Exactly how big of a challenge did filming so much in the water present?
It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before. The ocean is the No. 1 diva — you’re always working around her. She changes constantly — the wind changes, the water changes, every beach that you’re filming on changes, so the sand is different, the reef break is different. One of the biggest parts of training wasn’t just the physical aspect, it was the mental aspect of learning how to read the water and read the wind. These lifeguards, if someone loses a fin, they can literally say, “In 30 seconds, it’ll be right there.” Or someone’s walking in the water, and they say, “In 10 seconds, we’re going to have to go get them.” The way they can read human behaviour and Mother Nature is really remarkable.
You’ve done a lot of characters in your career. How does Em stand out?
I’d never been given the opportunity to play a character like this. I’ve loved a lot of characters in the past, but this was kind of a turning point for me. It’s a more mature character. She’s complicated, she’s layered, she’s flawed in a lot of ways — those are beautiful things to bring to life. And I love the dynamic between Sonny [Robbie Magasiva] and Em. It’s really special that they have such a close relationship that’s completely platonic — it’s not romantic in any way. And there’s so much love and respect between the two of them, you really understand that they have each other’s back. At the same time, she has always wanted [to be] captain, and that’s mixed emotions because her dream then comes at a cost — which would be Sonny moving out and her moving in.
Unlike a cop show or a doctor show, Rescue: HI-Surf takes viewers into a world that isn’t often explored on TV . . .
I thought I knew what lifeguards did, and I truly had no idea. The community that is on the North Shore is like no other, and their rescue skills go with them wherever they go. If someone’s in need, whether they’re on the clock or not, they’re responding. Another thing I didn’t know is that open-water lifeguards are not actually recognized as first responders. Firefighters, doctors and EMTs are all recognized, so they get certain benefits. Lifeguards don’t — but they’re oftentimes the first person on the scene and they’re in life-and-death situations. It takes a toll, and these lifeguards do this job for 22 dollars an hour, with little to no benefits.
Did this cast and crew come together to form a tight-knit team of their own?
I have so much respect for [producers John Wells and Matt Kester]. As one of the females on the show, I told them point blank: “I have never felt more respected on a show in my life — which is ironic because I’m in a bathing suit half the time.” But that speaks to both John and Matt, and all of the male actors — what it looks like when you are respectful and support women, and raise them up instead of trying to keep them in a box. There were times where if I was really excelling at a stunt, Matt would write it in more, which was a new experience for me because, in the past, sometimes if I excelled at something, people would be like, “No, stay in your lane.” One of my favourite things I started doing was rock-running [an exercise carrying a large rock underwater], and when Matt found out how much I loved it, he started writing it in the scripts. It might sound so small, but those collaborations are huge . . . That’s how you keep raising each other up to be at the top of your game, all the time.
Rescue: HI-Surf airs Monday, January 27, on CTV & Fox
MEMORABLE ROLES:
A ubiquitous presence across the TV landscape for the past decade, this Florida-born actor is known for sparring with Dwayne Johnson on HBO’s Ballers, playing sports reporter Tracy Legette; she was also assassin Olivia Charity on soapy supernatural thriller Midnight, Texas; as well as intrepid young cop Amelia Sachs in Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. That’s all in addition to recurring parts on such hits as 90210, The Vampire Diaries, 9-1-1 and The League.
CURRENT GIG:
In another visceral drama from ER, Southland and Animal Kingdom exec producer John Wells, Kebbel dives into the role of Emily “Em” Wright — an ambitious lifeguard patrolling the beautiful yet deadly North Shore of O‘ahu, Hawaii.