I got more time to explore in 'Blacklist' than 'X-Men': Famke

With her portrayal of the red- haired mutant Jean Grey, Famke Jenssen became a favourite among "X-Men" fans but the actress believes there is a lot more to her side than the well-known movie character.
The 52-year-old actress says although working in the popular Hollywood movie series was a great experience, she did not get enough time to explore herself as Jean/Phoenix Force.
On the contrary, she had more time to nurture her role of Scottie Hargrave on TV show "The Blacklist: Redemption", which airs in India on Colors Infinity.
"They are very different parts. With Scottie Hargrave, I get much more time to explore her for one. I have been in the 'X-Men' movies, but they're about so many different characters," Famke told PTI in an interview over phone from New York.

The American crime thriller, about the president of a privately owned company, who has a bunch of mercenaries working for her, is a spin-off from the NBC series "The Blacklist".
"Scottie Hargrave is just very unique. She's very strong on the one hand and very vulnerable on the other. She's such an interesting woman. It was this dichotomy in her personality that I really wanted to put on the screen because it's rare to get to play somebody like that."

Over the years, Famke has worked in various films and TV shows and the actress says both the mediums have their own challenges.

"Television definitely works differently from films. You don't know the whole character. It's a little bit challenging at times as I have to create a character only knowing part of who she is and then having to find out along with everyone else more about her.
"It was much faster in terms of how you film a movie. So, it's just a different way of working, but I really love it. I'm having a great time."
From starting her professional career as a model to doing films like "City of Industry", "Celebrity", "The Gingerbread Man" and Bond movie "GoldenEye", Famke says her career has been "varied".

"I've had a very varied career. I'm lucky to have played wonderful parts in great movies and all the 'X-Men' movies and then smaller independent movies.
"I've been able to work with Woody Allen and Robert Altman. I've worked on television and feature films, so looking back it's been a very exciting journey."
Despite a career of 25 years, the actress has never had any sort of expectation from her roles as she believes it often leads to disappointment.
"I never have expectations because if you have expectations about these things then you set yourself up for failure. The experience is always the most important part to me. It's a really great experience so far.

"The show has come out in the US and has aired six episodes and we've done very well. People seem to like it so that makes me very happy.