1 of 5 | Season 4 of "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" -- starring Abbie Cornish -- premieres on Friday. Photo courtesy of Prime Video
NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- A Good Year and Three Billboards star Abbie Cornish says Dr. Cathy Mueller, the infectious disease expert she plays in the action-thriller, Jack Ryan, is over the moon to reunite romantically with the titular hero in Season 4.
"She's just so happy to have him in her life. I don't think having him away and having him doing what he's doing without her by his side was an enjoyable experience for her," Cornish, whose character doesn't appear in Seasons 3 and 4 of the show, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"She's incredibly in love with this man and the fact that he is willing to give a real relationship a go and trust her is awesome."
The final season of the show premieres on Prime Video Friday. It follows Ryan, the CIA's new acting deputy director, as he is tasked with rooting out internal corruption amongst the agency's ranks.
The stakes have never been higher as he uncovers several suspicious and mysterious missions headed by his predecessor and involving the unholy alliance of a drug cartel and a terrorist organization.
Clickbait and Good Girls Revolt alum Betty Gabriel plays Jack's boss, newly appointed CIA Acting Director Elizabeth Wright.
"It's quite rewarding and I could get used to that," the actress said about playing a woman in such a powerful position. "I'm not saying I want to be the director of the CIA in real life, but I like playing her."
"Any time you have a woman in charge or any position, you have an extra lawyer of empathy and collaboration and I think that makes for a better leader, a better doctor, better everything."
Gabriel's favorite scene to film this season was her character's confirmation hearing before Congress.
"Doing a speech in front of a roomful of people, I was looking forward to that. Terrified to my core, but I knew I would feel good afterwards," Gabriel said.
By the top of Season 4, Jack and Elizabeth have figured out how to work as a team and trust each other.
"It's nice to have that sense of collaboration," Gabriel said. "He's learned to cool his heels a bit."
The show is a work of fiction, but it does reflect realistic global threats we are facing today.
"One of the real, strong points of the show is how it presents how challenging [these jobs] are not just on the people [who do them], but the people around them and how much a person might have to sacrifice in order to save the country and keep it secure," Gabriel said.
"That is really juicy dramatically, but, also, this is true of our world," Gabriel added. "Security and privacy and secrecy, these are all things that go hand in hand, but also provide space for pretty corrupt things to happen."
Cornish was pleased to be included in some of the more intense emotional and physical scenes when she returned to the show.
"I was really excited to be part of the action and the adventure. In Season 1, I was very much removed and outside of it. It was just fun to be a part of that world," Cornish said.
"Playing a very strong, confident woman, who is incredibly successful, is always cool."
The series co-stars Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Betty Gabriel, Michael Pena and Louis Ozawa.
