Lindsey Morgan discovered that she needs to be careful what she asks for when it comes to shooting scenes for The CW’s new sci-fi series The 100. Morgan plays ‘Raven’ on the show, a character who starts off on the Ark while a group of 100 young people are dropped on Earth 97 years after a nuclear war destroys the planet and made it uninhabitable for humans. And while she loved working with the adult cast on the Ark set, she was anxious to get to the ground portion of the shoot and hang out with the younger cast.
Unfortunately, the ground she was so anxious to get to was actually outside in the freezing cold of Vancouver.
At the 2014 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA, Morgan talked about being a part of The 100 cast and learning about her character as the show progresses.
Lindsey Morgan Interview
From that first script to where you are now in the season, has the story moved forward the way you thought it would? Has the show evolved the way you pictured?
Lindsey Morgan: “Oh my gosh, we get the scripts…I would literally harass the wardrobe department because they got the scripts first on set because they had to prepare the most. I would just be like, ‘What’s happening?’ because we literally were like, ‘What?!’ We just get thrown such huge bombs of craziness all the time. We all try and guess what’s going to happen – we’ll never be right – but we try and guess the title of the script. ‘The script is going to be called this…,’ and we’re never even close. Not even like an ounce. We as a cast, we’re pretty smart. But no, the writers have done such an amazing job of keeping it so compelling and so fresh and so excited. I’m literally like, ‘What is going to happen the second season?’ I know what happens in this season and I’m like, ‘What could they possibly do more?’ They blew their load. But Jason’s like, ‘No, second season’s going to be amazing.'”
And he’s not giving you any hints at all?
Lindsey Morgan: “He never tells us everything. [Laughing] He thinks we’re going to leak it, which is probably true. I get excited and you get a drink in me and I’m like, ‘So, this is going to happen.'”
Does not knowing much make it difficult to play your character?
Lindsey Morgan: “Yes, I was actually just having that conversation with someone the other day because we were talking about movies and TV. Movies, as a character you know where you begin and end so it makes it not easy but it’s like, ‘I know my end and beginning so it’s all about me crafting my journey to get there.’ With TV and especially the way our writers work, which is amazing, it’s ongoing. They really collaborate with us as actors, asking what we want to do and what we like to do and seeing what we can do as actors, and then ways to stretch us in ways they want to see us in situations. So, it’s always evolving.
As far as even history stuff, oh yeah…I can’t tell you all that…there was a certain piece of information that was told to Finn about me and I was like, ‘What?! Wait, that changes everything. I’ve already done it this way.’ But then, it kind of doesn’t because as a character you grow. The character grows as time goes on and so we get more history pieces back in that we learn that they’re putting in. It just makes for a more richer experience in the future.
You can’t really go back and replay it. But it does make it very interesting and it can be frustrating because it’s like, ‘I want all the backstory now.’ But then it does make the future very exciting because I add my own backstory for me and now I get more from the writers. I just think it makes it richer and richer as time goes on.”
You spent the first few episodes on the Ark and all the other young people were on the ground. What was it like when you finally got to join them?
Lindsey Morgan: “It’s great. It’s funny because I was on the Ark full-time with the older adult cast and that was awesome but I didn’t know anybody because I came in second episode. Everyone was like friends from the pilot and I was like the new kid and just like, ‘I want someone my own age to play with,’ you know? And so I was kind of like, ‘I can’t wait to get to the ground.’
But, the Ark’s all in studio; the ground is outside in Canada. It’s cold and it rains a lot in Vancouver. I was like, ‘I can’t wait to get to the ground,’ and everybody was like, ‘You’re going to eat those words.’ I was like, ‘No!’ The first day on the ground, the first day of that shoot it was raining and it was freezing and my costume, they hadn’t done all the fancy tricks to insulate it yet because it was brand new. I’m literally in that little stupid orange child jacket and a sports bra [shivering], running and freezing. So, there’s that aspect.
But where we shoot in Vancouver it’s so beautiful. The air is so fresh. It’s like your lungs are like paralyzed because it’s just such fantastic air. It’s nice to be outside because you feel very free. And then I love working…the adult cast is amazing…but like being able to work with the rest of the cast in the big group scenes I really enjoy. It’s fun. It’s like getting to hang out with a bunch of your friends. I like it both, but I really enjoyed once I got to the ground.”
Watch the interview:
