The first 2 episodes of FX’s Class of ’09 are currently available to stream on Hulu, with new episodes releasing on Wednesdays. The limited series spans decades and centers around a group of FBI agents as they deal with changes to the criminal justice system and changes within themselves. Class of ’09 stars Kate Mara as Ashley Poet, Brian J. Smith as Daniel Lennix, and Sepideh Moafi as Hour Nazari.
Mara has won several awards throughout her acting career and was nominated for an Emmy for her guest role as Zoe Barnes in House of Cards. Although he’s worked on a multitude of projects, Smith is most well-known known for playing Will Gorski in Netflix’s Sense8. Meanwhile, Moafi has been featured in shows such as Limitless and The Good Wife, and can currently be seen in the Apple TV+ series, Black Bird. Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Jon Briones, Brooke Smith, Jake McDorman, and Rosalind Eleazar are also included in the main cast.
Stars Kate Mara, Sepideh Moafi, and Brian J. Smith spoke exclusively with Screen Rant about what distinguishes Class of ’09 from other crime shows and portraying their characters over the course of three different time periods.
Kate Mara, Sepideh Moafi & Brian J. Smith Talk Class Of ’09
Screen Rant: What do you think your character’s superpower is when it comes to being an FBI agent?
Sepideh Moafi: A superpower that they actually possess or one that they would want to possess?
We can go with that too! That’s a great one.
Sepideh Moafi: I think Hour would want to queer the world.
Kate Mara: That’s a perfect answer, really. I think that my character, Poet—I do think her sort of superpower—and if more people had this I think it would be a good thing—but empathy is her actual superpower. It’s good, and it’s bad in a lot of ways, and you sort of see that throughout, but she definitely leads with her empathy and her love of people.
Brian J. Smith: I’d say, for Lennix, he’s got a talent for loving people. It’s a very specific thing to be able to really, really, really elevate somebody else above yourself. He really does meet the love of his life at Quantico, and it’s a relationship that has ramifications throughout the rest of the story for him. I think he has a very unique talent for loving this very specific person. Maybe that’s his superpower.
Brian, in comparison to other projects you’ve done and other characters you’ve played, what is something that really stands out to you about Lennix?
Brian J. Smith: It was really fun to get to play with all the different timelines. I found something very moving about looking at a person who’s in their 50s and looking back like, “How the hell did I get here? How did this happen, and what am I going to do about it?” I found that to be very exciting. Usually, you play your age. Usually, you’re playing someone who’s dealing with the same cluster of issues that you’re dealing with in some way. So to be able to sort of project myself into the future in a way and figure out what it’s like to reassess and reevaluate your entire life—I found that to be a lot of fun.
Sepideh, this definitely isn’t your first time working within the crime genre, so what do you think sets Class of ’09 apart from other shows that are in this same vein?
Sepideh Moafi: It’s quite unique, tonally. It’s a suspenseful thriller with a sprinkle of sci-fi. As Brian mentioned, we get to see these characters throughout various points in their lives and how the decisions they make or don’t make affect their lives—the ripple effect and the consequences of our human decisions, whether right or wrong. I think there was something deeply vulnerable and raw about Hour and seeing that kind of character, especially in a role like law enforcement, which isn’t common. The people that you see on television playing cops or FBI agents or CIA—they’re always kind of steely and hard.
The first time you see Hour, she’s in a tub, spiraling out of control, talking about how she doesn’t have money, and she doesn’t know why she’s there. She’s having an existential crisis and immediately this bond, from that moment, is formed between Hour and Poet. Being able to see this group that has this bonding experience and how they stay connected in each other’s lives throughout the decades is something that’s unique. There are so many different elements and so many different themes that were attractive to me about this project.
One of them was AI, and one of them was time and the nature of time. One of them was this character with her specific backstory coming from a traumatized Iranian family that was oppressed in their own government and then dealing with an oppressive legal system that she’s trying to help, and she’s trying to fix, and how, [just because] your heart is in a good place, that doesn’t always mean that it’s going to turn out for the best. These are really real and relatable ideas and themes.
Kate, you’ve also played a wide range of roles. Was there anything that surprised you about Poet that you haven’t seen in a role before?
Kate Mara: The thing about this character that I was excited to explore was, sort of like what Sepi mentioned, is time and how it really affects us all in so many ways. It affects our relationships so intensely, and I was really intrigued by how Poet’s relationship with each of these people would be different in the different time periods of her life and how they grow and evolve, or stay stuck in a certain emotional state, and just exploring what time does to us all. Not just in a physical way, [but] in an emotional way. That was what was intriguing to me about playing this character and what was different in the scripts, as well.
As you’ve all mentioned, the show jumps around in time a lot. As actors, you’re obviously used to filming out of order, but was there an added layer of difficulty here to get into your character’s headspace?
Brian J. Smith: Well, there’s the makeup. There were certain days when we would have to go from our present-day look to our future look. I don’t know how long it took you all, but I think mine was about two hours to get the old-age look on. Getting into that was difficult.
Kate Mara: I think it took you three hours because I remember coming onto set a little bit after you. You were always there before we arrived. That was definitely tricky, but it gave us the time to get into that headspace for sure. There was always a big chunk of time between scenes whenever we were jumping time periods, so that was useful for us to be able to sort of switch your headspace as well.
Sepideh Moafi: Yeah, but you’re right. Aside from makeup and costume, you do have to be diligent about staying on top of what unfolds when, what happens where, and where you are within the dynamic of the relationships at any given point throughout the script. Everyone has their process. I like to have it out in a timeline, but the thing that helped me most was just being on set. There’s something that your body kind of memorizes, and once you’re on set with those characters, something just clicks. As Kate has mentioned before, we kind of rely on each other in a way.
About Class of ’09
Class of ’09 is a suspense thriller limited series that follows a class of FBI agents set in three distinct points in time who grapple with immense changes as the U.S. criminal justice system is altered by artificial intelligence. Spanning multiple decades and told across interweaving timelines, the series examines the nature of justice, humanity, and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and legacy.
Check back soon for our interview with the Class of ’09 showrunner and executive producers as well.
The first 2 episodes of Class of ’09 are now available to stream on Hulu, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
