Gatlin Green – Heroes Reborn

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Where do we pick up with the new series “Heroes Roborn” and who is your character Emily?

A) There was a prequel on the “Heroes Reborn” app called Dark Matters that helps catch up from the gap from what has happened within the five years since the original show. It’s a huge jump. It’s a darker place with people with powers – who we know call Evo’s. It’s a scary place. It’s not exactly super cool or exciting to have powers. They are being tested on, they are in hiding and on the run. It’s a much darker world than “Heroes,” but still has fun, happy moments with romance and comedy. That’s where my character comes in, Emily. She’s the sweet girl next door, but is just trying to fit in and make it through high school. She is trying to be a source of light in the darkness. That’s where she meets Tommy (Robbie Kay), the new kid in school. She finds he’s an Evo on the run and tries to come along with him to find a sense of normalcy, feel safe, at home and find a friend. As a young kind, finding out he has powers and now has all these responsibilities is tough. I come alongside of him and am kind of a moral compass – sidekick. She’s super fun to play. I think she can have some funny moments too.

Q) What aspects of your character do you find you are able to relate to?

A) I hope that I’m a sweet girl and that people like me. I think she is one of those people with a personality where if you’re sad she’s going to be there to comfort you, hug you and make you feel better. When you don’t think you can do it, she is there to build you up and encourage you to take on the world. With Tommy, that’s exactly what he has to do and she is right there to encourage him. I hope I am a source of encouragement, stability and a home for people where they can rely on me and I’m good for advice. I hope that’s the person I am for people in my friends and family.

Q) What have you added to Emily that may not have originally been scripted for you?

A) That’s actually been really, really cool about coming into this “Heroes” world – as the directors and writers actually started out with different characters. They weren’t the real characters that we become. Once we figured out who we were, it was cool because we don’t get everything ahead of time so I had no clue what my part was going to be. We get episode by episode. The directors and writers have given us a basic idea of what your character is, but they have really allowed us to build our own ideas of who these characters are. For me, I don’t have much of a backstory yet for Emily as to where she comes from except she is in Carbondale, Illinois. It’s been really cool to build in our mind where these characters are and build them.

Q) Were you a fan of the original “Heroes” when it first aired?

A) I was actually a little bit too young when it first came out, but I absolutely loved it. When I found out I was in the mix of people to possibly be in the show I definitely started to binge watch on Netflix. I fell in love with it. Hiro (Masi Oka) is my favorite character and I love how much he changed throughout the whole show. Then, we were in Toronto filming so I have some catching up to do because I’ve missed parts of the story. I love the show! You can just sit down and watch the show and it sucks you in.

Q) What has been your favorite part of your character’s development?

A) So far, I think it is just being able to act out and be in these scenes with all of this crazy intense things happen. There is drama and conflict when you are dealing with the good and the bad. So, just getting to see her be able to stand up and answer the call. Even though she may not have powers, she still has to be ready to kick butt if she has to. She’s not afraid. I love that she’s not afraid or cowering. She’s ready to stand with Tommy and whatever comes their way.

Q) What has the rapport been like with the cast?

A) This show is really interesting for that because we aren’t all on this one set at the same time working every day. Because of storylines are so crazy and different with six different stories going on at the same time we are all filming with different actors at different times and different places. So, we’ve really had to work at getting together for dinners or parties to hang out. We’ve worked at that, but we’ve done a great job at it because we really are so close like family. I love them to death. They are great people. We went to dinner the first night we began shooting and Robbie and I were sharing and everyone ended up passing their dishes around. It was already so much like a family on the first night we were having dinner together. It’s a great cast to be a part of.

Q) Who haven’t worked with yet that you would like scenes with or more scenes with?

A) I don’t know what I can say so I don’t give too much away, but I’ve pretty much met everyone in real life. I got to meet Masi Oka, which is awesome because he’s my favorite character. Jack Coleman is the man. The great part of this show is getting to work with the iconic people who were the first heroes. Getting to meet them and work with some of them has been awesome. I’d love to work with everyone. The people I have worked with have been awesome.

Q) You are a part of social media. What kind of instant fan feedback have you received about the show?

A) I love Twitter and Instagram. I’m even on Facebook. Getting to interact with fans just makes my day because I know it can make their day. That’s one of the reasons I’m an actor – to be able to make someone’s day and make something people enjoy watching. If they are having a rough time in life that is somewhere they know they can go for a little bit. For me, I was super, super bummed because I was working for the first airing of “Heroes Reborn.” But I got to catch the West Coast and live tweet with them. It was a lot of fun and so far we have gotten a lot of good feedback. People like me! It’s always super nerve-wracking, especially when you are seeing stuff for the first time yourself. Thankfully, we got to watch the first episode at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) a few weeks ago. That was my first time seeing it and then getting to talk to people who saw it with us that night was good. I love interacting with fans and I am looking forward to that for the future episodes to come.

Q) What characters are you excited for fans to learn more about?

A) I just know when I saw it at TIFF the biggest thing I thought was, “This is awesome!” I absolutely love Kiki [Sukezane] and Toru [Uchikadi]. That whole storyline and the game was so, so cool. I was trying not to scream, “Oh my God! This is awesome!” I was trying not to be too loud in this professional premiere. I thought their storylines were super, super cool.  I think there are some characters we haven’t met yet that are going to change the game and deepen the storylines. I think that will be super exciting. I think there is still a lot to find out in the next few episodes. I’m super excited for that.

Q) You are very active with music as well. Will we be expecting maybe a new EP in the future?

A) Yeah! My brother, Cooper, and I have been doing music together since we were about four and six years old. Throughout these last few years we finally found our pocket – the style of music we want to do. Then, over this last year we have been in meetings and signing process with a label. We’re finishing signing contracts within this next week, I hope. Cooper and the people from the label came here, Toronto, to record a three song demo with me and we wrote some songs. That was super exciting. I’m not exactly sure of the timeline of how this is going to play out,  but I hope to have something out by the beginning of the year. I love music and it’s been something a part of my family’s life for as long as I can remember. I’m super pumped about the music side and can’t wait to make more specific announcements about it.

Q) What would you like fans to be sure they know about “Heroes Reborn?”

A) If you haven’t caught up with the old show, check out the “Heroes Reborn” app. It’s a super cool way to do that. They have gone season by season and even character by character so you can catch up with your favorite characters and see what they did throughout each season. They have the prequel there too so people can catch up on this side of “Heroes Reborn.” I think if they missed the first episode of “Heroes” Reborn they can watch it on NBC.com.