Why Elspeth Sampson From Reacher Looks So Familiar

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Elspeth Sampson is arguably the most interesting new character in "Reacher" Season 4. She's introduced as the cold, savvy wife of presidential candidate John Sampson (Marc Blucas). Elspeth says her husband has no secrets from her, and, so far, this appears to be true, but it's hard not to wonder if she is holding some things back from him. Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) seems to take it for granted that Elspeth is the more innocent of the two, an assumption he might regret down the line. 

Experienced Canadian actress Kathleen Robertson plays Elspeth, and if she seems familiar to you, that could be because you're a fan of the flawless sci-fi show "The Expanse," where she appeared as the cynical Belter independence fighter Rosenfeld Guoliang during Season 6. Or perhaps it's because you watch Justin Hartley's CBS show "Tracker," which added Robertson as sketchy high-profile attorney Maxine for Season 3. Or, if you're a crime drama fan, you may remember her as homicide detective Hildy Mulligan in "Murder in the First," which aired on TNT between 2014 and 2016.

Going further back in her career, Robertson starred in the beloved teen drama "Beverly Hills, 90210" as the confident and privileged Clare Arnold (daughter of Milton Arnold, the chancellor of California University), appearing in 99 episodes between the fourth and seventh seasons. This was Robertson's breakout role in the United States, but, prior to that, the Ontario native played the popular Tina Edison in the '90s Canadian sitcom "Maniac Mansion," which was loosely based on the video game of the same name.

From sitcoms and teen dramas to sci-fi and cop shows, Kathleen Robertson has done a lot of different things in her career to date, but "Reacher" was a brand new experience for her. Speaking to PauseRewind's Elizabeth Stanton (via ABC 13), the actress explained how the Prime Video series was new territory for her. "I had never really been a part of a show that was such a huge sort of global phenomenon in the action space," she said. "It's always really fun to work on something that people genuinely are like, 'Oh yeah, I'm like obsessed with this show.'"

Robertson revealed that the creators of "Reacher" were looking for someone who had the screen presence to "go toe to toe" with Jack Reacher for the role of Elspeth Sampson, and how she had to really channel that for one scene in particular where she's "basically eviscerating him." She added: "I guess I must inherently have that vibe." She clearly had a blast playing Elspeth, which she was able to do alongside producing her upcoming show "Blessed Sacrament," set to premiere on CBC in 2027. Robertson created, wrote, and stars in the medical drama as Brie Blessing, a nurse from a family of hospital workers.