Interview: Archie Panjabi from ‘The Good Wife’

Kalinda Sharma from DIVA Universal's "The Good Wife" is a character you'll likely remember for a long time. With her knee-high boots, short skirts and hair up in a bun, Kalinda is an investigator you don't wanna mess with.

But the actress who plays her -Emmy winner Archie Panjabi - now, that's someone you could have a delightful afternoon with. The British-Indian actress stopped by Kuala Lumpur recently en route to Port Dickson and Seremban to visit family and spoke to the press about the enigmatic Kalinda.

Sipping on Red Bull "to cure jetlag" after flying in the night before from New York (where the series is filmed), Archie spoke about Kalinda's sexuality, those boots and smashing a car with a baseball bat.

SEE ALSO: Interview with Alan Cumming from 'The Good Wife'

Catch the repeat airings of 'The Good Wife' Season 2 finale on DIVA Universal (Astro 702) on Saturday (June 25th) at 1pm and Sunday (June 26th) at 2pm.

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Kalinda's sexuality

There was always an idea about her being bisexual but they [the show's producers] never wanted to make it a choice or a revelation too quick. When the audience started to get excited about questions of her sexuality, they thought, 'Oh let's hold onto this and keep it a secret for some time.'

Prepping to play such a complicated character

It's challenging. I think I'm one of those actresses who get bored quite easily if I have a role and I understand everything about that character, then it becomes almost robotic, which is why I haven't done much television. But with this character, because she is so ambiguous, it's almost exciting and it keeps me quite interested. I normally watch the episode that I've done and I learn more about her. It's like a work in progress with this character.

Which actor she likes to interact with onscreen

I think my relationship with Alicia is really interesting and my relationship with Cary has always been a lot of fun. They're so different. In Season 1, she said to him "We have nothing in common, so we're not gonna talk." Then in Season 2, she kinda opens up to him and the audience responded really well to that. So I think in Season 3, they [writers Robert King and Michelle King] are going to start writing more.

A potential hook-up between Kalinda and Cary?

I think what's interesting about them is you really don't know what's going on. There's definitely an attraction but they're both very driven and they're working on opposite sides. He works at the State's Attorney's office and she works at the law firm. It'll be interesting to see if their relationship develops, how they'll be careful and what they'll reveal to each other since they're on opposite sides.

Wearing those boots and feeling the power of Kalinda

There's something about the boots and how fitted her clothes are and even though it looks sexy, the intention is for her to be very focused and reserved. Her job isn't to intimidate people but to get information, so it's more about creating a presence. She doesn't have a lot of dialogue most of the time; a lot of it is reaction. Her style and the way her hair is tied up does make her feel quite powerful and she does have an effect on people, but it's all in line of getting people to talk, to help resolve cases.

The now-famous baseball bat scene

When we did the test and smashed the window, it smashed in one go. But when we did it on the day, it took about twenty takes. It had something to do with the air. We were in a car park underground and there wasn't enough air inside the car. It was something complicated to do with physics, which I'm not an expert on. So I kept smashing it but it wouldn't smash and it was funny because all the men on set were like, "Hold it like this! Hold it like this!" and all the women were like "C'mon Archie, you're letting us down!" When they started on it, they realised it was the car and not me.

If she ever meets Kalinda in real life

I would definitely love to hang out with somebody like Kalinda because you'd feel protected by her. I would probably be a little intimidated because she doesn't say much to you. If she responded to me the same way she responds to Alicia, I'd be very flattered.

The appeal of 'The Good Wife'

I think because it depicts real life more. The characters are all layered, performances are very nuanced. It's not over-written and it's the kind of drama where you really have to watch it to understand what's going on. That challenges audiences and people want something more stimulating. People resonate with those characters. Even "the good wife" isn't necessarily good, so the reality is nobody is perfect and nobody is completely imperfect. People connect to that.

Changing the role of the investigator

It's interesting when you look at the role of the investigator or the private detective, they tend to be men in their 40s or 50s and very stoic. It's almost as though the creators went, "Let's have an investigator who is a woman of ethnic background, her sexuality is not defined, somebody younger." It's like they wanted to modernise that role. She (Kalinda) just became so unique.

How winning the Emmy changed her career

It's been a huge change for me. Personally, it's very rewarding because I didn't expect it. I think I'm the fifth Asian to ever win it. I wasn't really known in America because at that time, the show was only out for seven or eight months. Career-wise, everybody celebrated it across the world. Because I'm Asian, so Asia had a huge celebration; Europe because I'm European and then America. It put my name on the map for the right reasons. It's been very rewarding.

Her family's reaction to her character

My parents have been really supportive, they've always know this is what I wanted to do as a child. But being typically Asian, they were really keen on my getting an education and a degree. My mom was like, "You can do whatever you want, as long as you have a degree." So I went to university mainly just for that. I wanted to go to drama school but they weren't keen on that.

People calling her Kalinda on the street

It's funny to see how people react because they always have this smirk on their face. When they hear my accent, they go "Your voice is so different! And your hair is so different!" it's really interesting to hear the reactions from different people. Somebody's always got an opinion on her.

Hints about Season 3 of 'The Good Wife'

Well, I definitely get a new pair of boots! I think you'll see Alicia and Kalinda...if their friendship can be saved. I think Kalinda really wants to save the friendship but the ball is really in Alicia's court. I think they're gonna develop the relationship between Cary and Kalinda but I don't know which way it's gonna go.

Catch the repeat airings of 'The Good Wife' Season 2 finale on DIVA Universal (Astro 702) on Saturday (June 25th) at 1pm and Sunday (June 26th) at 2pm.