Whether its through personal appearances, posing for photos, coordinating or participating in charitable events or interacting on social media, Chase lives and breathes the fandom life. That simple fact comes through in the following interview in which she not only talks about
The Flash and
Star Trek (
DS9 remains the franchise's most underrated entry), but her role in
Vienna, the
Doctor Who spin-off audio adventures from Big Finish in which she plays the typical mercenary assassin with a heart of a gold.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: Obviously you've done
Deep Space Nine and
Doctor Who and
Vienna audio dramas, and, now,
The Flash. For you, what's the draw to this genre?
CHASE MASTERSON: These stories are the most fun. And they're the most real. Both. What's not to love? Combine epic adventure and transcendent themes, and you get to the heart of what makes us tick. We can all do powerful things, and deep down, we know that. The journey to accomplishing them -- whether those things are external or internal -- is as epic to us as the greatest feats our onscreen heroes accomplish. When they win, we realize we can win our battles, too. That's the draw. Or maybe it's just the cosplay.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: In
The Flash, how big is your part? How much interacting with the other characters do you get to do?
CHASE MASTERSON: Quite candidly, it's not a huge role -- but that's not the point for me. I'd taken time off from work due to some intense family issues; Andrew Kreisberg wrote the role for me, and the timing was perfect to come back to TV. I'm in two scenes, working with Jesse L. Martin and Carlos Valdez, two actors whose work I respect hugely. It's a fun role, on one of the best shows on TV in a long time. A huge win, in every way.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: How would you describe Sherry's role in this episode?
CHASE MASTERSON: Sherry is a divorced woman who lives in the house where Barry's Mom Nora was murdered. One thing I love about the show is how well the writers weave fun into serious issues and scenes. And Sherry's fun.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: Are you a fan of comic book movies/TV shows?
CHASE MASTERSON: I love how
The Flash &
Arrow are so faithful to the integrity of the comics, keeping it real. The action is fun and epic, but it's always completely motivated by what's happening with the characters' inner lives -- Kreisberg and Berlanti consistently hit a fantastic balance. Movies: I loved the first Iron Man -- a great adaptation. Loved Captain America (the first one). Obviously the Avengers was fantastic -- I hope they make a Black Widow film, it's crazy that they haven't greenlit that yet -- and can't wait to see
Ultron.
X-Men: First Class is one of my favorite movies, in or out of the genre -- I loved the character development, and it has such great heart and history. Loved the last Wolverine. And back to DC on TV, I can't wait to see
Supergirl!
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: Talk to me about
Vienna. What's the concept? How is this a spin-off from
Doctor Who?
CHASE MASTERSON: VIENNA is spun off from the
Doctor Who Big Finish audio adventure
The Shadow Heart, in which I play 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy's nemesis. I'd previously worked opposite Tom Baker in Doctor Who Big Finish's
Night of the Stormcrow. The show is a blast -- it has everything great sci-fi is known for: epic adventure, rich character arcs, heroism by ordinary people facing terrifying odds, and powerful parallels to real life. Vienna is an extremely glamorous, mercenary assassin, who generally manages to end up on the side of good -- even though she doesn't always start out there. It's also extremely funny -- kind of like if La Femme Nikita and Elaine from
Seinfeld had a baby.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: What's the appeal of this character and also the medium - presenting audio adventures rather than filmed adventures?
CHASE MASTERSON: So many fantastic stories are waiting to be told -- seriously great sci-fi -- but the budgets of those epic adventures make them impossible onscreen. Tent pole movies are great -- but there are so many ideas which are just as rich, which don't have an outlet on the big screen. Big Finish brings you incredible story-telling, with fantastic actors (check out the cast lists), epic film music, SFX sound, etc. -- and the element of creativity in the listener's mind is very much alive, since you listen, instead of watch. They're portable -- listen on your commute. And once you hear the quality of the story-telling, you won't want to stop. I'm grateful to know a lot of great writers, and the Big Finish writers constantly impress.
Vienna showrunner Jonathan Morris, writer/producer Cavan Scott and the
VIENNA team is seriously batting 1000 -- it's fun, poignant stuff.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: Looking back at your time on
Deep Space Nine, in a sort of overall way, how would you describe your memories of working on the show?
CHASE MASTERSON: We knew what we had when we had it. That's one of the best things you can ever say about anything, and it's true of
DS9. Ira Behr said during the 5th Season that he thought the show would hit its popularity after production wrapped, when the show was in syndication and people could basically binge-watch. As a cast, we knew that the stories that Ira & his team were telling were transcendent. And that's why Michael Piller and Ira took the risk to make it one of the first serialized shows on TV. That was a lot of confidence to have in the audience because it hadn't really been done before. And look what it's given way to: Ron Moore, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson, René Echevarria, Rob Wolfe -- so many top writers came out of
DS9.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: My feeling about
DS9 is that it still remains the kind of undiscovered
Star Trek show; that if people would check it out, they would get hooked. What do you feel is the power of the show?
CHASE MASTERSON: Every single day, I hear people say how the show holds up, over fifteen years after we wrapped. Deeply flawed characters, with complicated, messy relationships, hashing out their lives. Boldly going, but not across universes. Boldly going across the boundaries of war -- sometimes between species and sometimes within ourselves. We're the final frontier.
VOICES FROM KRYPTON: What's your feeling about fandom in general and how does it feel to be so interactive with the fans?
CHASE MASTERSON: I'm grateful and inspired. Of course there are exceptions, but genre fans have the best hearts. That's why they love this stuff. That's why I love them.
If you want to follow Chase's Tweets, her handle is @ChaseMasterson