DCTV Interview with Dominion’s Maia Nicholson

After a few years of comedy dominating the web, drama has come up with some fighting spirit. One of the latest topnotch dramas to arrive is Dominion from Barbadian born and now New York transplant Rodney Smith. The well-shot noir introduces Maia Nicholson to the world of web series, and since we know she’s now going to be on everybody’s list to hire, DCTV Creative Director Daryn Strauss thought she’d find out more about her.

DARYN: Congratulations on the launch of Dominion! You looked gorgeous at the premiere party! Did you have fun?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Thank you so much! I had a great time! Thank you for coming out. The night was a blur. The screening went well. We had great turnout. A lot of people came to support us. It was a fun night!

DARYN: Dominion is a detective story with a supernatural twist. How good are you at figuring out detective stories?

MAIA NICHOLSON: I’d like to think I am pretty good at figuring out the twists and and turns of detective stories, but I have to say they do get me every now and then.

DARYN: At the end of Episode 1, we meet a mysterious character by the name of Marco, which you play. Tell us a bit about Marco. Who is she, and what can we expect from her?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Marco… she’s interesting. She’s tough, a product of her childhood growing up without family, so she’s learned to handle herself early on in life. She’s a survivor. Marco runs a company that takes care of things for the “rich,” making sure that things stay in the dark from the rest of humanity. Dominion is her world.

DARYN: Marco seems like a pretty tough chick! In leading up to the release of the series, Dominion released a bunch of minisodes introducing characters. Were those fun to make?

MAIA NICHOLSON: The minisodes have been fun, and we are in the middle of shooting more now. It’s an opportunity for us to give viewers a peek into what is going on beneath the surface, the underbelly of Dominion. It also allows us to give even more than the webisode format will allow, which is great.

DARYN: The amazing thing about Dominion’s creator Rodney Smith is what he managed to do on such a small budget. The show looks great! Do you get to do any fight scenes or special effects?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Everyone has been asking me when do they get to see Marco kick some butt. My fight scenes are coming! We are entering the world of Dominion when Marco is put in the position of having to step in and take care of things herself. Usually everything would be handled by “the muscle.”

DARYN: Do you have any favorite detective or supernatural shows?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Law and Order, NCIS, CSI, Bones, True Blood, Angel, Being Human (the original UK version) to name a few.

DARYN: One of the interesting things about the cast and crew is that many of you are from Barbados. How did you get involved with Dominion?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Rodney [Smith, Creator] contacted my about another film project called “Mirror, Mirror” at the end of ‘09. I worked on that with him at the beginning of 2010, and the night that film premiered Rodney informed that “Mirror, Mirror” was my audition for a project he had in mind for me. That project was Dominion.

DARYN: When did you start acting? Did you do any acting in Barbados?

MAIA NICHOLSON: I was five years old when I first set foot on a stage in Malaysia. I did theatre growing up in Barbados, and each time I would step away in some way from acting, I was always brought back to it. I’ve worked in theatre, TV, film and commercials in Barbados and New York and received formal training and theatre degrees in both Barbados and New York.

DARYN: How can fans stay in touch with you? Are you on twitter?

MAIA NICHOLSON: Fans can follow me on twitter @maianicholson and through the Dominion series facebook fan page HERE.

Watch Episodes 1 and 2 below.