Boston Herald
State of Grace in flux on The Cleaner

By Amy Amantaneglo

06-23-2009
 

Viewers will be seeing less of Akani, played by Grace Park, when “The Cleaner” returns for a second season tonight at 10 on A & E.

“Second season is a bit interesting because its not how I thought it was going to be,” Park said in a recent phone interview from Los Angeles. “We’re going to be following the lives of the people who have addiction and following William Banks (Benjamin Bratt) a lot more, and so you’re actually not going to see that much of Akani. . . . To be honest it’s almost like I know less about her this year. You’ll get a morsel here or there. It’s really not that much about the ensemble cast anymore.”

But Park, who was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Vancouver, plans to use some of her downtime to observe co-executive producer Warren Boyd. The series is inspired by Boyd, who had dedicated his life to helping people kick addictions.

“One of the things I plan to do on one of my days off is stick to Warren Boyd’s side and understand how to better help people and how to be a better Akani,” she said.

The actress, who also stars in the Canadian series “The Border,” recently reprised her role of Sharon Valerii on “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan,” a two-hour movie that will air on the Sci Fi Channel in the fall. “You’ll see most of your favorite characters in there, but it’s going to be from a different point of view,” Park said. “It was fun, but it did throw me a little bit because every time (the writers) go back into the past they want to reveal something new. It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s totally not how I had it in my head.’ ”

The popular science-fiction series ended its run in March.

“I loved the finale - I thought it was resoundingly complete and beautifully finished,” she said. “It wasn’t just a happy ending, but it wasn’t just so terribly depressing. It was such a bittersweet mixture of reflecting on life. It got you to think about your own life and what are you waiting for in your own life or what battles are you still fighting that you kind of might want to put your sword down because it’s really not worth it anymore.”

And what about the final scene that flashed forward 150,000 years in the future?

“I always felt like that it was almost like a footnote that was kind of cute and clever. For me, the show ends before we cut to Times Square. That last part I wasn’t such a huge fan of, but everything else I was.”