Welcome to Seventeen’s Watch Club, where we talk with the celebrities behind your favorite latest binge, bring you exclusive content, and take you behind the scenes of the biggest hits you’re obsessing over. This week, it’s all about Shadow and Bone. Check back daily as a new interview with a cast member of the series is released and read more on the series here.
Amita Suman knows she's not a stealthy acrobatic assassin in real life, but the chance to play one felt like one in a million. While her character, Inej, didn't originally appear until the Six of Crows spin-off series, Amita understood the special opportunity she had to not only bring a new side of her to the screen in Shadow and Bone, but also to play a character she never imagined before.
"She's a unique character that's specifically made for a brown actress," Amita told Seventeen. "It wasn't about taking that diversity box in any kind of production. And she is so just wonderful and unique and strong and vulnerable. Inej is someone that I've never played or had experienced before."
Just as she was excited to get to play Inej, so were fans as they saw her on the screen for the first time in the show's trailers. One scene that stood out to many was Inej's reaction to hearing about the Sun Summoner showing a strong part of Inej's spirituality and morals that lead her throughout the season. It is also something particularly rare for a YA series, who typically don't dive deep into topics such as those. Inej's weapon of choice, knives, are named after Saints, something that Amita says "is really grounding for her."
"In a lot of productions, a fighting scene can just really be about the action and it can really just be about the aesthetic. But her knives give her a reason to always do good and it's a constant reminder of that," she added. "Every slice, every action comes from a really good place, even though, ironically, she's doing something really dangerous. It adds a lot of depth and emotion in every single fight scene. Inej having that purpose from such strong, faithful places is new to me and it's wonderful and it's a passionate place to grow from."
Getting to play a powerful woman of color in a fantasy series has made Inej one of the most popular characters from the books, especially to the many fans who finally see themselves for the first time both on paper and the small screen. "It means a lot to people to see themselves represented on screen and I felt a huge sense of responsibility," Amita noted. But, it also opens up new chances for her future.
"I grew up thinking there was this narrow road for me. And these were the only characters that I would get to play. I felt for people who were coming in the industry, who are in the ethnic minority, who are facing the same problem. The industry's got a long way to go, but I'm hoping that this part for me will widen my casting and for everyone else as well."
The series also adds Jessie Mei Lei as Alina, a change for the character who was previously presumed white. But with whitewashing in Hollywood prevalent and typically just one character of color in a series, especially female characters, there was an extra layer of responsibility. Still, Amita took it all in as a learning experience, particularly as she discovered more about Inej's background.
"I had such comfort in the team that we were working with. From an actress point of view and from a personal point of view, I learned a lot from her. She is someone that always demands equality and honesty. And if she doesn't get it, she's so willing to walk away. And that's something that's really important to practice, no matter what age, skin, color, race, gender, sex, whatever you are. It's always important to fight for your equality. She's given me a voice to do that," Amita said.
There's also a special unique challenge that the character brings to the table: her fighting background. Inej grew up in a family who practice on silks which Amita admitted she had to learn along with her knife skills.
"I didn't possess any of those qualities at all. All I had was her outer shell as I really looked like Inej from the face down to the toes. But I never had good physical abilities to have the strength and the stamina to constantly and continually do what she does with such stealth. I told myself, 'If I can't do an hour session of HIIT training and strength training at the gym, there is no way I could respect this character.' So I trained a lot and we had such an incredible team. They were amazing teachers, it was just so joyous. In terms of the knife work, I didn't get any professional training. I was handed these gorgeous knives and I just played around with them. I tumbled them around. I broke so many."
Amita admitted that she actually got a scar on one of her knuckles from working with the knives. The tiny scar still has not faded since the cast finished filming over a year ago and was clear even through blurry Zoom screens during our conversation. "I could get a tattoo, but this is way better!" she says with a wide smile.
For the Crows, the series also offers a unique chance to build on already existing characters in a new way. But Amita knows the importance of the Six of Crows series and what it will take to get there.
"The books are the Bible and to know how a story ends, yet seeing the journey of where they go, even though if it comes as though it's restrictive, is actually really freeing. No matter how you play it, you know the endgame. You can take any path because it will always lead to that and that can help in discovering very new things," she noted. "We have this gift. A special opportunity to find the beginning of Inej. It was important for me to have that end goal of finding the Inej you meet in Six of Crows, but also having this chance to discover the reasons of why she makes the decisions that she does and how she turns into the person that she is. There was a lot of discussions about that. But sharing the love the fans have for who Inej is gave me so many resources to go to if I was ever lost in finding her."
Luckily for her, she's not alone. With co-stars Kit Young and Freddy Carter rounding out the current Six of Crows trio that are heavily featured in season one, she gets to build a special dynamic with them. "Having a really incredible Kaz Brekker and Jesper helps with their dynamic and finding that character. There was a lot of pressure in getting it right."
Just like how Inej views every knife as a blessing named after the many Saints she believes in, Amita looks back at this role in a similar way as she looks towards her future and how much she's grown.
"Inej has given me so much knowledge about wanting to do good and trying to do good, even though it's hard sometimes. The rewards of always trying to do that are priceless," she said.
No doubt seeing Inej's new journey in Shadow and Bone will also have people thinking the exact same thing.
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.
Tamara Fuentes is the current Entertainment Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers TV, movies, books, celebrities, and more. She can often be found in front of a screen fangirling about something new. Before joining Cosmopolitan, she was the entertainment editor over at Seventeen. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
