Q&A with Burn Notice's Gabrielle Anwar

SR: It seems like the character of Fiona sends a positive message to women, whether they're 15 or 50.

GA: I hate to classify myself as anything that would guide anyone anywhere, God forbid, but I do think anytime a woman gets to be in the public eye and not be a victim and not be subservient in any shape or form is a coup. It's a bit of a sham, really, how we're portrayed and how we've been portrayed historically for so very long, but I'm quite thrilled to be approached by other women, which is quite a new phenomenon for me.

I'm not particularly fond of violence in any shape or form—I'm a bit of a pacifist at heart—but I have to say that expressing one's anger does have a place. I think perhaps if it is expressed more articulately, then it wouldn't turn into something aggressive and violent. So I'm all for that. And if I'm maybe walking along that path, then I'm quite happy to be strolling in that direction. I'm sure I'm stepping off the trodden path and going off the beaten trail—beaten meaning multiple definitions—but that's okay because nothing has a linear perfection to it, which I'm also learning as I age.