TV

Archie Panjabi on Kalinda’s “Good Wife” exit and chemistry with Gillian Anderson on “The Fall”

This Sunday’s season finale of The Good Wife will be the end of the show as we know it. Archie Panjabi will make her final appearance on the CBS drama as Kalinda Sharma, the mysterious private investigator who has, for six seasons, been one of the strongest and most well-written depictions of an LGBT woman of color on network television.

We spoke with Archie about saying goodbye to Kalinda and what her last days on set were like. Plus what we can look forward to from the award-winning actress in the future, including a possible return to The Fall, the BBC/Netflix thriller she guest starred on alongside Gillian Anderson.

AfterEllen.com: I know you can’t tell us too much, but what can you say about your last episode of The Good Wife?

Archie Panjabi: Well as you saw in Episode 20, it was a little bit of a tease and the audience thought I left, and I come back in a flashback in 21. And in 22, I do make a few brief appearances and I know right now there’s debate as to whether they’re satisfying or not, and I think, as always the case with Kalinda and anything to do with Kalinda, the audience will have to be the judge of that.

AE: Well then I’m going to say they won’t be satisfied because they never are! [laughs]

AP: Well you never know because one of the great things about the character’s just, the audience seemed to dictate so many things about her. They have so much passion for the character that I’ve learned to just listen to what they’re saying and not even question it.

AE: Have you been satisfied with this season and how you got to go out?

AP: I would have liked something-honestly speaking, I would have liked something a lot meatier but at the same time I think the expectations for that character were very high and producers hands are tied. They have so many characters they have to write about. I think it’s tricky so I think if the audience is satisfied, I’m satisfied.

AE: A lot of AfterEllen readers-and readers elsewhere too, actuallyhave wanted to see some of Kalinda’s ex-girlfriends come back before she left. Have you been seeing that conversation happening?

AP: There’s certain characters that I’ve been blessed with over the years; certain actors that I absolutely love working with them. My side of working is always to work very closely with the other actors to listen to what their thoughts and ideas are, and with Jill Flint, we get on so well as people, as women, and that chemistry transfers so well on screen. I miss those characters like Kelli Giddish–I have a great friendship with all those girls. Scott Porter as well, I really enjoyed working with him. I definitely miss having them on the show professionally and personally. And sadly, all of them-and Monica Raymund, another lovely girl-all of them have actually kind of gone on to lead their own shows after leaving The Good Wife so I’m thrilled for all of them but I have definitely missed them. I would have loved to have had them in my departure storyline.

AE: Cary has been a big part of Kalinda’s life as well. What can you say about the way that relationship ends?

AP: Unfortunately that was our last scene, which is why I put it on Twitter because when we were filming that scene, the atmosphere in the room was very sad because everybody knew that that was the last time those two characters would be together. Matt Czuchy is a very good friend of mine so it was sad that that was our last scene. Like he says, life is messy and I think that relationship doesn’t have full closure but life rarely does allow you to have full closure and I think that’s one of the things Good Wife does-it reflects reality.

AE: People really want to see Kalinda and Alicia back together in the same scene without it being a phone call or somehow cut between them in two different places. What can you tell us about their scenes together in the finale?

AP: I guess my-I have a whole kind of interesting take on the Kalinda/Alicia relationship. I talked to you earlier about how Kalinda is so much dictated-the audience are the real kings when it comes to Kalinda. She was always meant to be a very small character in the show. And then of course she tested very high in the pilot, and as the first few episodes got bigger, the writers saw this great chemistry between Julianna and myself and saw the sort of unanimous love and affection from the audience and from the fans. And they developed it further and for that I’m always grateful because I think I would have just been like having two or three scenes in every episode and I think that gave birth to this huge love for seeing two strong intelligent women on screen and this incredible relationship. I think the audience has missed that and they’re pining for it in such a big way. In the last episode, seeing them in a scene together, I think-it’ll be interesting to see how the audience respond because it’s been so long since we’ve seen them in a scene together, or seen the characters together. It’ll be interesting to see what the response is like.

AE: What was it like for you to shoot that scene?

AP: It was my last day of filming and it had just been announced The Fall was nominated for an International BAFTA so I was really excited about that. And then Sunday, this Sunday, the day the episode is going to be aired is the day the International BAFTAS are happening so that’s a little bit weird. But I’ve known I’ve wanted to leave since Season 4 so I’ve kind of had two really good years of being able to say goodbye and hanging out with people. It was sad to say goodbye but it wasn’t a shock or surprise for really anybody on the job, including myself.

AE: I read in an interview where you said when you were shooting The Fall, you knew you were ready to stop playing Kalinda because she was seeping into your other roles.

AP: I actually said that tongue in cheek! I said that to the Radio Times-I mean they didn’t do anything wrong, they printed what I actually said but it was tongue in cheek. I made a joke when I kissed her, I said to the whole crew, I said, “I think Kalinda’s got the better of me!” It certainly wasn’t my reason for leaving. I absolutely love that character. I think she’s a fabulous character to play, but I thought, if I were to stay on past my contract, I would lose that wonderful equilibrium with being professionally satisfied with the work and being happily employed and so I always felt, once my contract was done, it would be the right time for Kalinda to say goodbye.

AE: Do you think with the continued success of the show, you could ever return in a one-off episode or a flashback?

AP: I don’t think I would be doing justice to Kalinda. I think Kalinda came as a mystery and as the past six seasons has established this very unexpected but phenomenal relationship with the audience. And I think if we were to bring her back-she leaves a mystery just as much as she comes in a mystery and I think I would like to leave it like that. But you know, with Kalinda you never know. Like I said, ultimately, with Kalinda I can’t quite control what happens to that character. It’s out of my hands.

AE: Were you able to give input on the character at all?

AP: I think at the outset of the first two seasons when nobody really knew what hit them when they kind of saw this obsession and this love for the character, there was a really good sort of-there was more time to have that input and sort of develop that character. And so we definitely had a lot more conversations, say, at the pilot stage and the first year, which I think was some of her best stuff. But you know what these things are like-once you get to Seasons 3 and 4, you have certain storylines and certain characters you have to write for and you have to manage and you have to deal with. So I think as Seasons 3, 4 went onwards there was less communication, but I think also by then everybody knows the character and everybody has an idea of what they’re doing.

AE: Kalinda has been hailed as one of the best queer characters on television. How is it to play someone like that?

AP: It’s beenwhen I first got the role I was nervous and excited working with such an established group of actors. I knew when I read it on the page this was something exciting and I really do put my heart and soul into a character. And I really didn’t want her to be defined by anything-her cultural background, her sexuality, anything about her. I just wanted Kalinda to be Kalinda. It’s been really nice to see people-often when they talk about Kalinda, just talking about her personality as opposed to her diverse background. I feel that sends a really great message out for future roles where you don’t necessarily have to be defined by your cultural difference, or your sexual difference-it could be something you address later on as a series develops. But it’s been a real honor to be accepted, for me, on an international level, to receive the love and affection from the fans and the critics for six seasons is priceless. It’s something I’m very, very touched and humbled by, the amount of love for the character, and the support the character has received.

AE: We also loved you on The Fall where you had a flirtation with Gillian Anderson’s character.

AP: I remember reading The Fall when I was working on The Good Wife and I’d just finished a very long shoot. The creator, Alan, sent it to me and said, “Archie, would you just read it and let me know what you think-yes or no. But just read it because I’ve had you in mind for this. And I remember reading six episodes-I just couldn’t put it down. I just thought, “This is a great project. And it isn’t a huge role”-which I couldn’t really manage with The Good Wife-and time wise, it could just slot in so well. And as soon as I arrived in Ireland and met Gillian, we just really hit it off in such a big way. We just got on incredibly well and I think they saw that sort of natural chemistry between us two women-which wasn’t sexual at all. I don’t even think-I mean the bar scene maybe a little bit [laughs] but it was just really about two women sort of getting on very well and finding each other’s company a lot more rewarding, particularly for her, as opposed to the men she was mixing with. But yeah, we just got on really well as friends and had a lot of fun on the shoot.

AE: Are you getting a lot more scripts to play more queer characters?

AP: Interestingly enough, she’s not queer-she’s married with kids, my character. It was just a moment that I don’t know really develops into something or not. But I think it is obviously labeled as being queer because of having played Kalinda for a long time. I think that people-the roles that I have gone out for I’ve been asked to read for films tend to be more strong, sexy women as opposed to being asexual or bisexual. I think that I kind of fit in that niche of being a strong intelligent sexy-which is fun to play. And the role that I’m about to do, one of the notes that I got for costumes is “We just don’t want anything sexual about her.” Which I laughed! No leather jackets, no leather boots-it’s become so iconic now, so it kind of is going the other way, particularly in this next job. That’s for something called Shetlands, which is something I’m doing for ITV in England and in Glasgow next week. Every time I’m on hiatus I try to fit in something in England just because I love coming back here and doing British work.

AE: So will you be back for Season 3 of The Fall?

AP: Possibly, it really just depends on scheduling because I’m also with Fox in a deal where they’re trying to find me the perfect match so right now things are a little bit up in the air but in the meantime, I’m having a little bit of a flirt with different projects and different characters and like Kalinda, I’m not committing until I find the right one. So we’ll wait and see. After playing Kalinda, it’s a difficult act to follow and I’m not in any rush. I want to feel that same level of excitement when I read that script and when I read The Fall.

AE: Is there anything else you want fans to know about you or Kalinda?

AP: Like I said, I know a lot of celebrities stress their gratitude to the fans, but I really do feel this character, from the outset, kind of became what she did as a result of the fans. Because the response was so incredible, they wrote for me and they gave me an episode-I don’t know if you remember it, it was “Hi” in Season 1 which was the heaviest episode I ever had as Kalinda. That helped me go on to win the Emmy. It was the highest-watched episode in the history of The Good Wife. That response-I keep saying-that response that I got from the audience is kind of the reason I got all the accolades and CBS and the Kings kept pushing for my character, otherwise I wouldn’t have achieved that. And as you know, for the husband, when they didn’t like him, I got taken away because the audience reacted in the way that they did.

AE: Why do you think that was?

AP: I think that character was a surprise-it was the underdog. And I think the audience became very protective of [Kalinda] and after the friendship broke up with Alicia, even then a lot of people were still pining for that friendship to get back. I don’t know-I think there’s something about the character that people connect with. When I meet people in person, the way they react to the character-not me, I know I play her but the character-is priceless. They have a twinkle in their eye. And New Yorkers, who are averse to going up to celebrities, seem embarrassed coming up to me and just wanting to say something. It’s like, “I think you’re really good, I never do this, I’ll see you later, bye!” It makes my day because that’s such a huge compliment. So just seeing that reaction from them-there’s something about her I haven’t been able to bottle or actually put my own words on it. The audience just seems connected.

AE: Thank you so much, Arcie. I’m going to be sad watching The Good Wife without you!

AP: I mean look, it’s a well-written show, it’s a classy show and I think it always has been that and as sad it will be for me to go, I think it will continue to be that. I’m grateful to have it as my first job in America and have had such a wonderful opportunity.

Follow Archie on Twitter: @panjabiarchie. “The Good Wife” Season 6 finale airs this Sunday night on CBS 9/8c.

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