reboot. Here, Renée plays Helena Bergman, a model-turned-global-real-estate-magnate whom Renée describes as a “self-made woman” and fierce mother.
Indeed, there’s a “self-made” quality to Renée herself. Hailing originally from Belgium, she graduated from Studio Herman Teirlinck before scoring roles across the stage, film, and television. A move to London a few years later brought her to the Jermyn Street Theatre and to the BBC. All the while (and to this day), Renée appeared in numerous American films and tv series, most recently as Jason Statham’s confidant in Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man.
Looking at General Alder and Helena Bergman, these two roles may seem worlds apart, but what’s interesting about these two women is their embodiment of hard work, dedication, and the strength that comes with pushing yourself up and forward. Which is sort of emblematic of Renée’s own journey thus far. She mentions, in our interview below, being “in a moment where the saying ‘hard work pays off’ really comes to its true meaning.”
When Renée isn’t filming, she’s painting. In fact, during her time on BBC’s Parade’s End, she gifted her co-star Benedict Cumberbatch a portrait, which still hangs in living room!
Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesdays on Freeform, and Gossip Girl airs Thursdays on HBO Max.
Hi, Lyne! Thank you for taking the time to answer some of The Nerd Daily’s questions.
This is an exciting summer for you! Motherland: Fort Salem’s second season premiered on Freeform last month, and now Gossip Girl is underway on HBO Max. How does it feel?
It all feels pretty surreal, but finally seeing the fruits bearing themselves from all the hard work I’ve put in is definitely one of extreme satisfaction. I do find myself in a moment where the saying “hard work pays off” really comes to its true meaning. The lineup is pretty insane and I feel proud and don’t think I have ever believed in myself more.
Let’s start with Fort Salem: what can viewers expect this season? Where does General Alder go this season, and, considering how season 1 ended, how is she doing?
This season we’re in for a season that feels a lot darker and more mature. I feel like our three heroes are maturing, each in their own way and we, as the audience, get to go on their journey with them. With this, we also get to dive back and take a glimpse into who Alder was and how her previous decisions have shaped her and Fort Salem in the way that it has been for so long. We will get to see many more sides to Alder, and her leadership will be questioned by many and not just her leadership but also her choices in particular.
Witches have been a massive sub-genre on tv since the early days of the medium, but, looking at the releases within the last couple of years, it seems that right now is an especially exciting time to be a witch on tv! What excites you about stepping into this fantastical world? By extension, what excites you about playing General Alder?
Oh wow, where do I begin. Who doesn’t want to play a witch? But also, In Motherland, our witches don’t look like the witches we’ve come to known from the classic stories like Hansel & Gretel. We look like normal human beings, the differentiation between witch and human are determined by our vocal cords. What excited me most about playing Alder was the knowledge that she carries with her having been on this earth for so long. She is more than 300 years old. Can you imagine being on this earth in a leadership position for so long and how that affects you? I just had so much to play with and create and shape this character and don’t think I’ve had more fun doing so.
I think with this project, the special effects that we have been using have been the most exciting thing about it. I had never before in my career had the opportunity to work with a green screen, it’s so overwhelming and just gives you so much to play with that you just feel like a kid that’s 12 years old. You’re being given so much, through costume, through sets, through design, you know it takes an army to create a world like that and without the other creative forces around us we would never be able to make this and I think that’s the most exciting thing about it. It’s a collective of people that come together and depend on each other, take care of each other, and make something that hopefully will resonate and speak to people, or give them something to relate to. You see, today in the world that we’re in, we need a little fantasy, we need to be able to step away and let go of our world and our reality, and lose ourselves in a whole new world, where new rules are at hand, where women are in power, and where witches rule and shape the world.
Fort Salem is an incredible hybrid of the fantasy, military, and historical fiction genres. Aside from the physical training, how did you initially prepare for the role? What resources did you turn to in order to help catapult yourself into this world? Going into the second season, how did your approach to General Alder change?
When it comes to physical training, as an actor, I’m usually prepared. My fitness is my business. So at the beginning of the new season I will make sure that I come physically prepared for what is about to hit me. Working with special effects on green screen requires a healthy and physically trained body. Not only for the stunts. But to be able to handle it mentally as well, one has to be fit. These are long days onset and require so much. if you’re not trained you won’t be able to tackle a day like that with full force and without injury. With stunt training, every single move is calculated. When you are filming you have little time for rehearsals and training. In the season, I usually got to train with the stunt team hours before we would be shooting a fight sequence. And then you trust your team, the other actors, The stunt team, you take care of each other, you warm up together you stretch. And you communicate the whole way through where you are, how your body is doing, and continue to kick ass day and night. My approach to general Alder hasn’t changed, on the contrary I got an opportunity to dive even deeper and go explore what makes Alder tick. If anything is changed this year, I got to push my limits even further, I got to stretch my instrument in ways that I hadn’t before. I believe it’s Alder that made a bigger impact on Lyne, and I got to carry that with me in my life through her, and that’s why I fought for her the way I did. Because I knew she’d make all the difference.
Switching to Gossip Girl—what an exciting series to be part of! How familiar were you to the original series when this role came your way?
Most exciting series and yes to be part of such a series, it still feels a little surreal to be honest. I was familiar with the first series of Gossip Girl and I had seen episodes but I didn’t go back and re watch the first season. As a mother, you usually don’t have any idea what’s going on with your kid, and I wanted to keep it like that so whenever I have Eli in front of me I’d be objective and I could deal with it as a mum in that moment.
You play Helena Bergman, Obie’s real estate magnate mother. As of the premiere episode, the only clues the audience has to her character is that her home is exquisite and she likes her floors to be kept clean! What can you tell viewers about Helena? What can they look forward to seeing?
I guess it’s the German in her. I’m Belgian myself and I know the clean freaks that we are, but Germany, that’s a whole different level of clean. So the fact that Helena cares about the wooden floors, I understand. Of course that is not what describes the full spectrum of who Helena is. I think Helena is a self-made woman. She is a boss lady, she’s had to stand her ground having worked as a top model in Europe before becoming a real estate mogul. What you see is what you get, she is pretty straightforward, will tell you how it is, doesn’t really wear a mask, so once facing Helena, you better be prepared. For me, it was very important to find the heart and center of Helena and after working with Eli for the first day it all kind of fell into place because he is her heart, and she will go through great lengths to make sure he’s a good kid.
What was it like to jump from the fantastical and action-filled world that General Alder lives in to the modern and luxurious world of Helena?
It was all so surreal, I remember doing press for Motherland the day before I was flying back to New York City. I got a call from my management, and they were like, how do you feel about Gossip Girl? Two days after landing in New York City, I got to be tested for the first time to go to a fitting. I’ll never forget that day. Having been in military fatigues for eight months and being able to slip into Manolo Blahniks and Alexandra McQueen is pretty much any girls dream come true. I Only had four days to create and shape this character which was quite the challenge. But that’s what we do, and I believe that Gossip Girl is one of the most beautiful gifts that has come my way. Just like all my other projects, they continue to shape me and help me become who I want to be. It’s truly all just very exciting.
If General Alder and Helena Bergman came face-to-face, what do you think they would say to each other?
That’s a very original question, and one I would like to envision. I kind of believe that they would get on pretty well. They’re both women who seem to be pretty independent in their lives and it seems they have a lot in common. I wouldn’t mind seeing both of them by the fireplace drinking whiskey and talking about their wins.
What’s next for you?
What’s next for me? Well the beauty in my line of work is that one never really knows. My life can change again as of today or tomorrow. I’ve never done more auditions than I have in the last four months, while being on set trying to tackle it all. I honestly thought I would have a little bit of time off and enjoy the summer but it looks like I’m gonna be busy for a while. So we will see what comes through. The new projects I’m reading for are each just incredible so if just one were to come through it would be the cherry on the cake. Thank you for having me!
