Alaina Huffman (Tamara Johansen): Alaina was one of the first auditions we saw way back in December (I was in Tokyo at the time and watched the stream from my room in The Peninsula). She was so good that, quite frankly, we would’ve been crazy not to cast her. I finally got the chance to chat with her today and discovered that, besides being quick-witted and absolutely lovely, she shares my affinity for Japan. Bonus points for that.

Elyse Levesque (Chloe Armstrong): Like Alaina, Elyse delivered a wonderfully nuanced audition, demonstrating impressive range in two very different ad demanding scenes. I only got the chance to speak to her briefly at the cast dinner but my first impression lines up with what everyone else has been saying about her: she is a sweetheart!

Ming-Na (Camille Wray):Back in my January 30th entry, I wrote “Meanwhile, we inch ever closer to casting one of my other favorites roles - the character of Wray.”. She’s one of my favorites because she has so much potential. That said, as I was working on the first part of the mid-season two-parter, I actually grew nervous. Wray has some nice, meaty scenes in my script and, without a strong actress in the role, the character would crash and burn. So you can imagine my delight to hear we had closed the deal with Ning-Ma, a tremendously talented actress (and, apparently, poker player) who is more than capable of delivering bigtime.

Lou Diamond Philips (Colonel Telford): Speaking of talented actors, Lou Diamond Philips is another huge addition to an already impressive roster. He is a kick-ass Colonel Telford and incredibly charming both on and offscreen. I told him I’d enjoyed his work and, especially, his role opposite Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit. He laughed and admitted it was one of his faves as well. Check it out!

Christopher McDonald (Senator Armstrong): Another experienced Hollywood veteran, Chris brings gravity and charisma to the role of Senator Armstrong. When I was on set the other day, he approached me, shook my hand, and told me how happy he was to be working on the show. A clas act.