INDIANAPOLIS — World champion professional boxer and actress Kali Reis is bundling up to solve the crime in "True Detective: Night Country."
The fourth season, set in Alaska, follows two detectives investigating the disappearance of eight men from a research station, which leads to questions surrounding a years-earlier disappearance of a woman.
"It was surreal to be a fan and then actually be able to be a part of telling the stories," Reis said of joining the anthology show as Detective Evangeline Navarro. "It was an amazing experience, where we shot, who we shot with, and just the story that was written was just a really good experience."
And Reis shares top-billing with two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster ("The Silence of the Lambs," "The Accused").
"It's like being in a school that you want to be in every single day because every day, there's something I'm going to learn from this woman," Reis said on working alongside Foster. "She's so full of knowledge, and she's such an open person. She created such a safe place and a comfortable, supportive place, and she just wanted to collaborate to tell the story."
Although Navarro may appear tough on the outside, the Indigenous and Dominican ex-military officer uses her soft interior in hopes of solving crimes.
"It was very close to my heart because being a warrior, even though I fight inside the ring, I've been doing what we've been doing as Indigenous people for centuries — fight for the right thing, fight for justice, having the voice for the voiceless," Reis said. "It's nice to see the strength and vulnerability that Navarro has."
While filming the first three seasons took place in the contiguous United States, things got much colder for the new cast in Iceland.
"It was like being back home in Rhode Island," Reis joked. "As long as you're prepared for anything, you'll be prepared for anything. You just have to layered up. The wind is what gets you, but because of where I grew up, I was prepared for it."
"True Detective: Night Country" premieres Sunday, Jan. 14 on HBO and Max.