Jacobsen plays Jesse,a resistance fighter from the future with close ties to Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green). However, unlike all the others who've come back from the future, Jesse says she's in the present because she's gone AWOL – she couldn't take any more of the war and fled into the past, before the rise of the machines. What we know, but Derek does not, is that Jesse has photos of Derek and the Connor family, and clearly is hiding another reason for her presence.
I recently chatted with Jacobsen about her new role on Terminator, her experience working on Razor, and what it's like to be part of two such notable franchises.
IGN: We've seen your character on one episode so far, but she's still pretty new to the audience. How would you describe Jesse?
Jacobsen: Jesse, Jesse, Jesse… [Laughs] I would describe her I guess, first and foremost, as independent. She's strong willed. She is very devoted. She is a person with a great deal of conviction and a great deal of passion.
IGN: Usually we have Terminators or resistance fighters coming back in time with these big missions, but Jesse tells Derek she basically just wanted to escape the war.
Jacobsen: Yeah, she says she's trying to escape… Let's not forget that! But as people would have gleaned from watching the last episode, she has come with a specific motivation. As to what that is, we're all going to have to stay tuned, myself included.
IGN: In your first episode, we see Jesse hiding photos under the bed. Do they tell you, "This is what she's hiding and this is why" or are you finding it out script to script?
Jacobsen: Well, it's a bit of both. I was told as much as I needed to know to take the character through her arc and I guess, as I imagine it would be with a great deal of shows, things are always sort of shifting and changing. Writers come up with new ideas, certain concepts that people haven't thought of before pop out, so all of that stuff has to be taken into consideration when you're looking at the final outcome. But at this point, to be really honest with you, I'm not so sure! [Laughs]
IGN: That must help make it exciting to get the next script.
Jacobsen: You know what, it really, really does. Particularly with this kind of show, where virtually anything can happen, it's kind of fun not knowing exactly what's in store.
IGN: The show has a pretty dense mythology. Did you have to do a lot of catching up on who everyone was when you came onboard?
Jacobsen: I had seen some of the first season, so I just watched a few of the episodes that I felt would be pertinent to my character and a little bit more detailed; I.e., the ones that contained heavy portions of flash forwards.
IGN: How is it working with Brian? You two have a lot of scenes together right from your introduction.
Jacobsen: Brian's wonderful. Brian's great. He's very warm. As an actor, you feel that you can trust him on set; that you can rely on him to not drop the ball. He's fantastic.
IGN: Have you gotten the chance to do much yet with any of the other actors on the show?
Jacobsen: I haven't done a great deal with them as yet, but we'll see what happens in the next few episodes.
IGN: There's quite a bit of action on the show. I've talked to Brian a couple of times about that and how much he loves running around with the guns.
Jacobsen: Yeah, I love that too.
IGN: You've gotten the chance to do that kind of thing in the past, but have you done it on Terminator yet?
Jacobsen: Not so much with the guns, but there is a forthcoming episode in which Jesse actually abducts someone. So you'll see a little bit of action – you'll see her in action then. You'll see the primal side of Jesse.
IGN: It sounds like you really enjoy that.
Jacobsen: I love it. I'm not gonna lie.
IGN: I know [executive producer] Josh Friedman likes to keep a tight lid on what's to come, but if you have a specific question regarding your character, do you go to him with it?
Jacobsen: Absolutely, and he's always extremely accommodating. He's extremely approachable and he really knows how to talk to actors, so he's great.
IGN: You are part of two big sci-fi franchises now, with Battlestar Galactica and Terminator.
Jacobsen: I grew up with sci-fi always sort of in the background – like the background noise was always sci-fi, because my father was a big sci-fi fan. So I always kind of felt at home with it, if that makes any sense. And now, as an actor, I love the scope of sci-fi. I love playing with the sets and the guns and the aliens and the robots and all of that stuff. I love that. And it makes it feel like a play! I mean really, who goes to work and runs up and down a hallway with an M-14, dressed as a futuristic freedom fighter. It's great fun! Who wouldn't want to do that? It beats the heck out of running along a beach in a sundress.
IGN: Razor seems like it must have been a bit unusual, because you were a guest star on one hand, yet still the lead in this TV-Movie.
Jacobsen: Right, right. Yes, that was interesting. I booked that from Australia and I flew out on literally 48 hours notice. I was reading the script on the plane and then kind of rolled off on set jet lagged. It was an awesome experience though. Talk about making your stripes! That was a lot of fun. But I didn't feel like a stranger there, much in the way I didn't really feel like a stranger or too much of a newcomer once I started on Sarah Connor, thanks to the people I've been working with.
IGN: Talking to you, it occurs to me that both Kendra and Jesse basically both had their society wiped out by killer robots.
Jacobsen: Yeah, I seem to have been typecast like that, don't I? [Laughs] "World as she knows it is wiped out by killer robots and she then goes forth to fight them." Yeah, if you're going to be pigeonholed, might as well be that! A couple of people have commented on that to me, but to me they're such different characters. They're two completely different people, so I guess that doesn't creep into my consciousness too much when I'm working. But yeah, there are definitely similarities there and I guess it's just, for me, about exploring different dimensions of a military woman. Different kinds of military minds; that kind of thing.
IGN: Well, when we first see Jesse, she's out in the Los Angeles sun, jogging. Regardless of her ulterior motives, it seems like she is taking some time to enjoy the situation she's in now.
Jacobsen: Oh, absolutely! I guess it is really a hedonistic streak in her which you see and which you'll see a little more of in Monday night's episode as well.
IGN: Can you talk a bit about this Monday's episode?
Jacobsen: Basically, you'll see Jesse really lapping it up – sort of taking advantage of the respite that she's found from the war. You'll get to see a way in which she's different from Derek, because although she obviously has her intentions and her goals and she is focused, she is sort of interested in indulging just a little bit in the luxuries of life before the apocalypse.
IGN: Is this something Derek's aware of, or is she keeping it away from him?
Jacobsen: Oh, I think that it's pretty obvious. I think that he kind of takes one look at her and is sort of like, "What are you doing?"
IGN: Yeah, Derek doesn't some to relax much.
Jacobsen: [Laughs] No, he's just a ball of kinetic energy, isn't he? Jesse can unwind a little bit more. Not so much, but [a little].
IGN: So what is it like having your own action figure now, thanks to Battlestar Galactica?
Jacobsen: I haven't seen it!
IGN: I've seen pictures. Have you seen those?
Jacobsen: No, I haven't even seen pictures.
IGN: You should google image "Kendra Shaw action figure."
Jacobsen: I'm going to do it as soon as I get off the phone! My mom called me a couple of weeks ago and said, "Oh, your cousin bought your action figure," and I'm like, "What cousin and what action figure!?" So apparently they're selling them over in Australia. I think it's hilarious.
IGN: You've got to get a hold of one of those!
Jacobsen: I've got to get a hold of one of them! How big is it, do you know?
IGN: Six or seven inches tall or so.
Jacobsen: [Laughs] That's hilarious.
IGN: I think she comes with a gun.
Jacobsen: You're kidding. I actually think that's adorable. That's really cute!
IGN: On both Battlestar and Terminator, you've been allowed to use your natural Australian accent. Was that a surprise?
Jacobsen: Both times, yes. And I think that my natural accent has served the same purpose on both productions and I believe that has been to just kind of highlight the universal scope of the disasters that have happened to bring about the basis of the stories. For example, with The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the idea is that okay, now we can see that once the robots take over, it's the whole world rallying against them. It's a global effort. It's a global fight.
Stephanie Jacobsen can be seen in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Monday nights at 8:00pm ET/PT on FOX.
A new episode, "Brothers of Nablus" airs Monday, November 3rd.