PRISON BREAK’s Sarah Wayne Callies: “I Didn’t Have the Choice”
October 2, 2007 by Kath Skerry
According to a recent interview in the French magazine, TeleStar, Sarah Wayne Callies who played Dr. Sara Tancredi on Prison Break didn’t have a choice to stay with the show…she was forced out.
Now I must say that the interview (which can be read in full here) was translated to English so her exact words may not be clear. But based on other statements she made within the article, it seems that Sara was sent packing.
This is just speculation on my part, but, as Sara plays such a big role in the first few episodes of Prison Break wouldn’t you think the producers would want to keep Callies around, even just for a little bit? Perhaps there was a reason she was asked to leave. Who knows? I don’t think an interview like this is going to do anything to get her back in the good graces of the producers though.
Q: Big surprise on Prison Break. We hear that you’re leaving the show in the third season.
SWC: Yes, but I didn’t have the choice. I’m sad, but it’s just show business.Q: You weren’t expecting this?
SWC: No, at the end of season 2 last year. I was sure I’d continue. It’s such a great adventure we achieved.Q: How did you know you were fired?
SWC: I don’t want to speculate too much about this. I was shocked.Q: Your leaving the show was a big deal. You have to tell us more!
SWC: I’ll just say this. I am sorry to let down the viewers. I have loved the support Sara Tancredi got from them. and though she was a victim of her own destiny, I liked how she made decisions by herself. But the way things ended up couldn’t have been foreseen. Again, I was deceived by the decision
It’s a shame that something couldn’t be worked out. Fine if they wanted to get rid of Sara Tancredi or even Sarah Wayne Callies, but to leave the fans with that really weak Sarah stand-in after she was such an important part to the show…well, that’s just not right.
So do you think Sarah Wayne Callies left or was she forced out? Or was she asked to leave because perhaps she was asking more than they wanted to give (which has also been reported)
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A lot of people are questioning the accuracy of this magazine. Apparently, it doesn’t have the best track record. And if you think about it, why would Sarah tell a French magazine before she told a US magazine? She’s probably under a gag order anyway.
Spoiler if you haven’t watched last nights ep…….. but anyone else think they pulled Se7en and Sara’s head is in the box? They obviously had someone doing her voice last night on the phone because it wasn’t her… This article backs up her being gone…. which is VERY disappointing to this viewer…. but if she’s dead on the show they can still manipulate Linc with LJ… no reason to keep Sara alive at this point. As much as I love(d) the show. If Sara’s head is in the box = jump the shark moment.
Seat42f – I agree. If it is Sarah it is definatley going to be the Jump the Shark moment.
I dont think I will put too much credit in all of these rumors until I hear a real statement from Fox or see a dead body on the show. Although it really just doesnt look good. I think that if they are going to kill her off they should bring her back to do it. They killed off Veronica suddenly too…but come on…let Sarah Wayne Callies act her own death. Please Fox Please!
very disappointed…. The way they handled the character in last night’s show was awful. Who knows what really happened but I’ve got a baaaad feeling ’bout what’s in that box. BOOOOO!
I don’t know the circumstances behind her departure, but knowing that she’s not coming back this year has certainly taken the spark out of the show for me. Beautiful Michael Scofield aside, there is very little here that is compelling to me now (which makes me sad, since this used to be one of my Must See Shows). Without having Sara on the outside to motivate his escape, Michael is just wallowing in a dank, dark, scary prison week after week. We know fairly little about his character outside of prison and/or his relationship with his brother, and his relationship with Sara, limited as it was, gave him a spark of humanity. Without True Love being a driving force behind the show, it’s not interesting to me. I didn’t know I felt so strongly about their relationship, but when I heard that Sara Wayne Callies was not returning, I knew I would only be tuning in sporadically this season. A woman can only take so much of seeing Bellick skulk around in his tighty whities every week. Something’s gotta give. And “How I Met Your Mother” is on a roll since mid-last season, so given that it’s on at the same time, it’s winning in my house.
If it’s true that the show forced her out, then shame on them. It’s their loss, and they threw away a great thing. If she decided not to return after the birth of her baby, then good for her – and I mean it! Even brooding Michael Scofield cannot compete with the love from a new baby. Either way, I’m sorry she won’t be returning.
There are a couple of things in that interview that are not mentioned on the JustJared link and that you might find interesting. Here’s a rough running translation of the entire entry (from little bilingual me, not Babelfish 😉
“Enceinte, Sarah a été remplacée par une doublure pour les premiers épisodes de la saison 3 de Prison Break, et devait reprendre son rôle en septembre. Mais la prod a éliminé son personnage. Abasourdie, elle nous a reçus au Canada pour un entretien exclusif.”
-Pregnant, Sarah was replaced by a double in the first episoded of Prison Break’s third season and was supposed to return to her role in September. However, the producer(production?) eliminated her character. Shocked, she received us in Canada for an exclusive interview.
{insert section translated above}
TELE STAR : Comment ont réagi vos partenaires ?
How did your co-stars react?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Ils m’ont tous dit : “C’est dommage, j’ai adoré travailler avec toi et, avec un peu de chance, nous pourrons retravailler ensemble.”
They all said to me: “It’s too bad, I loved working with you and, with a little bit of luck, we’ll be able to work together again.”
TELE STAR : Et Wentworth Miller ?
And Wentworth Miller?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Nous étions désolés de ne plus nous donner la réplique. Wentworth est un gentleman. Il a beaucoup de grâce et de classe. Et j’ai énormément appris avec lui. Mais dans une série comme Prison Break, à part Wentworth, tout le monde finit par disparaître. Lorsque j’ai accepté le rôle de Sara, je pensais que c’était pour un an. Après tout, je suis ravie d’être restée deux ans.
We were sad that we wouldn’t be verbally sparring any more (lit., giving the retort (?)). Wentworth is a gentlemen. He has so much grace and class. And I learned an enormous amount from him. But in a series like Prison Break, besides Wentworth, everyone ends up gone. When I accepted the role of Sara, I was thinking it would be for a year. After all is said and done, I am thrilled to have stayed for two years.
TELE STAR : Si on vous rappelle, vous acceptez ?
If they asked you back, would you accept?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Bien sûr, à moins que je n’aie pas décroché un autre rôle ! Mais pour l’instant, je dois chercher un travail.
Of course, at least if I haven’t accepted another role! But for the moment, I am looking for work.
TELE STAR : Comment Sara va-t-elle disparaître de la série ?
How is Sara going to leave the series?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Je ne sais pas. Je ne fais plus partie de l’équipe, je n’ai aucune influence sur le scénario.
I don’t know. I’m not a part of the team anymore, and I have no influence on the plot.
TELE STAR : Vous êtes maman d’une petite Keala depuis juillet. Sa présence doit vous aider à surmonter cette épreuve ?
You’ve been a mother to little Keala since July. Is her presence helping you overcome this trial?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Etre mère est une expérience riche et déstabilisante : on ne peut rien planifier.
To be a mother is a rich and destabilizing experience: you can’t plan anything.
TELE STAR : Aujourd’hui, quels sont vos projets ?
Today, what are your projects?
SARAH WAYNE CALLIES : Je vais rester encore un mois à Vancouver. Puis, je retournerai un peu en Californie. Mais plus que tout, j’aimerais faire du théâtre à New York. J’ai appris mon métier sur les planches et ça me manque.
I’m going to stay a month longer in Vancouver. Then, I will go back to California for a while. But, more than anything, I would love to do theater in New York. I learned my trade on the stage and I miss that.
I had heard Callies was pregnant at the end of season 2 you can see the shots were staged not to show her stomach. But with the past few episodes you DO NOT see Sarah’s face in any of the shots.
Bon Voyage Sara!
head in box of sara = jump the shark…. they boys lives simply aren’t worth the collateral damage they have inflicted on the world, hard to get behind them now.
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How this happened? I love this show so much. But fox disappointed me. It is a shame.
May be Fox will change their mind and get her back. LJ has never met Sara….They never showed her face..May be this was another sara Look-a-like the company had implanted just to trick Lincon, and he falls for it…or plays along…and Sara appears out of no where and Michael and Sara WILL have a happy ending after all….sail away in to the sunset….have that promised dinner….the beer and the lemon….come on Fox, think it over please and get her back. Or esle you have lost most of your lady viewers. The romance was the only thing that was in it for us. That and the good looking Miller
OMG! I’ll just say one thing! GET SARA BACK!!
return back sara if you couldn’t do it this season please get her back for the fourth season(i would presume that there would still be another season because the story is long enough to end it up in just one season..PLEASE get SARAH WAYNE CALLIES BACK ON PRISON BREAK..PLEASE…SHE IS AN ASSET YOU SHOULDNT WASTE!
i couldnt care less if she came back or not… i started to hate her character anyway towards the end os season 2…..
producers made the correct desicion cutting her loose.. hipefully linc will start up the shows new romance with whistlers women.
FOX – PLEASE BRING SARAH WAYNE CALLIES BACK ON PRISON BREAK. PLEASEEEEEEEEEE. ALMOST EVERYONE LOVES HER. COME ON DO SOMETHIN’ ABOUT IT. BRING HER BACK. PLEASE .
Please bring Sara back. Love is so hard to find , and Sara and Michael had such a connection together. I am so dissappointed that she is not on the show anymore. You took the heart of the show as far as romance goes, and threw it out the window. Why start a romance between them and end it so tragically? What was the point? If wanted to show us just how tragic love can be…. bravo… you succeeded! Way to go!
You must bring sara back