‘The Flash’: What Drew Katee Sackhoff To The Role Of Amunet Black

One of the reasons Katee Sackhoff decided to take on the role of Amunet Black on CW’s “The Flash” is the fact that the character is no hero.

“I never really wanted to play a hero. I don’t really have that in me,” Sackhoff said in a recent interview with Cinema Blend. “I like the layers that villains have and the challenge it is to sort of make a villain relatable and someone that you actually want to win. I think is much more interesting to me.”

Sackhoff added that the generous amount of creative freedom offered to her by the show’s producers right off the bat was also a factor in her decision to play the role.

“[Executive producer] Andrew Kreisberg sort of got on the phone with me and was like, you know, ‘We’d love to have you. What do you want to do?’ And that’s sort of how Amunet came around,” the “Battlestar Galactica” alum shared. “I asked him if I could make her British. He was like, ‘What?’ In my mind, I was like ‘It makes complete sense. She’s Blacksmith, she controls metal.’ That to me could very easily be European. It sort of makes sense. And I said ‘Everything just sounds more evil with an accent.’”

Sackhoff pointed out that the lack of source material about Amunet gives her more opportunities to add personal touches on the character. “There's not a lot of source material to pull from [and] it gave me the ability to make her British, to sort of like change her constantly because there’s really no rulebook when it comes to Amunet,” Sackhoff said. “It was sort of just like she controls metal and that’s it. It was very sort of make-it-up-as-you-go because there’s not a lot there. So it has been fun for those reasons.”

In a separate interview with ComicBook.com, Sackhoff also shared that she “was looking to do something a little bit more fantasy-based after being on ‘Longmire’ for the last eight years,” so being offered the role of Amunet came at the right time.

After making her first appearance as Amunet in this week’s Season 3, episode 5, Sackhoff confirmed that her character will return for episodes later in the season.

“She will be back,” Sackhoff said of Amunet. “I feel like she’s kind of like a virus. Like she’s just going to linger forever. I’m back in [episode] 9. I’m back in 12 and 13, and potentially 14. I’m basically sort of, I get phone calls like, ‘Does [Katee] want to come back for a few days?’ And if I’m available, it’s sort of like ‘Sure!’ And that’s sort of just how the character’s gonna keep evolving.”

“The Flash” Season 4 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.