Tamara Lawrance Wants Another Season of ‘The Traitors,’ but for Actors

By the time Tamara Lawrance landed the lead in HBO’s “Get Millie Black,” she had been put through the wringer.

“We did at least 20 takes of each scene or something like that,” the British actress said of her final auditions. “It was not for the faint of heart.”

But the part of a former Scotland Yard detective who returns to Jamaica to search for missing children — the kind of role that traditionally goes to men — was worth examining from all angles.

“I love her brokenness,” she said in a video call from her home in London. “I’m fascinated by her layers.”

Lawrance’s mother was born in Jamaica, but that didn’t mean that Millie’s accent came easily.

“It’s not just accent, it’s personality, it’s flair, it’s the whole embodiment,” said Lawrance, who worked with Fae Ellington, a Jamaican dialect coach. “And that comes from spending time on the island or kind of stepping into the history of the land.”

The show hasn’t been renewed, though after shooting on the streets of Kingston, Lawrance has one request if it is.

“Season 2 needs to be on the beach,” she said, before elaborating on her enthusiasm for “The Traitors,” disposable cameras and dub reggae.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Herbal Teas

I’m really into a brand called Caribbean Gold, and they do blends of teas that have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory properties. Stinging nettle, dandelion and Guinea hen weed — that’s what I’m on a lot right now. I can attest to the fact that they’ve been doing me really well. My friend came around the other day and he was like, “Your skin!” I was like, “I know!”

Reality TV

“The Traitors” has me by the neck. It’s just so genius, and I keep sitting there thinking they need to do one for actors. I want to be a traitor so bad. I also love “Love Is Blind.” It’s such an interesting social issue. Sometimes mindless things are very, very healthy for you.

Dub Reggae

It’s essentially roots reggae, but with the bass and the subwoof extrapolated and intensified at a particular hertz that is supposed to be a healing frequency. And it’s played on these really massive sound systems. It’s these kind of big, dangerous decibels. It’s like they give out free earplugs at the bar.

@Alina.Align and Chani Nicholas

They’re the astro babes of YouTube. I was always a bit skeptical about star science and horoscopes growing up. But more recently I’ve been thinking about how intrinsically linked everything in the universe is. There probably is some resonance to where the moon and stars were on the day that I was born.

Retreats

When I say retreats, I mean, in general, a place of taking intentional respite. Over the past year, I went to retreats in the Lake District and Wales. But sometimes I just make a retreat space out of my flat. I tell people that I’m going on holiday, nobody emails me. And I’m like, why do I have to go away to do that?

Incense

I like my home to smell nice, and incense brings an energy into a space. Lavender is supposed to be good for sleep and comfort, but also grieving. Most recently I bought rose, which historically as a plant was used for heart-based ailments — which I think is where the use of rose as a symbolism for love came from.

My Electric Blanket

They’re cheaper to run than central heating, if you don’t want to turn the gas up for the house, for the planet. I usually leave it in the bed for a couple of hours when I’m winding down and then turn it off as I’m getting into bed.

Disposable Cameras

I’ve been just trying to find ways to have more separation from my iPhone. Instead of being in every moment, every selfie, just bring a disposable camera wherever. Then at the moment it strikes, you take it, and it’s really, really nice because you forget about it. And when you get it developed, it’s like Christmas, just all these memories that come back.

Therapy

We think sometimes that we know what we’ve got going on. But therapy for me exposed the ego and the shadow, the things that we choose to suppress. And that in terms of being a more fully rounded self, how important it is to embrace the parts of yourself that you’ve spent so long pretending don’t exist.

The Doctrine of Signatures

It’s the idea that there are things in nature that resemble the thing that they’re supposed to aid. For example, trees, especially when they’re bare, look like lungs. Our relationship to trees is breathing. Walnuts look like brains and have properties that are good for synapses and nerve production. Every medicine, we can get it all from plants. I’ve been trying to get into that sort of bag so that if the world starts crumbling, I can grow my food.