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Media Relations

IU grad goes from TV’s '24' to big screen for 'Twilight'

Reprinted with permission from IU Alumni Magazine
By Kurt Anthony Krug

Being on the hit Fox series "24" really changed actress Sarah Clarke's life for the better. It not only provided her with her breakthrough role as double-agent Nina Myers -- earning her a Golden Satellite Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination -- she also met her husband, Xander Berkeley, who played George Mason.

"It was sort of one of those love-at-sight situations, corny as it sounds," says Clarke, BA'93, who lives in Los Angeles with Berkeley and their 2-year-old daughter, Olwyn.

The St. Louis native graduated from Indiana University with an undergraduate degree in fine arts and Italian.

"I took one acting class, but didn't see that track," Clarke says. "I spent my senior year in Italy. What a fantastic way to sum up my Italian education. In Italy, I took an acting class in Italian, because by speaking another language I felt completely free to immerse myself in what I was doing. The idea of taking on the life of another seemed easy to do."

Intrigued, Clarke later studied acting at Circle in the Square Theatre School, Axis Theater Company, and the Willow Cabin Theatre Company -- all in New York City. She began her acting career by appearing in a Volkswagen commercial and on the television programs "Ed" and "Sex and the City."

Clarke won the role of Nina the day filming began on the first episode of "24" -- where each episode occurs over an hour in one day as Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) races against the clock to stop terrorists.

"I'd never done a TV series before. I've auditioned, come close, but never got it. I didn't really take in what possibly could happen," says Clarke. "I think it was a rare case they hadn't found Nina yet. I knew that when I auditioned. I got the part and was told to go to the set. I was like, 'What?'"

Nina was a Counter Terrorist Unit agent and Jack's mistress. It wasn't until the last episodes that the writers decided Nina would be a traitor.

"In the first season, everyone was flying by the seat of their pants," Clarke says. "They had come up with two storylines in case '24' was cancelled at the 13th episode. When it wasn't, we went in a new direction.

"They didn't know I'd be the mole, and I certainly didn't. At first, I was shocked as anyone else. To still have feelings for Jack and to be the mole makes it more complex and interesting. I was thrilled because it was something really substantial to play instead of just looking out for Jack."

Eventually, Nina murders Jack's pregnant wife, Teri (Leslie Hope).

"People were like, 'How can you (shoot her in the stomach)? She was pregnant!' That's '24' for you," Clarke says with a laugh. "Teri was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I tried to get her out of there, but she wouldn't go -- I warned her. What's funny is Leslie was annoyed with her character, because for the last three episodes Teri kept saying, 'Where's Jack?' Leslie whispered to me, 'Go ahead, kill me.' Even joking, she didn't believe Teri would be killed. I know they wanted a new direction, but geez."

In the third season, Jack kills Nina. But, ever since Nina's duplicity worked, it's been a "24" tradition that one of the good guys is a traitor.

"Now all bets are off. Everybody's suspicious of everybody else," says Clarke. "I don't think there'd be such a spark for Nina if she wasn't a double-agent. She was smart and capable, but she was the other woman. There's only so much affection you can have for someone who's a home-breaker."

Flattered by fans' affection for Nina, Clarke isn't one to rest on her laurels. One of her recent projects is Twilight, a movie based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel. Clarke plays Renée Dwyer, the mother of 18-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart), who's caught in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf. Catherine Hardwick, who directed Clarke in Thirteen, wanted her to audition.

"It's a fantastic ride for the senses," says Clarke. "I read the book when I got the audition. I was amazed at the following it had. Renée was the heart of the story beyond the love affair between the vampire and Bella. She was (guiding) Bella into not becoming a vampire. Catherine did a great job of making Renée's character a little more fleshed out for me. I had something to work with."

In the TNT series "Trust Me," Clarke plays an advertising executive's wife.

"I left the Midwest to become an actress, and now I'm a playing a Midwestern woman who's a wife with two kids," she says. "It's a rarity to play something like that on TV -- usually you're a cop, lawyer, or doctor. To get to play a suburban housewife who used to be in the ad world but is now at home with her kids ... it will be interesting to see how (the writers) make this something to watch."

Michael Loceff, "24" writer/producer, calls Clarke a "total pro. She's always positive and looking for a challenge. She loved to do languages, so I made sure to give her lines in German, Farsi, whatever, knowing that she would rattle them off like nothing at all. And I know she worked really hard with language coaches to make sure the accents were flawless."

Clarke adds, "We don't have to be uncomfortable all the time as actors, but the times where I pushed myself are the times I'm most proud of. There are so many interesting stories to tell and many interesting directors I'd like to work with. For me, I just want to keep telling good stories and work with many interesting directors."

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