A Truth Ninja

Emily Watson’s character, Ulana Khomyuk, is not a depiction from the actual events that took place but a fusion of traits, created in tribute to the scientists searching for truth in the aftermath of the explosion. Compiled with intense amounts of research, Ulana was introduced to represent tenacity.

It was great to play someone so tough — I loved her because she was a person who took on the system and said I’m not going to be afraid, I’m going to push until this gets through.

Courage vs Purpose

Director Johan Renck concludes that although courageous, purpose was the underlying force behind the actions of characters Valery (Jared Harris) & Boris (Stellan Skarsgård). Finding answers to the questions on the tragedy that greatly affected so many people was the objective; the characters found their purpose in unearthing the truth for the greater good.

I started thinking how important and relevant it is to feel purposeful, on a massively big scale – it was more about, “This has to be done, this must be done.”