{"id":2117535,"date":"2025-10-27T03:09:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T03:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2117535"},"modified":"2025-10-27T03:09:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T03:09:16","slug":"who-is-helen-elizabeth-mcgovern-shares-some-intel-on-her-talamasca-enigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/who-is-helen-elizabeth-mcgovern-shares-some-intel-on-her-talamasca-enigma\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Helen? Elizabeth McGovern Shares Some Intel on Her \u2018Talamasca\u2019 Enigma"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/elizabeth-mcgovern\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Elizabeth McGovern;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Elizabeth McGovern<\/a> is chilly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Not icy, like her mysterious character Helen in AMC\u2019s new <em>Anne Rice\u2019s Immortal Universe<\/em> entry, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/the-talamasca\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Talamasca: The Secret Order;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Talamasca: The Secret Order<\/em><\/a>. Like legitimately chilly. That\u2019s because it\u2019s a snowy-cold November afternoon in Manchester, England and the doors of the local watering hole being used for the show\u2019s Porkies Pub keep opening as crew members mill about.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Yet she\u2019s also warmly welcoming during our visit to the set. Bundled up in a long puffy parka in between takes, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/downton-abbey-3\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Downton Abbey;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Downton Abbey<\/em><\/a> vet was chatty and insightful about her role, which viewers just got a taste of in the two-episode premiere. As one of the top agents at the supernatural CIA tasked with monitoring the witches, vampires and werewolves hiding in plain sight around the world, Helen is clearly at the top of her game. She is also deeply invested in recruiting orphaned genius Guy Anatole (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/nicholas-denton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Nicholas Denton;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Nicholas Denton<\/a>) to join this covert agency.\u00a0 Whether that is because he is able to hear peoples\u2019 thoughts or something more personal is what makes Helen so intriguing. She feels maternal, but also malignant. \u201cI think we\u2019ll keep changing our mind about her as we watch the story,\u201d she teases with a laugh. \u201cI hope so anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Nicholas Denton as Guy Anatole and Elizabeth McGovern as Helen \u2014 &#8216;Talamasca&#8217; Season 1, Episode 1<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">David Gennard\/AMC<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">So far, it\u2019s been revealed that Helen has had a hand in almost every aspect of Guy\u2019s life. She arranged for him to be fostered by a loving family (they also allowed the Talamasca access to him throughout the years to \u201cfix\u201d his ability to hear people, which isn\u2019t great), and after that, it was paying for, as Guy says after she admits her curation, \u201cthe best public high school in Detroit, a full scholarship to Penn, law degree from NYU\u2026and it was all bulls**t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As is, apparently, the story featured in the show\u2019s in-universe version of <em>Interview With the Vampire<\/em>\u00a0about Guy\u2019s birth mom being an addict who died when he was nine. Thanks to a fangful cameo by <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/interview-with-the-vampire\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:IWTV;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">IWTV<\/a>\u2018s<\/em> Daniel Malloy (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/eric-bogosian\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Eric Bogosian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Eric Bogosian<\/a>), we learned that he didn\u2019t actually pen the section about her demise in his best seller, \u201c<em>they<\/em> did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">So, why all the subterfuge? According to Helen, it\u2019s all to ready Guy for the assignment he\u2019s been recruited for. What that actual mission is won\u2019t become clear until later in the season, but on set that day in Manchester, England, we <em>did<\/em> get to observe McGovern and Denton film a very informative scene that clears up some confusion. And yes, there may have been some info about \u201cthe 752\u201d that Guy heard in Malloy\u2019s head, but they\u2019d feed us to Jasper\u2019s revenants if we went there!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Here, McGovern gives us some intel on Helen\u2019s duality, her sense of duty and what we might expect from her now that Guy has kicked off his mission with a bloody, fatal run-in with a vampire and an ill-fated one-night-stand. And in true Helen style, we\u2019re sure she was holding back some key info.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>What Helen has done to Guy is a terrible thing. But having been lingering on the edges of his life for so long, did she grow to care about him over the course of his childhood?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Elizabeth McGovern:<\/strong> I think the thing I find so fascinating about this character is from one scene to the next, you flip back and forth from feeling that you really love and believe her and her motives, and then mistrust her and her motives. You can\u2019t tell from one scene to another if she\u2019s 100% good or not. But I think like everybody, she does <em>intend<\/em> to be. And I do think that she does care for Guy, but whether or not she\u2019s willing to sacrifice him for her idea of the greater good\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Does she have powers?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She does not personally have powers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>How does she feel about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She is fine with that. I don\u2019t think she has any problems with it. I think she knows the situation well enough and people who have a power to know that it is a mixed blessing. I mean, the one power she has is that she does lure Guy into this world. And in some ways, that is the ultimate power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>What is her relationship with the other Talamasca agents?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It\u2019s her life. I don\u2019t think she knows anything beyond this. I think she\u2019s very driven and it\u2019s her entire world.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Elizabeth McGovern as Helen \u2014 'Talamasca' Season 1, Episode 3 \" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"855\" height=\"570\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/m5zd_3bCGVLHisdx_uEgyw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/tv_insider_639\/a979adb9a9516a492019ca2296c6dbe9\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Elizabeth McGovern as Helen \u2014 &#8216;Talamasca&#8217; Season 1, Episode 3 <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">David Gennard\/AMC<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>So in her time within the agency, I\u2019m imagining she\u2019s probably seen and done some terrible things?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I think the thing about her is, we don\u2019t know. There\u2019s something about her that\u2019s always shrouded in mystery. I think I do sense that there is a lot of hurt along the way, from the past, that she is somehow being driven by. And a loneliness, a lack of connection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>And that is clearly something she shares with Guy. What did you think when they said, \u201cOh, it\u2019s a spy series set within the supernatural world\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I didn\u2019t really have any judgment until I read the script. Then, I immediately loved it. And that\u2019s coming from someone who isn\u2019t, by nature, a vampire person. I think it <em>does<\/em> appeal to vampire people, but I think it appeals outside of that demographic as well. And I think that\u2019s where I find myself. It\u2019s just so wonderful, the way it\u2019s written.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Was it attractive to you also to play a character who was so almost nebulous as far as ethics?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Oh, very much so. I love this character that is so shrouded in history and I love the idea of the fact that you don\u2019t know from one episode to the next whether she\u2019s someone that you put your faith in or not. And I think Guy feels the same.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Do we see them growing closer over the course of this mission she sends him on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Like some kind of trust? At times, they seem very close because they have very similar backgrounds and they\u2019re in a similar situation. And then at times, I think Guy just really doesn\u2019t trust Helen. He really doesn\u2019t know. He vacillates all over the place. [<em>Laughs<\/em>]<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em><strong>Talamasca: The Secret Order<\/strong><\/em><strong>, Sundays, 9\/8c, AMC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the latest entertainment news on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TV Insider;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">TV Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elizabeth McGovern is chilly. Not icy, like her mysterious character Helen in AMC\u2019s new Anne Rice\u2019s Immortal Universe entry, Talamasca: The Secret Order. Like legitimately chilly. That\u2019s because it\u2019s a snowy-cold November afternoon in Manchester, England and the doors of the local watering hole being used for the show\u2019s Porkies Pub keep opening as crew [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2117536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[364229,359933,351010,359931,360804],"class_list":["post-2117535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-elizabeth-mcgovern","tag-guy-anatole","tag-helen","tag-nicholas-denton","tag-talamasca"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Who-Is-Helen-Elizabeth-McGovern-Shares-Some-Intel-on-Her.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2117535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117537,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117535\/revisions\/2117537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2117535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2117535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2117535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}