Daya Vaidya is co-starring in this fall new series “Unforgettable” with Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh. Daya took time out from shooting to chat with Media Mikes about her character and what we can expect from the show.
Mike Gencarelli: Can you give us some background on your character Nina in “Unforgettable”
Daya Vaidya: Nina is a Queen’s native with some street smart sass. The other characters are a little cleaner cut. The cool thing about the character is she has this street appeal and made Detective really young. She goes undercover quite a bit and is used to solve lots of crimes. It’s really fun to play a character with such duality.
MG: Were you familiar with the short story that the show is based on?
DV: Yes I was. I also was quite familiar with the story of Mary Lou Henner and the condition she has which causes an autobiographical memory.
Poppy’s character in the show uses that ability to solve cases and it’s both a blessing and a curse for her.
MG: How do you feel the series branches out from other crime/mystery series?
DV: CBS really has the procedural element down. There is a bit of sterilization, however “Unforgettable” I think delves into the characters and their relationships a little more than other series in the crime genre. The other thing that differs is we have story lines that don’t just revolve around a specific crime, which is a different take as well.
MG: How was it working with Arden Oplev?
DV: That was one of the greatest experiences I think I have ever had career wise. He is a feature director and he is so detailed and talented and most the time on TV it doesn’t function like that. Arden spent so much time on the details of each character it was great. I think he knew more about everyone’s characters than they did as he is really smart. He has a great vision and he has stayed with us as an executive producer. It’s really great to have him.
MG: How many episodes have you shot so far?
DV: We just started our fourth episode including the pilot. We have been shooting mostly in Queens 
and Long Island City. We have done a lot of location shooting but a majority of the series is shot in Queens.
MG: How is it working with such a great cast?
DV: They are really great. We never have to worry as we have a bunch of great character actors. Poppy Montgomery brings some really great things to the project. There are a lot of people involved with this show that know how to make a network show work. I feel everyone involved with this project knows what it takes and what they have to do. We have a lot of fun with each other and there is some really great chemistry.
MG: What do you usually look for when approaching a role?
DV: I like strong woman who are smart, so that’s something I am always drawn to. I like the combination someone who can flow between different worlds. I think people are complex and sometimes they are forced to stay in one box and I like to play the people who don’t fit in one of those boxes. I am always open to try different things.