Katheryn Winnick is a true powerhouse in the action realm. She’s proved as much with her stunts and fight choreography in Vikings, and now she’s an absolute force playing Jenny Hoyt on Big Sky.
At the start of the ABC series, Jenny, an ex-cop, is compelled to get back to work as a private detective after the disappearance of her husband (Ryan Phillippe). Alongside partner Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury), Jenny commits herself to helping the residents of Helena, Montana via Dewell & Hoyt Private Investigations. However, Season 2 sees a career shift for the character. Jenny opts to leave Dewell & Hoyt to wear the badge again, and that winds up putting even more resources at her fingertips while dealing with a drug cartel stirring up trouble in Helena.
After watching shows like Big Sky and Vikings, it should come as no surprise that Winnick has a martial arts background. In fact, she started a Taekwondo school at just 16-years-old and had three locations by the time she was 21. Given that her earliest experiences in film and television were training actors in martial arts, one might assume the action genre would have snatched her up fast. But, most of Winnick’s earliest credits were romantic comedies.
While revisiting her filmography on Collider Ladies Night, I asked Winnick why her resume wasn't flooded with action projects right out the gate. After all, she had the training! However, Winnick admitted that, initially, she wanted to distance herself from her martial arts know-how. She explained:
“I actually shied away from it at the beginning. I really did, only because I wanted to build credits as much as I can as an actress. When I first came in the business, I told everybody, ‘Oh, I’m a martial artist,’ and at that point, you don’t do both. You’re an actor or you’re a martial artist or you do stunts. You don’t really do both. Now it’s a little different, but a lot of times people had a hard time taking me seriously. And truthfully at that point, there wasn’t that many good female written characters for action films. It was mostly the guys, and they’ve always said a woman can’t carry a movie, which is so wrong and we all know that. Even still to this day, there’s still resistance that there can be a strong female action star, but hopefully we’ve proved them wrong with some great Marvel movies and also Lagertha. Clearly did all my own stunts there.”
It feels safe to say that Lagertha did make quite the impression in that respect, and the role also proved to be a game-changer for Winnick on a personal level. Not only did Vikings encourage Winnick to embrace her martial arts on screen, but the show also offered her the opportunity to dig into a role where the fighting was just one part of a multidimensional character. She explained:
“Vikings was definitely a big turning point in my career. But also, getting a chance to do all my own stunts and doing all the action, and the action pieces are just a way to tell the story. But Lagertha was such a character that was so well-developed in everything that she went through. Fighting is just a part of her, and it wasn’t her only thing. Yes, she was a shieldmaiden but she’s also a young mother and an Earl and a Queen at one point. She had a lot of different challenges as a ruler and as a civilian, and that’s evident. That full story is what really attracted me than just necessarily the martial arts or the fighting of it.”
Soon after her run on Vikings wrapped up, it was on to the David E. Kelley-created Big Sky. What’s it like making the move to a new series after working on a hit show for so many years? Were there nerves leading up to Big Sky’s premiere or did Kelley’s involvement give Winnick faith she had another winner on her hands?
“I don’t know if I was nervous. I was probably nervous signing up for years [laughs], but when David Kelley calls you, you listen, and when he asks you to be on the show, you take note. But I think [with] the show, we’re finding our way in terms of storyline. The format of the show is we get new actors every nine episodes, which is always a lot of fun and keeps things moving, so we have an opportunity to work with some great, talented cast members. And I’m also excited to get a chance to direct it as well.”
Eager to hear more from Winnick on her journey from running a martial arts school as a teenager to starring in Big Sky? Check out her episode of Collider Ladies Night in the video at the top of this article or listen to the interview uncut in podcast form below: