Erica Cerra – The 100

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Aaron Ginsburg said not to trust your character. With “The 100,” trust is such a give and take relationship. What is ALIE willing to give in order to take?

A) There is not a whole lot that I can say about the character. She is literally, from start to finish, a spoiler. There is nothing I can answer that won’t give something away. You don’t know what she is taking and what she is giving so there is no way I can answer.

Q) Since ALIE is artificial intelligence and virtual reality is about connection, how is connection a running theme for this season?

A) She has a connection with Jaha (Isaiah Washington) and that’s all I can give.

Q) Many characters on the show are shaded in gray. Do you see your character as a villain or just maybe a woman on a righteous mission?

A) She is a computer program so artificial intelligence doesn’t have a conscience or an emotion. So, I don’t know if she would be classified as a hero or a villain. I think I’d rather leave that to the audience. They’ll find out when they watch this season.

Q) How did you come to work on “The 100?” Was it simply an audition or were you approached about it?

A) It was an audition. Sometimes when you audition for a character they don’t really give you storylines attached to it, they just give you a vague description of who the character is and they hope you can convey that through the audition. So, I didn’t even know she was an artificial intelligence when I auditioned for it. I think the description was a sweet neighbor – really vague. She was a little bit maybe Stepford. I guess somehow whatever I did worked!

Q) Did the description you were given originally stay true to the character or did it evolve?

A) The audition was not the character at all. Whatever it was, the description was just given to determine if I had what they wanted. From the season two finale to this season, the character changed quite a bit and I think she has evolved in a different way.

Q) Jaha has been a man on a mission, finding the City of Light. He’s become involved with ALIE. What do you think it is about him that makes him so susceptible to her powers of persuasion?

A) When Jaha went looking for the City of Light I think he was very broken and I think he was looking for something bigger than what was presented to him. I can’t really give too much away, but he needed something bigger than what was reality. He needed to have faith in something.

Q) Is ALIE able to take on other forms or is she just in the one form?

A) No. She does not. That was something that I wanted to do, but she doesn’t shape shift.

Q) With working with the writers and filming your scenes, what did you find the most challenging?

A) ALLIE was probably one of the hardest characters I have played, considering she is artificial intelligence. She doesn’t necessarily have emotions. I wanted to stay true to the idea. She is definitely a profound character.

Q) ALIE has this interest in Jaha and has kept Murphy in the dark in that bunker. Is she targeting Murphy or is he just a part of collateral damage?

A) Again, that’s a spoiler. She’s an amazing character and is unlike anything that has happened so far in the show. It’s such a cool ride. I think the character and storyline are just so cool that I think the audience is going to really enjoy watching her.

Q) What have you taken away from being a part of the show and working as such a rich character?

A) It’s always challenging to play something that isn’t human or isn’t character based. I love doing character based roles because I think they are more fun and more interesting. I had wonderful experiences on the show and everyone was really great to work with. There are amazing things on the show that were inspiring. It was an all-around, good experience.

Q) Is there a moment that you had that stands out from filming “The 100?”

A) I don’t know what I would say to that because who she interacts with is a spoiler and what she does is a spoiler.

Q) When watching Season 3 of “The 100” is there anything you would like to share with fans or hope they take away from watching the show?

A) I think this season is very smart – the storylines, everything. They are going to learn a lot about the planets, what happened on the planets, why things are the way they are, who did what. They are going to take a lot away from this season. This season is going to be really, really fantastic.