Sofia Pernas on Playing the Nemesis to Husband Justin Hartley’s Character on ‘Tracker’ [Interview]

Sofia Pernas and her husband, Justin Hartley, are making it a habit to work together on screen whenever they can. Their next appearance together is on the new CBS drama, Tracker. 

Tracker stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a reward seeker who uses his expert tracking skills to help solve mysteries for private citizens and law enforcement alike. On the upcoming episode, Tracker Season 1 Episode 6, “Lexington,” Hartley’s wife, Sofia Pernas, guest stars as Billie Matalon, a fellow reward seeker and Colter’s nemesis.

I recently spoke with Pernas about her role on the series and what made working with Hartley on the show such a great experience. 

Most recently, Pernas and Hartley appeared together on Quantum Leap. They also originally met when they were both working on The Young and the Restless. 

Pernas said working with Hartley on this particular episode of Tracker was “so fun.”

“We’re trying to work together on everything we ever do,” Pernas laughed. “Because, you know, it’s a crazy industry, and sometimes it’s just nice to decompress when you’re with your partner.”

“The sort of nemesis energy — we did that on Quantum Leap, too — it’s fun to play when it’s your husband. And you know him so well, so you can really dance.”

“As much as the writers will allow, we try to squeeze in an adlib every now and then, and if not, we just kind of do it in the performance. But it’s so nice to be able to — like I said, take those moments because I am so comfortable with him,” she continued.

“I always say this about Justin: he’s such a committed actor. And he’s such a great scene partner because he knows his lines inside and out and because he is so prepared. And I come fully prepared as well, so you can let the memorization part of it just go, and you can really lean into the energy of a scene.”

Pernas noted that Hartley’s character, Colter, is very different from what he’s played in the past and from what he’s like himself, which makes it even easier. 

“He is so different as Colter. And he’s so different from himself. Justin is larger than life in a room, and Colter’s very still. He’s almost militant.”

“It’s just so cool to see him do that,” Pernas continued.  “It was easy to settle into a blank slate where we are just actors in a room, versus, ‘I’m acting with my husband.'”

Pernas’s character, Billie, is also quite different from Colter, especially in their approach to reward-seeking. 

“She’s more tech-savvy,” Pernas said of Billie. “She doesn’t have a Velma, a Teddi, and a Bobby; she’s just kind of doing it all herself.”

More than that, she’s great at manipulation.  

“Billie is absolutely aware that she’s very, very good at manipulating a scenario to go her way most of the time. And she does it when she eventually convinces Colter to work with her.”

Billie and Colter’s backstory is complex, to say the least. There’s a reason Colter considers Billie to be his nemesis, and there’s a reason he struggles to trust her. Still, he’s willing to team up with her on this episode, and that will allow us to see more vulnerability from Colter. 

“Be prepared to see a side of Colter you haven’t seen before, and watch how he struggles with that,” Pernas said.

“It takes a very interesting turn because we get to peel back a little layer of Colter’s sort of austere demeanor.”

This episode won’t be the last we see of Billie, either. Pernas confirmed that she would return as Billie for Season 2. 

“I’m so happy about that, first of all, because I get to work with Justin again, and second of all, the possibilities are literally endless. With a show like this, I could appear in any kind of capacity,” she said.

“And, of course, there’s the Reenie of it all, and that could be played out. But I don’t have any details myself. I just know that it would be a blast whatever it was.”

Catch Sofia Pernas on Tracker on Sunday, March 24th 8/7 on CBS (special time). You can also stream Tracker on Paramount+.

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