Hunter, a new two-part drama from ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Drama Production for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One
Eleanor Matsuura – DI Zoe Larson
Eleanor Matsuura loved her character Zoe on first reading, but more than that it was the story of Hunter that really moved her.
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"I really loved it. It's valid, hard hitting and pacey which is rare. The writing is really good, and the brilliant characters gel it together."
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Eleanor's character, Fast-Tracker DI Zoe Larson is professional and enthusiastic, but she's still learning.
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Eleanor explains: "One day she'll be a great boss who's fantastic at her job but at the moment, she's suffering from a mixture of bad luck and inexperience, and every time she gets it wrong it's heartbreaking because she so desperately wants to prove herself and get it right. She is kind of like the new kid at school really, and she has a really rough few days."
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Eleanor enjoyed playing such a strong young woman.
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"She is surviving in a very tough male-dominated environment. A lot of people look down on her because they don't feel she has the experience to be, essentially, their boss. I like the way she refuses to compromise her femininity – she's the only one who wears skirts and heels – she's saying: 'I am a strong independent woman in control'. She is a really feisty character, I like her."
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Luckily Larson's boss, Barclay, sees her potential.
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"Barclay's got the patience and wisdom to guide her to where she needs to be. He is pretty tough with her at times, but of all the people in the office she looks up to him the most."
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When it comes to Foster, however, it's a different matter.
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Eleanor says: "Foster is a real force of nature, so when we first meet there's a bit of a stand-off! They are total opposites, in everything from backgrounds to opinions.
"Foster is too well established to worry about the new girl, although she realises quite early on that Larson is a bit tougher than some of the other pencil pushers she has seen. But underneath it all I think Zoe is completely intimidated by Foster!"
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Eleanor found that she was surprised by the calmness of the detective who came to talk to the cast about policing.
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"He was a very measured, soothing man with great presence. I realised that it takes a certain sort of person to do this job because it is really, really tough.
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It helped me hugely in thinking about Zoe, and how she deals with the horrors of the job – the need to detach, the need for the comfort of your colleagues who know how it feels."
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