Maya Erskine on Becoming a Secret Agent for Mr. & Mrs. Smith

We recently caught up with Maya Erskine, star of the new Amazon Prime series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, to talk about the delicate balance of playing a character whose life depends on keeping secrets. Based on the 2005 film of the same name starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Erskine and co-star Donald Glover worked closely to create an onscreen relationship that was fast-tracked by the high stakes of being spies on a tandem mission. As Erskine puts in, both the intimacy and the conflicts are heightened by the life-or-death scenarios their characters face.

Maya, as well as co-creators Glover and Francesca Sloane, were careful to determine what John and Jane reveal to each other at each stage of their relationship.  Erskine says that she took inspiration from her character’s feline companion, in that Jane’s pride and independence hold her back from opening herself up to love. One of the ways this is revealed is an intense fight scene between John and Jane in which Jane wields a knife: Erskine compared her character's fighting style to a cat going into attack-mode, and says she had to diligently rely on her choreography to balance out the intense emotions of the scene.

Watch the full conversation below.

Two strangers land jobs with a spy agency that offers them a life of espionage, wealth, and travel. The catch: new identities in an arranged marriage.