If you start watching 1899 and wonder what, exactly, is happening on board the steamship Kerberos, don’t worry — our heroine Maura Franklin (Emily Beecham) is thinking the same thing. How has the English doctor-in-training found herself crossing the Atlantic with an international group of immigrants hoping to start anew in America? Beecham’s character finds herself unraveling multiple threads as she tries to untangle the enigma of 1899. Of course, a mind-melting mystery is to be expected from creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the duo behind fan favorite German thriller series Dark. Below, Beecham tells Tudum about joining such a massive production, working with the team behind Dark and following her character’s trail of breadcrumbs through the eight episodes of 1899 Season 1.

1899 Season 1 Trailer

What’s it like being part of such an international project?
It’s a completely unusual experience. I’ve never even seen a multilingual show before, and I think it’s a great concept. It’s the perfect time, because of everything that’s happening in the world, and what it means [for] all these characters to be unified. But it also shows what can happen when people are confined in this small space, a claustrophobic environment, and difficult things are happening — conflicts, connections. We’re all the same at the end of the day. We’re all humans trying to survive. There’re so many different layers to the show. It’s very clever.

The episodes slowly peel back those layers, but how did you keep track of everything that was being revealed? 
I had a map. I don’t know how else I could’ve done it! You’re not filming in sequential order unless you’re very lucky, so you naturally have to do that anyway. With this, it was a whole other level.

Were there any touchstones that you drew on for Maura?
Still Alice, Memento and The Manchurian Candidate, where people are so vulnerable.

There’s nothing more vulnerable than not knowing who to trust, who you are, where you are. It’s a horrible situation. So [Maura is] totally lost but very clever, and slowly she starts to gain her control. She’s actually very adept and almost a bit of an anti-heroine. So I quite like how she swings — is she good or is she not? Or is she responsible for a lot of this chaos? It’s a bit like [following] the breadcrumbs.

Were you excited to work with the Dark creators?
I hadn’t seen it at the time, but I’d heard that it was an incredible show, and I remember it was on my “to watch” list. I also watched their other movies, which are excellent. I was sent the script and the mood board, which was very distinctive and appealing and intriguing. And then of course the script — Maura is a really interesting character and the whole concept is completely unique.

When did you say yes? 
I put myself on tape doing the scene and an interpretation of Maura. There’s a lot that’s a mystery to her, a lot that she doesn’t know about herself, so you’re responsible for piecing things together or making choices here and there. Afterwards they invited me to come to Berlin to meet them and I chatted for probably over an hour with both Jantje and Bo. It was the most interesting conversation and [we] discussed all the topics that are relevant to Maura, and things that interested us — religion and psychology — and all the things that affect the whole big idea of the show, which you’ll find out later. The whole concept was completely exciting and you’d be crazy to say no to that.

Anyway, then they said, “We’d like you to play the role.” And I said, “That sounds fantastic.” And then they showed me the set and the designs and it being built and just this huge creative monster of a show. It was exciting to be a part of it. They’re so unique. They have such great taste and are very clever and brave as filmmakers.

1899 premieres Nov. 17 on Netflix.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.