Sofia Pernas on Playing Husband Justin Hartley’s Nemesis on ‘Tracker’: ‘It’s So Fun’ (Exclusive)

A new episode of Tracker will introduce another reward seeker who has a history with Colter and even Justin Hartley. The actor’s wife and former will guest star as Billie Matalon, a reward seeker who is enemies with Colter. The two team up to find a missing racehorse, much to Colter’s dismay.

In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Pernas previewed her character and what to expect from her. “I met him a while ago when I was just working at some sort of low-level firm, and we kind of crossed paths, and I got entangled into what he does, and I wanted to do that,” Pernas shared. “So I kind of decided to go off on my own, sort of branch out and make my own name, and I screwed him over in the process, in a big way. So when he sees me in this episode, he’s like, eye roll, ‘Get out of my life.’ And I’m like, ‘No, let me stay.’”

Of course, while Colter and Billie are not so friendly on-screen, off-screen, Hartley and Pernas’ relationship is the complete opposite. The duo played arch-rivals in an episode of Quantum Leap in 2022, so this is nothing new for them. For Pernas, “It’s so fun playing his enemy because we love each other so dearly in real life that it is nice to pretend like I hate him for two seconds. I’m kidding. It’s super cool to just play a different sort of thread than you would normally think we would play, where it’s like, ‘Well, you being lovers is maybe a little bit trite,’ so it’s nice for us to go toe-to-toe and not be so into each other.”

As far as working with her husband goes, Sofia Pernas says she knows him “inside and out, and I just know how prepared he is as an actor and how committed he is as an actor.” She continued, “And he cares so, so much. I mean, he does not take this lightly at all. He really wants to put out A-grade entertainment for everyone, so it makes you also meet him at that level and just be as prepared. And when you’re with someone who you know is so good, it makes you come to play. It’s sort of like when people play sports, and they say, ‘I’m playing against a better athlete,’ or whatever, it makes them better. Sort of that thing. But in a way, for us, in the acting world, it’s just the fact that you know what you’re getting in your scene partner is what makes you just go, ‘Okay, great. Let’s dance.’ I know I could throw anything at him, and he’ll roll with it. And vice versa.”

Since Tracker works with a case-of-the-week format, it makes it easy for guest stars to come and go as they please. So, there could even be a possible in the future. Pernas thinks it was “always the plan” for her to come on. “Interestingly enough, on the CBS side, these were all my former quote-unquote ‘bosses’ who are now some of my dearest friends,” Pernas said. “They worked on Blood & Treasure with me, and then they acquired Tracker, and it just was the same team. It was hilarious. So, for them, it was a no-brainer. They were like, ‘We love Sofia. This is a slam dunk.’ And 20th, thankfully, felt the same. I think that was always the plan. I don’t know… They didn’t know what I would be, so I thought it was really interesting when they came out with, ‘Why don’t we make her a tracker? Like a female reward seeker.’”

It will definitely be interesting to have a female reward seeker on Tracker, one that has a history with Colter, and it’s not all good. Fans will be able to see how it all plays out when Sofia Pernas guest stars in the episode of Tracker airing this Sunday, Mar. 24, at a special time, 8 p.m. ET on CBS.