INTERVIEW: Tattiawna Jones Discusses Building Her Unique Character In ‘Murderbot’
- Demet Koc
- 36 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Apple TV+’s Murderbot centers on a detached, antisocial robot who’s forced to work alongside a group of colorful hippie scientists. The contrast between Murderbot’s deadpan pragmatism and the team’s clingy, lovey-dovey energy is nothing short of delightful. Among them is Arada, played by Tattiawna Jones — a scientist in a throuple dynamic makes Murderbot sick to its stomach.
Nexus Point News spoke with Tattiawna about shaping Arada from the page to the screen, exploring her emotional depth, and what it was like building this warm, unconventional scientist.
Demet: Arada is part of a team that's so different from the usual sci-fi archetypes. They are warm, idealistic, and they actually care about each other. What was it like playing scientists who lead with emotion as much as logic?
Tattiawna: I think the scientists that I know in my life are similar. They're beautifully deep, whole human beings, and so to get to pick their brain a little bit about how it all comes together was a real treat. We had such a wealth of knowledge to draw from. Martha Wells wrote an entire and beautiful book series, and the characters are so beautifully fleshed out and written already. Arada is an amalgamation of a few characters, and so between what was already there and the guidance that I got from Chris and Paul Weitz, our showrunners, it was really exciting to get to form her and mold her into something that I think stays true to what is in the novels and also offers something new and unique.
Demet: One of Arada's earliest scenes is incredibly intense. She witnesses an attack and Murderbot ends up comforting her in a surprisingly human way. How did you approach playing someone in shock in a moment that also softens Murderbot little?
Tattiawna: I think when you're working opposite Alexander Skarsgård, he's such a professional and so fabulous at what he does... There's really — so long as you are there and paying attention — all of the heavy lifting is done for you. And so it was a pleasure to be there and to get to work together. And I think that in the moment, there were so many beautiful things that we were able to find. And of course, in that moment, we had the fortune to shoot on location. And so the whole production had set us up so well. We're in the environment. And of course, our beautiful wardrobe — Carrie Grace, our costume designer — just set us up for success. Once I'm literally in the clothes of the character, then things start to come. That's coupled with all of the research and digging and all of that stuff. Digging — no pun intended. Yes, we're there on a mining mission, but yeah. So it's just a whole lot of fun and a pleasure.
Demet: I'm glad to hear that. Did you get to read any of The Murderbot Diaries before filming?
Tattiawna: Oh yeah, absolutely! I didn't know of the series before the audition, so I came to the series through the audition process. But once I read the first book, I couldn't stop. Then I just read all seven, one after the other, and it was — I kept calling it my "before" as we were making the series. I was like, “This is my new favorite series to binge-watch, but it's a book, and I'm reading it all.” And I know it has such a huge and beautiful following already, and I'm happy to now consider myself one of those folks.
Demet: Did that influence how you thought about Arada and her role in Murderbot's journey?
Tattiawna: Oh yeah! Because again, there’s so much there in the books that it was so easy to imagine, and the books have such a visceral feel. As an actor, I crave this sort of thing, you know? When there are signposts there already to draw from... It's really just, "OK, here's a smorgasbord of colors and feelings and all of this stuff, and then I get to put that together and run it through this vessel in collaboration with my castmates, everything that's going on around me and Chris and Paul [Weitz]. It really helps to bring [Arada]. She changes on a daily basis; the evolution of it and how we get to shoot that throughout a whole series… I always feel at the end of a project, "OK, I know this character a lot now — I’m ready to start." Whenever I have that feeling, I always know I’ve explored something. There’s been something that’s dug up, and now I understand her a little bit better, "I have an idea, and now I’m ready to go." And I certainly felt that after this.
Demet: Apart from the scientist team, Arada is also in a complicated relationship, and it feels authentic and lived-in — just another part of who she is. What was it like to explore that dynamic within this close-knit team and sci-fi setting?
Tattiawna: It was so very familiar in so many wonderful ways. Akshay Khanna and Sabrina Wu, who are the other two parts of this relationship, are just dream artists to get to work with. We had a blast creating this relationship together. We were cracking up on set, behind the scenes. A lot of the chemistry is there organically between us, and so because we became such great friends, I think that really brought a depth and flexibility to the places that we were able to go within the story. Then adding those bits of humor, drawing things from our personal lives and putting them in… it was a whole bunch of fun to collaborate with those two in that way.
Demet: That sounds great — that you found friendship in them. That must have made it very easy for you.
Tattiawna: It did.
Demet: So Tamara [Podemski] said that when you were filming, the Murderbot voiceover was also read out loud. Was it funny to film it with someone calling your actions foolish, inefficient, and other things in real time?
Tattiawna: Yes, and sometimes it's difficult to keep a straight face because the writing is so good, and because it is so funny. I think I really enjoy that sense of humor: that dry, sardonic, sometimes sarcastic, yet full of love and inquiry and inquisitiveness. I—as a viewer—am a big fan of the Murderbot character. And so I sometimes had to remind myself, “Oh yes, you’re in the scene and you must participate. You can’t just listen and watch as a fan and a viewer and a person who has the best seat in the house because you get to be inside the thing while it’s happening.” But yeah, it was the best challenge — I would say it was challenging in all the best ways.
Demet: Yeah, it was so fun to watch. And after I finished the series, my first thought was to read the book so I could get more of Murderbot, and I am hoping they renew it for another season so we get to see more of these characters.
Tattiawna: I cannot wait. I hope so. Chris and Paul Weitz, our showrunners, they've done such a beautiful job with this first novella. I was talking to Sabrina Wu the other day, and they kept describing it as… what did they describe it as? Oh — like the expansion pack. The Murderbot Diaries expansion pack. How our series is very similar to the books, yet you get extra things and there's more stuff in it. So yeah, I hope it goes two through seven. I can't wait. I'll be there watching, loving all the way along.
Murderbot is now streaming on Apple TV+.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
About Murderbot
Premiere Date: May 16, 2025
Episode Count: 10
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Alexander Skarsgård, Andrew Miano, David S. Goyer, Keith Levine
Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Toa Fraser, Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang
Production: Paramount TV
Distribution: Apple TV+
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones, Tamara Podemski
Synopsis: Based on Martha Wells’ bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series, “Murderbot” is a sci-fi thriller/comedy about a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients. Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.