The South Korean-born and Denmark-based actress shares how she is championing marginalised voices in Danish theatre and how the Apple TV+ series is a scathing commentary on patriarchy
Season two of Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series Foundation dropped on July 14, 2023 to reveal a few new cast members, which included Sandra Yi Sencindiver, a Denmark-based actress of Korean American heritage, who plays Enjoiner Rue, a beautiful and politically savvy character from Cloud Dominion.
The hit drama, produced by David S Goyer—who has written screenplays for The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) and Man of Steel (2013)—is based on American writer Isaac Asimov’s The Foundation Trilogy (1951), which revolves around the Foundation, a group of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire to save civilisation from collapse.
In season two, as the battle between the rebels and the Empire grows imminent, Enjoiner Rue attempts to find out the secrets of Cleon XVII, to whom her Queen is to be engaged, to secure the safety of Queen Sareth and her jurisdiction.
Tatler catches up with Sencindiver over a video interview to discuss her experience of shooting this series, and how she is championing the voice of diversity through her work.
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What attracted you to this series?
I loved the way the story is written; it’s a very ambitious and intellectual show with a lot of subtexts. For instance, my character has a political agenda, but there are sensual undertones. I just love the way the different layers of this character are intersected. I also found the whole production process extremely enticing.
What was the greatest challenge in the filming process?
We were filming ten one-hour episodes across ten months in three different countries without following the order [of the episodes]. I remember having one sequence where I’m walking with Terrence Mann’s character, Brother Dusk, through a garden into a palace and out through a garden again. This long scene was actually shot in three different countries and times. You had to read the whole script to map your character out and build her in the right order.