Priyanka Chopra on Her ‘Quantico’ Character: ‘She’s the Female Jason Bourne’

TV | By on August 4, 2015 @ 12:48 pm Follow @reidnakamura
PRIYANKA CHOPRA

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Priyanka Chopra may be one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, but ABC’s “Quantico” will mark her television debut.

During “Quantico’s” Tuesday panel at the Television Critics Associations Summer Press Tour, Chopra explained that she chose the series as her first TV project because of the appeal of her character, Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who must clear her name in the wake of a major terrorist attack.

“Any actress in the world would want to play Alex Parrish,” Chopra said. “She’s the female Jason Bourne.”

Also read: ABC's Paul Lee Praises 'Quantico's' Priyanka Chopra, Says of Patrick Dempsey's 'Grey's' Death: 'It Was Great'

Though the actress was quick to praise ABC and its push for diversity, she said that she wanted to take on a character that had more to her than her race. “The only thing I said to ABC was that I wanted to do a show which gave me the respect of being an actor, instead of casting me for the color of my skin or what I look like,” Chopra said.

That’s what Chopra got with Alex Parrish, a character who is very much the lead of the ensemble series. “It’s her story,” said executive producer Joshua Safran. “She’s the audience’s way in.”

Also read: ABC Chief Paul Lee Teases 'Celebrity Family Feud' Renewal

As far as who the actual terrorist is, Safran says the writers do have an idea of who the guilty party will be. “There is a very clear plan in place,” he said, promising that the story would be resolved by season’s end.

The show’s multiple timelines will carry over into future seasons, but each season will have its own “event,” Safran said. It will also continue to follow the characters, even once they’ve graduated out of Quantico.

Also read: 9 Breakout Stars of 2015-16 TV Season (Photos)

“The goal is to watch these recruits stepping through their careers,” he said, admitting that the FBI academy will always be a part of the show, be it the characters returning to teach classes or otherwise.

Safran also addressed the show’s structural similarities to ABC’s breakout hit of last season, “How to Get Away Murder.” Both shows feature multiple timelines revolving a group of students — law students in one and FBI recruits in the other — and . But according to Safran, those similarities are a coincidence.

Also read: Watch Trailers for New ABC Shows: 'The Muppets,' New Shondaland Drama 'The Catch,' 'Dr. Ken' (Video)

“I’m somebody who doesn’t really pay attention to other pilots,” he said, noting that he had been working on the idea even before “How to Get Away With Murder” was on the air. In fact, the show was modeled after a completely different ABC drama: “Lost.”

The Scene at TCA: Funny, Frank and Flippant Quotes From Summer 2015 TV Press Tour (Photos)

  • “In the tradition of working with Carlton Cuse, I don’t know anything that’s going on.” -- "Colony" star Josh Holloway

  • “It’s hard to talk about that without sounding sexist ourselves.” -- "Reign" showrunner Laurie McCarthy on balancing work and home lives during female showrunners panel

  • “This is amazing! I have a TV show!” -- "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" star Rachel Bloom on breakout role

  • “At that time we weren’t looking to do another DC project.” -- CW president Mark Pedowitz on passing on "Supergirl"

  • “Stay open minded, dude.” -- "Billions" star Damian Lewis' advice to viewers

  • “And so, now I feel actually more freed up,” -- Stephen Colbert on dropping his "Colbert Report" character for "The Late Show"

  • “His enthusiasm was contagious.” -- "Limitless" star Jake McDorman on Bradley Cooper

  • “A bizzaro world honor.” -- "Angel From Hell's" Kevin Pollak on being killed off of "Mom"

  • “He’s gonna be more in the background.” -- DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff John on a potential Superman appearance on "Supergirl"

  • “Boo” -- CBS entertainment chairman Nina Tassler on the network's Emmys performance

  • “Full penetrative sex.” -- "The Mindy Project's" Ike Barinholtz on the difference between the show on Fox and on Hulu

  • “With all of our new originals, we will release episodes weekly” -- Hulu Head of Content Craig Erwich

  • “Now, for my two cents, I don’t see Trump going away easily for NBC. I don’t know how it’s going to play out.” -- Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard

  • “It’s not a whodunit, there’s no mystery.” -- "Fargo" showrunner Noah Hawley on how to write a “Fargo” story.

  • “Nothing wrong with colorful brutality.” -- "Bastard Executioner" creator Kurt Sutter

  • “We tried pretty hard.” -- "The League" showrunner Jeff Schaffer on getting Tom Brady for a Deflategate episode

  • “This is simply too much television.” -- FX CEO John Landgraf warning of a television bubble about to burst

  • “OK, here she is now. How did she get to where she’s at right now?” -- Lee Daniels teasing an "Empire" prequel following a young Cookie Lyon

  • “Bye Felicia.” -- "Empire" creator Lee Daniels shutting down woman suing the show claiming Cookie Lyon was based on her

  • “They were terrific, but I’m really happier — I’m going to dare to say that — to be here." -- "Rosewood's" Lorraine Toussaint on her last show, "Forever"

  • “It has been an incredible year for minorities, and I’m blessed to be in the forefront of that.” -- "Minority Report" star Meagan Good on TV diversity

  • “The Olsen twins cried a lot, so it was hard to get a take, that’s pretty accurate,” he said. “So I said, ‘get rid of ‘em.’” -- John Stamos revealing he almost got Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen fired from "Full House"

  • “Rob tell the truth! We’ve dated for years!” -- "Grandfathered" star John Stamos heckling Rob Lowe during "The Grinder" panel

  • “Unlike that girl, who apologized and resigned, we wanted to bring our queen bee character to some sort of awareness about her behavior.” -- "Scream Queens" creator Ryan Murphy revealing that Emma Roberts' character was inspired by viral sorority email

  • “Every single actor in every single scene at some point is given one direction, which is: ‘OK, now do the scene as if you’re the killer,'” -- "Scream Queens" star Jamie Lee Curtis on the plan to reveal the killer

  • “It’s a little bit of an odd result.” -- Fox CEO Gary Newman on "Empire's" Emmy Snubs

  • “I was really excited about getting involved in TV again, and it was great to get a call from Don.” -- Former "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford on returning to TV with "Blood & Oil"

  • “It’s a lovely thing that you’re saying, but I’m not answering that.” -- Shonda Rhimes refusing to answer a question about her legacy in television

  • “You could send him over to Meredith and I could cut his vocal cords out.” -- "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo on how Shondaland would deal with Donald Trump

  • “We’re crashing cars and we’re doing the whole thing — it’s gonna be awesome,” "The Goldbergs" creator Adam Goldberg on the series' "Risky Business" episode

  • “That’s kind of how I grew up on ‘Community,’ where it’s all about the ensemble.” -- "Dr. Ken" star and EP Ken Jeong on the show's ensemble

  • “It’s very important to us to not be violence porn.” -- "Wicked City" creator Steven Baigelman on the show's violence-against-women plot

  • “Any actress in the world would want to play Alex Parrish ... She’s the female Jason Bourne.” -- "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra on her first TV role

  • “She’s a star. She’s an iconic ABC star. We think the entire world will be talking about [her].” -- ABC President Paul Lee on "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra 

  • “It can be tough to work with your ex … Especially when your ex is a pig.” – Kermit the Frog after announcing his split from Miss Piggy

  • “We won’t be getting into arguments over politics and current events, but we might be getting into debates about the politics of hair.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on how the show differs from "The View"

  • “You can’t be the dirty Oprah.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on the difficulties of her last daytime talk show

  • “I think a ‘Downton’ movie could be a wonderful thing.” -- Executive Producer Gareth Neame on the end of "Downton Abbey."

  • “I love the idea because I don’t see enough of that on the air any place … and I think it’s a rich idea.” -- Norman Lear on his plans for a reboot of "One Day at a Time" featuring three generations of Latina women

  • “I think what’s going on is outrageous. It’s absolutely terrible and wrong and ill conceived.” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on BBC's potential for pulled government funding

  • “‘The Muppet Show’ to me, and ‘Sesame Street’ … they’re in the same world as ‘SNL.'” -- "Nature Cat" star Bobby Moynihan

  • “As a Chinese-American kid growing up here, there was not many role models I could look up to on the big screen.” -- "Into the Badlands" star Daniel Wu

  • “I can say Lexa shows up early. So you’re not going to have to wait desperately to see her.” -- "Fear the Walking Dead" star Alycia Debnam-Carey on her return to The CW's "The 100"

  • “There’s going to be plenty of encounters of the Walker type." -- Showrunner Dave Erickson on "Fear the Walking Dead"

  • "Everything that I portrayed during filming has happened to me as far as dancing, or everyday life. It’s completely authentic. There’s no frills to it.” -- "Flesh and Bone" star Sarah Hay on the series' depiction of ballet

  • “It’s not a cop show, a doctor show, or a lawyer show. Those shows make me want to hang myself as a viewer.” -- "Ash vs. Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell on Starz series

  • “One of the pleasures of my career is to connect people of whom I am a fan, and I’d been a fan of Patrick’s for a number of years and of Jonathan’s [Ames] work.” -- "Blunt Talk" creator Seth MacFarlane on star Patrick Stewart

  • “I can’t really tell you [much], but I think when you see what she’s up to in the show, you’ll appreciate what a clever idea [it is].” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on Maisie Williams' role

  • “I don’t think about it ... It’s just not relevant to anything I’m doing.” -- Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Luke Perry on Lifetime's unauthorized tell-all movie

  • “We always want the show to feel authentic, but the first season of the show we make no apologies for.” -- "Leftovers" creator Damon Lindelof

  • “We all have our own journeys.” -- Greg Louganis, subject of upcoming HBO doc "Back on Board," on fellow Olympian Caitlyn Jenner

  • “I was really disappointed in him.” -- "Ballers" star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on Hulk Hogan's racist rant

  • “I’m open to anything Dan and David would want to do [with Game of Thrones], but no conversations yet.” -- HBO programming president Michael Lombardo

  • “A cross between Machete and Marcia Brady.” -- Danny Trejo describing his "From Dusk Till Dawn" character

  • “We’re not about violence and we’re not about gore. And if any torture is involved, we don’t show that. What we do show, is the consequence of the crime.” -- Sara Kozak, Senior Vice President, Production of Investigation Discovery

  • “I think the beauty of the bravery of Nat Geo is actually that they’re letting us de-sanitize the story of Thanksgiving and that whole part of our history." -- Actor Raul Trujillo on his TV movie "Saints & Strangers"

  • “Let me put it this way. If a person has 9,000 tweets and five of them are not to your taste. What I heard is, ‘This person has 8,995 tweets that weren’t offensive.'” -- New 'Daily Show' Host Trevor Noah on his Twitter controversy

  • "“MTV brought us up and said ‘Hey, it’s lunchtime.’ We had no idea what to do! They gave us a lunch break and everyone was freaking out, like ‘We can’t sit down. We can’t take lunch.'" -- YouTube star Todrick Hall on his new MTV show "Todrick"

  • “My own community ostracizes me and thinks of Nelly Fags and Butch Lesbians are sort of the pariahs of the community.” -- Lea DeLaria comparing her life story to that of her "Orange Is the New Black" character

  • "With this [show], there’s no time for dicking around." -- "Master of None" showrunner and star Aziz Ansari on his new gig.

  • “A million dollars an episode is kinda ridiculous ... Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money.” -- "Grace and Frankie" showrunner Marta Kauffman on "Friends" cast's $1 million per episode

  • “I don’t think anyone else needs to hear me bitch about E!” -- Chelsea Handler, host of an upcoming four-film Netflix documentary series

  • “Playing a trans character on a show being shepherded by Lana Wachowski, I knew I would be protected and represented in a way that trans people have never been represented before on TV,” -- "Sense8" star Jamie Clayton

  • "We don’t need dragons, we’ve got cocaine!" -- "Narcos" star Pedro Pascal on similarities between new show and "Game of Thrones"

  • “Comedy is born out of the most unfortunate of circumstances." -- "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star Tituss Burgess

  • “I don’t have to defend Adam Sandler." -- Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos on network's four-picture deal with "Pixels" star

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