The problem with popular fiction is the fact that the characters are pretty much tropes, card board cut-outs and very, very one dimensional.
When you throw in the fact that most actors in Hollywood are not allowed to act then what is left is the British/Australian actors from the Shakespeareian tradition that do have the tendency to be a tad overly dramatic.
Of course there are a few good people that get to stretch their talent in some series but the lifespan of any series where good acting is involved is miserably short.
The inspiration for Lallara did not come from popular fiction, not per se.
The basic concept was a true believer in a dystopian theocracy, parts of the personality came from the inspiration for the name itself.
Lallara, came from the Forgotten Realms
zulkir of abjuration.Zhuul, well, from Ghostbusters demigod Zuul that was a female minion of The Destructor.
This pretty much flew out of the window because of the awe that I was struck with when I started playing EVE and she started to grow into something completely different through the interaction with the people that she encountered in the cluster.
Of course she never lost her Faith, unlike the whole fucking Empire and all its pilots.