Lyndsy was certainly way more at ease when talking with us this year. This time last year at Comic Con, she had only been cast in her role as Alex on new series Nikita for 3 weeks. Aside from adjusting to the fact she had just gotten a role of this caliber, she wasn’t exactly sure what was in store for her character Alex, or even what direction the show was going. Now with a solid year (an extremely paced year) under her belt, she has a far better grasp on what makes Alex tick. We had a lot of fun in this interview. A lot of laughing.
As usual, there are some spoilers here. Not much though. All of the actors knew that any big spoilers would only be coming from Craig Silverstein.
Tell us where we see Alex at the beginning of season two?
Alex has matured quite a bit since the first season. She’s on her own. She’s not with Division, she needs their help. She’s trying to get the man who ordered her father’s death. She really needs their help, but she’s not working for Division in a sense that she likes or believes in what they do. Everything has changed, Division has changed as you know it, Michael and Nikita are off doing their thing in a good way.
What kind of relationship does Alex have with Amanda?
It’s definitely interesting. I think that they’re testing the waters to see if they can trust each other. They want to and they both need each other. There’s a lot of storylines going on right now where Alex needs Amanda for some things and Amanda needs her to get the black box. Alex has a bigger goal in mind, she’s doing all that stuff to get to that bigger goal. I think she’s testing Amanda out to see what she has to offer.
With so much going on, how do you keep it all straight? Do you try to keep track of everything that’s going on or just your character?
I wish I could keep track of my own character. I wish it were that easy. A lot times my storyline has to do with where Nikita’s going and trying to stop my mission so I really have to be aware of everything. It’s a lot but I love doing it.
Flowcharts, flashcards?
(Laughs) I break down every episode and do a lot of notes.
(Alice) Your character had a romance, will that still go on?
Alex has a new romance this season. There’s a new character that you’ll get to know why he’s around and what his purpose is. At first they don’t like each other. It’s going to be a slow, developing romance.
(Alice) Do you like doing those sort of romantic scenes balanced with the action?
I do like it. I think this year’s going to be better. He’s not a normal guy, he’s not a normie as I call them (laughs). He’s someone in that world, which is why they don’t like each other at first because they’re butting heads. Alex seeing someone that gets her life and her world would be a lot different than how it ended up last season.
Are you looking forward to the new dynamic between Alex and Nikita?
I’m going to miss it. I really liked Nikita and Alex being on the same team. I think it’s really rare to have females on television that really love each other and have a good friendship. It’s hard to find. I always liked we were a show to have that. Like any character on TV you have to grow and change Alex is pretty hurt. There’s hope for them in the future but right now it’s licking the wounds.
Are you still struggling with good girl/bad girl?
Alex is always struggling with that. It’s in her blood. That’s a question as an actress I always I ask myself, balancing that line. No one is just evil and no one is just good. There’s both in all of us.
What are some of the challenges of playing Alex?
I think the constant change. Just the speed that we shoot at is probably the most challenging. It’s not like filming a film where you have three weeks on one part of your character and storyline. We’re really fast. To keep up with it all is probably the hardest part. But that’s why Craig’s amazing and all our producers, to be able to feel free to talk to them about stuff.
Alex is a pretty strong character on her own. Where does the strength come from at this point. Is it the people around her or is it something buried deeper?
I think right now what’s keeping her going is trying to get answers. She’s really searching to find these people that basically screwed her life up and she’ll do anything to get there. She’s very driven right now. She’s not in the shadows of anybody right now and she’s doing her thing. She’ll probably make a lot of mistakes on the way but she’s trying.
Any similarities between yourself and your character?
Not really. Yeah, I play her so its me but no, we’re so different.
Do you think there are any similarities between Alex and Nikita?
Definitely, but I hope that things are very different. I think that comes from a culture thing too. Alex has that evil Russian blood in her that sometimes comes out. And also even more of a vulnerability sometimes too. Yeah, they’re similar.
How much do you like to know ahead of time or do you like to find out as you go along?
I check in with Craig a lot. I always ask him what I should know. I don’t like to have too much information, it messes me up. Or if I know where something’s going sometimes it’s hard to play against it. I always ask him, “Okay, going into the episode what should I know for the next.” It’s a little bit of both.
Are you pretty comfortable with going along with what the writer’s write?
I find it’s more challenging if I try and make work what they write. I play Alex every single day (and) it’s so much easier for me to say ‘she should do this, she should go this way’ but I’m not a writer. I definitely have opinions and sometimes I have questions but at the end of the day I really trust them, I don’t know I find it more challenging to try and make work what they write.
What sort of crazy goofy stuff happens on the set, something that might end up on a blooper reel?
Our first day of work this season we had a boom operator fall through the catwalk in Division. Cause it was the first day and the floor wasn’t attached. (laughs) I know, it’s not funny, he hurt himself. Danny Cannon’s directing and we’re just sitting there and he literally goes through the floor. We’re like “Oh my God, this is not a good way to start the season. People falling through floors.” So far so good though.
Alex’s first kill is a huge deal. Are we still going to struggle with her being a killer?
Absolutely. I did a scene with Xander yesterday and she references that. She does not want to be one of them.
What is the dynamic going to be like between Alex and Percy.
I really don’t want to give anything away about Xander’s character because it’s so good. I don’t want to be the one to ruin it. I’ll let Craig say something. Everything about Percy right now is really cool.
(Alice) Season one a lot of your scenes were in Division. Is it going to be mostly outside of Division this season?
I’d say half and half. I’ve read the first three, we just shot the first one and we’re about to start the second one and so far it’s been half and half. But Division’s changed a bit. The sets are a bit different, a little different in way that it’s run.
(Alice) No scenes like Alex and Jaden giving each other angry looks?
No (laughs), we’ve moved on from that.
Are you shocked by how much the show has changed from the Pilot? What do you think about that?
I both love it and I’m also slightly terrified. Like I said television is so quick. It’s trying to keep up with the pace. I really like Craig’s writing. There’s never a dull moment, like everything always happens. As an actor it’s really nice. I’m never bored, let’s put it that way.
(Alice) What about those scenes where they had you strapped to a chair, hot and sweating, what was it like doing those scenes? Were they awkward?
In the first season I had a lot of those. Episode 6 was the first time as a recruit Alex got tied to the chair and was electrocuted. There were a few later in the season. I like them, I feel like I can just get into the zone. There’s no physicality to it. You’re really forced to act with your face. I don’t know, I liked it.
