Interview: Myriam Sirois Twenty-six-year-old Canadian Myriam Sirois portrays Ranger and Mars Dome native Sarah Cantrell, a loyal human friend of Captain David Martel. Weapons specialist on the Liandra, Cantrell knows from hardship: Her parents died in the war between Mars and Earth. Sirois' previous credits include doing voice-overs for several anime works, including Ranma ½ and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture. We spoke with her on-set in May. Q: Is this your first foray into the world of science fiction? A: Yes, though I've always enjoyed it — especially Babylon 5, because I think it parallels life so much. People relate to Babylon 5 because it talks about human behavior and relationships — how people work together and why wars happen and all of that type of stuff. I've really gotten into B5 now [laughs]. I'm reading up on it as much as I can and getting on the Internet to find out more about it. As we shoot, it's really interesting to find out new things about B5. Q: How did you first become involved with it? A: I actually came out to Vancouver to work on an animation series [Ranma ½] that I've been doing for the past seven years. So I was in the studio working on that and got a phone call from my agent, who said they were looking for this [B5] character and can you get to the studio at 12:30? It was 11:30 and I hadn't finished taping yet, but they quickly faxed me the material [and] I got in a cab and got here. From the moment I got in the cab, reading these [faxed pages of the script], I was [attracted] by her strength and how intelligent she was. You don't come across those types of roles very often. So when you come across something like this that is written so intelligently and about a very smart, caring, deep woman, it's just amazing. I knew right away that this was really something I could get into very easily. Q: How did your own confidence translate into helping you create a formidable yet believable female character? A: I think I just walked in a very happy person, a very centered person, and that's what I've probably used the most [in the role]. Of course, as I'm researching and getting to know more about what [the producers] are looking for, and what their objective with the character is, I can then go from there and develop on that. This woman is strong, and she obviously got this job because she's together and she can handle the pressure. As I've gotten older, too, I've learned how to handle pressure and difficult situations. I think that comes from theater training: You get on stage and you're so scared inside. But you get through it; you just sort of find your bravery. Q: What do you like most about playing Sarah? A: Probably the physical part of the character. Jumping in the pod and jumping over railings — that's been the coolest part for me. Especially the pod sequences, which I haven't filmed yet but I've been rehearsing in the harness. Q: What is it like almost free-floating in the gunnery pod as you do? A: They do a lot of it post-production with all of the visual effects. The final product will be something quite special to see.