Leverage's Sophie, Played by Gina Bellman

Gina Bellman probably has more acting experience than most of her peers on the Leverage cast, but whenever Sophie Devereaux takes the stage to act (or sing, as in the opening episode of Season 2) we find that when Sophie is playing from the script it would definitely be known as acting badly.

As a grifter she plays multiple roles on a day to day basis as part of the con, so we must ask ourselves why Sophie can't perform on stage.

One might be that she is overconfident, and she doesn't realize her shortcomings until it's too late. Another could be the crowd that she's playing to, there is no con involved. I tend to think it's something else entirely.

As a grifter she is part of a team. She can't let that team down. When she is on the stage the performance is only going to affect her life, her career as an actress; in the con game one mistake could cost the others their lives. Sophie is not an island, even if she appears to be completely self-sufficient, she will not allow herself to be the reason the con goes south.

As Sophie Devereaux, Gina Bellman becomes a character who can read people with a talent seen only in the best psychics. If ever she needs to make it in the private sector Sophie could definitely play fortune teller, or card sharp. Perhaps that's what makes her appear to some to be the "Mother figure" of the cast. She knows them without asking, like your mother knows you without asking. She will also sacrifice herself for her "cubs" and even if you don't see her, she's there, as she was for half the second season. While Tara Cole ( Jeri Ryan) took her place as grifter for the team, Sophie Devereaux traveled around the world, but was only a phone call away.

So, during the second season of Leverage we see a lot less of Sophie. She is reduced to cameos, mostly head shots, or with strategically placed props to hide what Gina Bellman has a life outside of Leverage. Gina Bellman spent the second season pregnant with her little girl, giving birth back in November to her daughter Romy.

The key point here is that while Leverage could have decided to write her character out of the season, or replace her with another Grifter permanently, they did not. Gina Bellman's character of Sophie cannot be replaced, even by someone with the track record of Jeri Ryan.

In some of my other hubs I mentioned that this newfound fervor for my writing started with a two week free trial of Netflix. During that time I ran across a little film called "Zerophilia" in which Gina Bellman plays a key role along with another familiar face, Kyle Schmid of Blood Ties fame among other things.

The movie, from 2005, had people actually researching on the internet as to whether a condition called Zerophilia existed... I would say that's some pretty good story telling and good acting, since it means the body of the person with this condition spontaneously changes gender when sexually aroused.

Gina has appeared in numerous other shows and movies as referenced in Wiki-pedia, her most famous roles being in Coupling (which I am just catching up on, thank you netflix) and a miniseries I have yet to find called, "Blackeyes" which appears to have been rather controversial for Television.

For those of you who do not know me, I write about things that catch me, and hold me. Then I ask what I can glean from this, and how others can gain some insight or apply the principles to their writing here on Hub Pages, or in other areas of their life.

Sophie Devereaux is an amazing actress, until she takes to the stage. She is phenomenal at playing the characters she herself has created, but not at being the characters who were created by others. She's great one on one, but not to the mass audience. She's great as a team player, but not so much as a one woman show. I guess explaining that would seem rather superfluous. 

So, as a writer, or to be successful in any endeavor, you must be your best self (not the one others want you to be). You must play to an audience of one, and anyone else who is looking will get the same fine performance. You must choose which team you will be a part of. Don't try to be an island, take this one from me, it never works.