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SALT LAKE CITY — NBC's "Blacklist" is an action-thriller dripping with suspense that leaves you guessing week after week.
"Blacklist" is the big buzz on Monday nights, with more than 12 million people tuning in. At the center of the plot is FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen, played by breakout actress Megan Boone.
“Elizabeth Keen is a purposely ambiguous character,” Boone said. “You want a character with a lot of mystery, and she is shrouded in mystery.”
Boone describes this opportunity as a defining moment in her young life.
“The last year has been the most challenging year of my life — and not in a bad way,” she is quick to correct. “In a really, really exciting way.”
Boone credits the show with helping her become a woman. She connects with her character in a very personal way and says, over the last year, she has found herself within this role.
“I always describe my character as having ‘the heart of a lion and feet made of clay,’ ” Boone explains. “After a year of shooting this show, I realized I was describing myself.”
Boone and the other cast members watch the show live on Monday nights, something she compares to watching game tape.
“You look at a play, you assess what worked, what you think you can do better and you improve,” she said.
As for the intense on-screen suspense, Boone admits to getting caught up in the drama, noting that what she shot and what plays out on screen is very different.
“You add the music, the fast-paced editing — it’s an intense show to watch, even for me!” she said.
Boone has her own way to wind down after absorbing the show as a "viewer."
“I take Melatonin,” Boone laughs.
It takes about eight days to shoot a one-hour episode, a schedule the cast describes as “intense.”
“It’s like shooting a mini-movie every week,” said actor Diego Klattnehoff, who plays agent Donald Ressler. “It’s setting the bar for network TV.”
Actor James Spader is credited for shaping the creative direction of the show and its characters.
“When I found out James Spader was coming on the show I knew: We’ve got it,” Boone recalls. “I knew it was going to be really special.”
The cast admits even they don’t know what will appear in the scripts week to week.
“I’m as captivated as the rest of America, and I don’t see any signs of it letting up,” said actor Harry Lennix.
