Call your sister more often, Colter! Melissa Roxburgh comes in as Dr. Dory Shaw, the sister of Justin Hartley‘s character on Tracker—”This is the first time I’ve worked with a friend, so it’s super nice to just be familiar with him,” the actress says—and it’s not easy for her to get face time with her brother even when he’s in the same area!
Colter’s not one to call her, either, as Dory calls him out on in the May 5 episode, which introduces the adult version (a professor) of the character we’ve seen as a kid in flashbacks.
“I think he’s been like this a long time now,” Roxburgh tells TV Insider. “I think that their whole family kind of fell apart when [their father’s] death happened. So I think this isn’t new that she doesn’t see her brother very much, but I think she desperately wants to fix that and have everyone come back together in a healthy way and not in a bonding over drama or the issues of the past kind of way.”
But she’s coming at it from a practical standpoint, which speaks to who she is. “She’s a very logical person, but I think there’s a sadness that she doesn’t get to have a family experience that she really desperately wants,” shares Roxburgh.
Even with that, while we don’t know much about Dory, we do know that she’s distanced herself from the family a little bit: “She doesn’t want to be part of the drama,” explains Roxburgh. However, she does have a relationship with both of her brothers. In fact, she even mentions that she’s in contact with Russell (Jensen Ackles, appearing in the May 12 episode). That’s why Roxburgh thinks that Dory might have a better relationship with him. “She has this line where she says, ‘He calls me back,’ so it sounds like they have a bit more of an in-depth relationship than she does with Colter,” she explains.
But she’s trying to build on that relationship she has with Colter, and seeing him do what he does, like she does in this episode—a missing grad student has brought him to the university where she works—does change her perspective a bit.
“She goes to his trailer and she says, ‘I thought you were rescuing puppies,’ but realizes that it’s a bit more serious what he does,” says Roxburgh. “I think that there is a bit more of an appreciation for his job. I don’t think she loves it still, but I think that it’s her realizing that her brother’s actually helping people and actually out there doing good.”
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Dory does get involved in his investigation, and that’s something she wouldn’t be opposed to doing more of in the future. “I think that she really wants to be this source of research or knowledge or just helping him because in her way, too, I think it’s a way of bonding with him again,” the Manifest star explains. “She’s realizing that he’s not going to change and he’s going to continue doing what he’s doing. So I think her way of being there for him is like, ‘Okay, well, if you’re going to do this, let me help.’”
Still, she does have a normal life. “I don’t know if they kept this part or not, but she’s got a husband and kids as of right now, and I really want to dive into more of her life,” says Roxburgh. “I think she’s such an interesting character.”
She’d also like to “see how much she actually holds the relationships together for the family.” And while Dory has distanced herself from the family and tried to leave behind the issues that stemmed from her childhood and her father’s death, “I do think deep down there is some knowing that things have not been solved and there are a lot of question marks around everything still.”
While we won’t see Roxburgh again this season, we could in Season 2. “I’m hearing that it’s a strong possibility, so I’d love to come back and play,” she says. “I’m excited to dive into [this world] more.”
What are you hoping to see with the introduction of Colter’s sister and Roxburgh in the role? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Tracker, Sundays, 9/8c, CBS