“Quantum Leap” co-star Kaitlyn Bassett is tackling her first acting role after spending seven years in the military.
Call it a case of art imitating life.
“Martin [Gero] Exhibition and [director] helen [Shaver] saw mine [audition] tape before I found out about my background,” Bassett, 32, told the Post. “Helen, in particular, was obviously very special, because they looked at so many actresses for the role. And she was like, ‘I can’t believe they were in the army.’ And Martin was like, ‘We can teach people to walk,’ but Helen thought they could find something different.
“When they found me, he was like, ‘I believe him!'”
“Quantum Leap” (Mondays at 10 p.m.) has already been renewed for a second season. It is a revival of the original series, which aired from 1989-1993, and follows Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), a scientist who finds himself stuck in time, who has to help people solve a dilemma. Jumped between different institutions, followed. Dean Stockwell has his sidekick, Al.
This new version is set 30 years after the original series and follows a new team assembled to reboot Beckett’s project. Dr. in the main characters. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) and his fiance Addison Augustine (Bassett), are a former military intelligence officer who works in the Quantum Leap program. During Ben’s jump into the past, she appears as a hologram to guide him.
“[The original show] It was way ahead of my time. I was only 4 [when it aired]. So I went back and looked,” Bassett said. “But, my parents and siblings were huge fans.”
Bassett said that, as the season progresses, “things are really starting to ramp up. We’re starting to understand the mysteries, why Ben jumped, what his goal was, what the danger was. It gets very exciting. .”
Bassett served as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of staff sergeant, and completed three combat deployments during his service — two to Afghanistan and one to Qatar.
She said she always wanted to act, but after her service, she initially went to Brooklyn Law School instead of Hollywood.
“It was something I always wanted to do, but you can’t say that. Especially in that world, people aren’t left to much creative ambition. Or at least, they don’t accept it,” he said. “So, I left for law school. Because it felt like a grown-up thing to do, and everyone respected it. And I got there, and I didn’t want that life. so yes [acting] There was a dream that I had. But it took a few years to fully accept myself and then grapple with the reality of doing it in New York, around creatives, in a city where everything seemed possible. ”
He said his military experience helped him play Addison more authentically.
“I think sometimes when actors play veteran roles, they think how they act in a context is how they’ve always acted. There may be some truth to that, depending on how much you identify with your service,” he said. “But for most people, the military is only part of who they are, not all of it. So, knowing how and when to turn it off are things I’ve used in this role.
He said that his experience also helped him spend long days on set.
“The ability to have a good time and keep good vibes on set even when the situations are long and tiring and stressful is similar to deployment,” he said. “There’s a lot that I draw from … and the ability to work through stress and make it a good day.”
