Sam Hunter (Melissa George) protects Edward and Stephen (Oscar Kennedy and Stephen Campbell Moore) in "Hunted."
BEVERLY HILLS — "Hunted" star Melissa George was tired of being interrupted.
In the middle of talking about her rough-and-tumble role as an international espionage operative in "Hunted" (debuting 10 p.m. Friday on Cinemax) room service walked into the suite. A woman asked if the room needs to be cleared of food.
George said it didn't.
Two minutes later, another employee walked in, without knocking, and wanted to know the same thing.
"Now, I've lost my train of thought. What was I saying?" the 36-year-old Australian native asked, clearly frustrated.
Ah, yes, the role.
George was explaining why she relishes the role of Sam Hunter, a spy who had one attempt made on her life and knows another is coming.
The attempt is tied to her mother's murder when Sam was a girl, and, possibly, Sam's undercover assignment as a nanny for an influential family.
"I love her duality," George said of Sam. "She's on this road to revenge, trying to figure out who's trying to kill her.
"She's aggressive. She's incredibly sensual. She's vulnerable. It's wonderful to see."
Sam has traitors all around her and never knows who to trust, including her mysterious employer (Stephen Campbell Moore), who is entrusting his son, Oscar (Edward Turner), in her care.
"She's a fighter but not like a gothic fighter," George said. "She goes in to get the job done, then she turns around and tucks the little boy into bed."
From the imagination of writer Frank Spotnitz ("The X-Files"), "Hunted" comes by its paranoia honestly.
"Finding the right person to do this show was not easy," Spotnitz said. "She has to be very physical and very seductive. It's hard to find that.
"I love what's going on behind (George's) eyes in this role."
Describing herself as "naughty" when she was a girl, George said she "turned negative situations into a positive."
Her father worked in construction and her mom was a nurse. "My family is nothing like me," she said with a laugh. "Even now, they say, 'Where did you come from?'"
Growing up with three siblings, George was a champion roller skater and went into modeling. As an actress, she got an early start on an Aussie soap opera.
Her dozens of American credits include regular roles on "Grey's Anatomy" and HBO's "In Treatment."
"I knew I wanted to be an actress when my mom took me to a play, and she saw my reaction," George said.
"She said, 'Do you like this? And I said, 'Yes,' and here we are.'"
George said she instantly fell for the role of Sam. As soon as she finished reading the first script from Spotnitz, she got out her camera.
"I hit record on my camera, and I filmed one little moment for Frank, not three like they asked for," she said.
"I said to the camera, 'You got one little taste.
"'If you like it, you can have the whole meal.'"
© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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