Throughout the first season, Judge Renslayer was hard to pin down.
However, Mbatha-Raw doesn’t really see her character as a villain.
For Mbatha-Raw, that meant that Renslayer couldn’t be a true villain.

If you’re able to understand somebody, then nobody is ever completely villainous," Mbatha-Raw explained.
“Everybody makes choices for a reason.
Luckily, that was fairly easy for Mbatha-Raw because of her perspective on the human condition.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s new thriller series, “Surface,” premieres on July 29 onApple TV+.