Dominique Tipper Opens Up About Playing Naomi On The Expanse

Your co-star Steven Strait was a fan of the books before he was cast on the show. Have you read the books?

I go in and out of reading the books. When I got the job, I read book one and a little bit of book two. And then I found that, as we started to get the scripts, it felt like I needed a little separation. I wanted to mold this character in respect to the books, but also as I saw her on the page, so I think my Naomi is a little different than book Naomi. I've read book four, and then I read a bit of book five, and then I stopped when the scripts were coming in again, which I'm really pleased I did.

Sometimes I'll have a little read to get a little refresher on the world and to get me geared up for new season. So yeah, I'm very much in and out of it, but I didn't know about the books, I didn't know about the series, before I got the job.

So at what point did you learn that Naomi has a son and a shady past?

Oh, I've known since the beginning. I mean, as I said, I didn't really want to get too far into the books, but I was grilling, and Daniel [Abraham] was like, okay, here's what happened to this woman, blah, blah, blah. And they gave me that information: She had a son and she left him, this, this and that. And so we've kind of been crossing this since season one. I mean, you'll know if you've been watching it, we've been planting Easter eggs and themes since season one about Naomi's shadiness, why she doesn't seem fully trustworthy, and what's going on in her past. Is she a belter? Is she OPA?

And then what I love about season five is that you get the full payoff. Five seasons of us teasing you but not fully letting you know her past, and then we finally get to understand why she was how she was in season one, and then in season two, and then with this person in season three. And I think it all kind of comes together in season five. So I have always known. It has been a big part of the work I've done.

Were there any other plot threads that paid off this season that you were particularly excited to see come to fruition?

I mean, I love Amos' story this season. Aside from being in the show and acting beside him, he's probably my favorite character. I think that both Naomi and Amos have had such shady pasts that we've never delved into, really. Just got tidbits of it. I really loved that this season is pretty much Amos and Naomi's backstories coming to life, coming to the forefront, so I really am enjoying and have enjoyed reading and watching Wes [Chatham]'s work on the show this season. I think it's gorgeous, just finding out about his life in Baltimore.