Jerrika Hinton Captures the Spotlight in Amazon Thriller 'Hunters'
Alexandra SchwabAlexandra Schwab|September 15, 2020|Culture, Features,
Jerrika Hinton has been on shows as varied as Grey’s Anatomy, Here and Now and Servant, but it’s her latest role in Amazon’s new thriller Hunters that’s currently drawing buzz. The show, executive produced by Jordan Peele with a cast including Al Pacino, Logan Lerman and Lena Olin, is set in 1977 New York City, where a team of vigilantes are hunting down Nazis in hiding who are conspiring to create the Fourth Reich. The story is based in part on the real-life Operation Paperclip, a secret program where the U.S. government employed a large number of Nazi scientists and engineers following World War II.
It was the writing that initially drew Hinton, 38, to the role of FBI Agent Millie Morris. “The script came at a time when I had finally given myself permission to say no to quite a bit,” says Hinton. “So, to feel invigorated by a script was so seductive and hopeful, like starting a new romance.”
As the plot thickens throughout the season and Morris begins to piece together the truth, her black-and-white world gets increasingly gray. “Millie’s evolution is a sort of coming-of-age story. As a government worker and devout Catholic, she places her faith in capital institutions. But at the same time, she quietly wrestles with her place in a world that tells her that her values are a fantasy. It’s deeply relatable,” says Hinton.
What would be next for Morris if there is a second season? Hinton says, “I’d love for Millie’s graying point of view to become so hazy that she completely loses herself in the fog… I would also love for her to live fully out and proud and make some messy choices. Maybe even become a bit of a playboy. Now that’d be fun.”