Hallea Jones – Locke & Key

By: Brittany Dailey

Q) “Locke & Key” is such a unique series, for those who have not checked it out yet, how would describe it and what do you think would really draw them into it?

A) There are so many opportunities for you to use your own imagination while watching the show. It opens up all these possibilities of what would you do if you had the Anywhere key or the Head key or something of that kind. There are so many different avenues of the imagination that can be taken, compared to something like Harry Potter where you’re either born a wizard or you’re not a wizard. You can buy these keys if you wanted or make them yourselves and have this whole imaginative world. That’s personally what I think separates the show from a lot of other shows.

Q) So much of the series is very visual and really adds a brilliant balance to the series, how much do you think having the added visual element and cinematography really help viewers engulf themselves in this world taking the series to a bold and boundary pushing level while also playing into the series themes?

A) As we all know, the show has gone through so many different platforms until it got to Netflix. I really think that Netflix was the only platform that could do it justice. We had such an amazing team that we’re all working on it. It’s unique to worry about the CGI. It can make a mess of the whole show, but they’ve done such a good job of that.  And also, just the base of the cinematography throughout the whole series is so incredible. It kind of feels like a nine or ten hour long movie. They’ve just done such a good job of it. Also, the lighting and everything on that front. They’ve really hit the mark on all of it, to really make it this whimsical, mysterious show that a lot of people on so many different levels of filmmaking can enjoy and respect. I have a lot of friends in filmmaking who have reached out to me saying, “The cinematography is so good for this show. It’s incredible.” That just leads back to all the guys that you don’t see. You see the actors, like me, and everyone on the forefront. But without the cinematography and the lightning that goes into the front end of the show, they’ve taken it to the next level. I think that’s a huge reason why a lot of people are enjoying it because it is just so well done. I’m incredibly impressed with the job they did on the house. I don’t know if anyone has shared this, but the outside of the house, only the bottom layer is real, and the rest is CGI. They’ve done a really good job of that and I think for a second season, if we’re able to get confirmed a hundred percent, they’ll be building the second layer. Everything inside is all studio in Toronto. That is just mind blowing. The details that go into the whole house is incredible and I think that they’ve done a really good job of creating something that is so realistic. Watching through it with my friends I was like, “This was filmed in a studio in Toronto,” and they would be like, “What?! That is so cool.” They’ve done a spectacular job with the details and the little things you miss on the first watch through can really be emphasized on the second watch through. I honestly have watched it only fully once, but I’ve watched certain things twice and it’s just the second watch through is even better I find, then the first watch.

Q) How was the character of Eden described and originally broken down in the sides and script? What about the character resonated with you?

A) When I first got it, it was that she is the queen bee of the town and she kind of gets caught up in the shenanigans throughout the season as we see. Basically, I relate her to the Regina George from Mean Girls. Because she is not a character from the comics, we don’t know a lot about Eden Hawkins until later on. When you’re watching the series you have this idea that she’s just a mean girl, but for me what’s really exciting is the possibility of a second season and diving into the possibility of “Why does Eden act this way and how affected with the bullet at the end will how Eden treats people? Is she going to be way worse or kind of put on the front of being really nice to get her way and become better friends with the Lockes?” Eden is a piece of work. I’ve been really open about this, when I was in high school, I struggled a lot in school. So, I resorted to acting out. I wasn’t the nice person and I take full responsibility for not being the nicest person through high school. I don’t believe that I ever said anything as straight forward or brutal as Eden has said throughout the series, but there were qualities about her being the popular queen bee that I resonated with my high school and middle school experience. I take pride in not relating to her anymore, but tapping into those were definitely not the hardest thing in the world to do. The big thing that I’m working on right now is getting involved with anti-bullying organizations because I really don’t want to justify having little Eden’s running around the world. That’s not a good way to live life. That’s not a nice way to live life and nobody benefits from one being a horrible person. As we’ve seen from so many movies and TV shows throughout the years, there’s always that one girl that really negatively affects everybody. As long as we can take that and learn from it and see that in the long run, we can do a lot more with kindness than we can with cruelty. I think that’s a big thing as an actor. And as somebody with a social and public platform, that I really want to tackle and talk about more.

Q) Eden is portrayed more often than not as a “bully”, especially towards Kinsey. However, we never really see things from her perspective. What would you say are Eden’s redeeming qualities and why does she treat Kinsey so poorly?

A) I think the whole Kinsey (Emilia Jones) thing comes down to she’s a bit of a threat. My idea of Eden is that she’s kind of taken pride of being, as Brinker (Kolton Stewart) says in episode 2 or 3, “Matheson’s finest.” Kinsey comes along. Emilia Jones is a beautiful young woman and I think Eden takes that as a threatening thing. I don’t think we see too many redeeming qualities in Eden in the first season. I think it’s kind of she’s pretty much not the nicest person until the end where I think she sees that “Oh, these people are cooler than I thought that they were,” and opening up to letting new friends in and being kinder and supportive of everyone. But she’s still got that undertone of “Hmm, not sure about you guys.” My idea of Eden is that she’s probably gone through being bullied herself when she was younger, so she’s using these tactics that aren’t the greatest to put herself in a position of power. We haven’t written any backstory of Eden’s family or anything, but for myself (as an actor) she probably didn’t have the best at home life. When it comes to being at Matheson, being at boarding school and being away from family, she most likely acts out in order to get attention and feel like she’s relevant and to feel powerful in her own way, as horrible as that might be.

Q) Was there anything you added that wasn’t in the original breakdown?

A) I truly believe that a big reason that I did get the role of Eden is because I do it with a smile. It’s very easy to play the mean, bitchy girl with just a smug look on your face and just be straight up mean. I think there are some points with Eden where she doesn’t actually think she’s being particularly mean, but the smile kind of drives it in. There was nothing in the breakdown that says she’s smiling. I think throughout the season I consistently put a smile on Eden’s face to make it all that much worse, which is weird but still brings this humanizing effect to it where it’s like, “I really hate what she’s saying, but for some reason I can’t help but like her in certain ways.” That might have been a bit different from the breakdown. My character did change afterwards, a little bit, throughout filming, which was really exciting.

Q) Was there any aspect that was challenging to play a character who is new to this world?

A) I think the fact that she isn’t from the comics is what made it easier. Because I think playing a character from the comics…People who have read the comics already have an idea of who that character is. That is a very difficult thing to portray. It’s like a bio pic. You’re portraying somebody who people already have ideas about. But with Eden it was difficult, also, because I had to create this character from scratch. It was easy because the writers are just so good. I think one of the most difficult things about playing Eden was that I take a lot of pride in being a kind person and friendly because I work against everything that I used to be. There were times, especially the scene where Scot (Petrice Jones) is showing Kinsey “The Splattering” and Eden comes in and really digs into his deepest insecurities. I went up and gave Petrice a big hug after that and was like, “I’m so sorry I’m saying these things,” because he is just so good. The look in his eyes just made me, Hallea, feel so bad for Petrice. But it’s all acting and it’s all in fun. As long as I turn off Eden when I’m not on set, that’s the most important thing. She’s fun to play, but it hurts to say these things to another human being because I don’t think anyone should say anything as horrible as Eden has said to many of the characters.

Q) Although your character is not in the original comics series, did you read the series ahead of filming?

A) I have read the comics. When I booked it, I was hanging out with one of my guy friends. When I mentioned that I booked it, he jumped up, and when and ran over and got all six volumes and was like “Read these. This is my favorite series ever.” I read through them so quickly, they were so good. I’m very impressed with what they did for the adaptation, you can obviously do a horrible job of it, and then people would be in an uproar. But I also don’t think that we would be #1 on IMDB without them doing such a good job. I think it’s important to take material from the comic book to make the series, but it’s also important to change a little bit. No one really wants to watch the same story that they’ve already read, but they also don’t want to watch something that’s so far from the original content that they feel that it’s lost that bit of magic that they originally felt when they did read the comics.

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film?

A) Definitely, episode 5. The cafeteria scene was incredibly fun to film. I did two movement coachings right before that. I just felt so comfortable and confident in what we were doing. When we got on set with the director, Mark Tonderai, he created this environment where it’s like, “Okay, we’re going to do everything to make the most of this scene so that you’re comfortable and safe.” It was such a fun day on set. It was a long day on set, but it was really, really fun. The cave scenes at the end were a lot of fun. Any day on set really. Besides the episode 5 one, I can’t really choose one that would be my favorite, outside of that.

Q) What was your reaction to your character’s overall storyline and the twist at the end? 

A) When I got sent the script for episode 10, I was actually sitting with my mom at home. I read that last scene and I screamed. I was jumping up and down. I started crying. I don’t react to things like that. I’m usually a pretty reserved person. But I was just jumping up and down and my mom was like, “Tell me what happens!” And I was like, “No, I can’t tell you what happens. No way!” When it comes to things regarding my career, my mom is the first person I tell. Keeping that secret from her for the past seven months was incredibly difficult, but watching it with her when it came out was so crazy. She was like, “I knew something horrible was going to happen to you.” It was crazy to read that last line and to say, “Oh my god, I am finishing off this series.” I think as an actor that is the biggest jackpot of them all. The biggest jackpot is even booking a show. But to finish off a series and have your line be the last line…And to think if we get confirmed for second season, this is going to be a huge shift for me. It’s not small anymore. It’s going to be huge. I think the twist is so unexpected. So many people have written to me being, “I already hated your character, but even now this is worse.”

Q) What has the feedback been like from the fans? Has there been anything in particular that has surprised you?

A) It’s been positive. It’s been really, really positive. I actually just got a message from someone who said, “I’m on episode 6 and I really hate your character. Good job on the acting. I’m loving the show.” For me, as somebody who tries to go around with as much positivity as possible, portraying such a horrible character the biggest thing I want to get forward is that I’m not like this. I am Hallea Jones and Hallea Jones is not Eden Hawkins. I think a lot of people can get kind of stuck in that idea that we are our characters. So far, I have gotten really positive feedback from people and it’s just been a very supportive group of fans that have come through. My socials have flown through the roof lately and it’s been really crazy for me, as someone who has been on social media for so long. I’ve done modeling for over a decade now. It’s been really crazy to have a lot of attention brought to the modeling that I’ve done and the work that I’ve put in over the years. Just to have support on those fronts, that are separate from “Locke & Key,” has been really, really cool. I’m excited to see what they think in the long run. This could go on for a long time and just to see who follows along with this story throughout the years. So far, so good.

Q) What have you taken away from working on the show?

A) Some of the best friends of my life. A really amazing learning opportunity for me. This was my first character that I had the ability to create a character throughout multiple episodes. Everything I had worked on before hadn’t been more than maybe a day or two on set. The learning curve was huge and some of my closest friends have come from this show and I really hope to continue to grow relationships with people who come on the show. That’s definitely been one of the greatest things to walk away with. Really wonderful relationships and great experiences.