Hayden Byerly – The Fosters

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) How did Hayden’s Hope Totes begin and why is it such an important cause?

A) Hayden’s Totes is still kind of a new thing. It’s an organization where we provide duffle bags to foster kids who have been taken from their homes and put into the foster system. I kind of started this about a year ago, maybe. My mom and I had gone to a movie screening for the film Short Term 12. This woman had this extravagant house that was very isolated and she was big on taking care of foster kids and the foster system. She talked to my mom and I about what these kids go through and how it all works. Because of that, I got inspired to look into the foster care system. I went to the DCFS office, which is where kids stay when they are taken from their homes. Over time, I learned more and more about this. Learning about something quite sad can motivate you to want to get involved. I didn’t see any particular big company that was doing what I wanted to do. Instead of going into another charity, I decided to do my own. Over a long process and a long time, it is still a new thing that is growing every day. And it is so great to see! When we first started “The Fosters,” the show would bring in kids to talk about their experiences and it kind of opens your eyes to that world.

Q) Where do we pick up with this season of “The Fosters?”

A) It picks up with some very interesting stuff. “The Fosters” is always going to drop you back into the drama and family fun. As we have seen from some photos, Sharon (Annie Potts) has a new love interest. We also have some very cool characters that we’ll be seeing this season. It’s going to be really fun and I think it is one of the best because we have so many people throughout it. A lot of the time you are never going to see very few people in an episode. You are going to see a large group and a lot of talking and communication. I think that’s very cool because it shows the family in a very special way. You’ll get to meet a lot of new characters and hear some new news – whether that be exciting or saddening, you’ll find out soon enough!

Q) We left off with Connor moving to LA. How soon will that be and will we see a long distance relationship?

A) Connor (Gavin MacIntosh) is planning to move fairly soon. He kind of got the okay from Jude and wants to get away from there to not be around his dad as much. He wants to branch out with his mom. That’s something we’ll see in the first couple episodes of “The Fosters.” Also, Jude and Connor do want to try and have a long distance relationship. They want to try and be together even though they are not actually together. I think that is something that the two of them are kind of hoping for and thinking about. They are not really sure how it will work or go, but I think they want it to work so they are going to try to push forward and stay together.

Q) What are the challenges they will be facing with a long distance relationship?

A) I think it is very hard to be with someone in a relationship and not actually there with them. I think that is one of the most challenging things. It’s not easy to be with someone when you are not actually there all the time and getting to see them. Some people believe in the whole “out of sight out of mind” thing. So, sometimes it can be scary to feel that someone might not be thinking about you, feel that same way or be caring about you just because you are not there. So, it’s kind of hard to be in a relationship with someone when you are not fully aware of what that means and what that is. The relationship between the two of them is very new and now it will become long distance, most likely, so it is a very new animal.

Q) How will the dynamics of the family be shifting this season?

A) I think that as time goes on that the family only gets more close and attached. The moms get closer and Jude even becomes closer with Jesus (Jake T. Austin), which is something we hadn’t seen before. There are a lot of different relationships like Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Mariana. There are smaller relationships that you don’t see a lot, but they are becoming more prominent. You are starting to see more of that within the family. You are starting to see these characters hang out more and feel more like a normal family. I think before they were close, but would kind of leave them to their business. Now, they are very fascinated and involved with each other.

Q) Will we find out the repercussions of Brandon and Callie?

A) Well, I think that from what has happened with Callie and Brandon (David Lambert) that if we see any repercussions it will most likely be their relationship how as brother and sister it effects their friendship and the relationship that they have as two family members. I’m not exactly sure how many people they want to know about that. I don’t think they want to necessarily share around that they slept together because that’s not necessarily something you tell anyone. So, I think that you will see the struggle between the two of them and dealing with that reality.

Q) With new and returning faces, will we see Jude and Connor be branching out with friendships?

A) I think we will definitely see Jude make a new friend. We’re going to see that Jude has always kind of had this small circle of friends in his life. He isn’t the type of person to hang out with a ton of people at once, but we’re going to see Jude definitely make a new friend. He’ll have someone else that he trusts in his life.

Q) With the network being named Freeform, how will it give a new perspective to the channel and the shows on it?

A) ABC Family changing their name to Freeform is a good thing. It was ABC Family for a long time and now I feel it is growing up in a way. It’s changing and evolving into something that is a little bit bigger than it was and I think that’s a good thing. Becoming Freeform is not just a name change. Even though a lot of other stuff changing on it, the one thing that is not changing are the shows that are on it and the things you love about ABC Family. Those are still carried over to Freeform and that’s still what they are about. They are just moving forward and pushing ahead in a better way.

Q) Do you have a goal or something you have set to reach for in 2016?

A) I don’t necessarily set goals at the beginning of the year. I feel as though if you have something to do or if you have an idea you want to aspire for you should do that in the moment. I don’t think you should wait for the new year to start a resolution. I am always hoping to better myself in a lot of different ways. I like to think I’m a somewhat knowledgeable person and I love to expand my knowledge about different things. That’s something I hope to continue to do. As well as learn more in the acting world, better myself as an actor, move forward and learn new things. We can always learn and become smarter and better at what we’re doing. I want to shoot for being the best I can.

Q) What has been the most rewarding part of “The Fosters” for you?

A) That’s a very hard thing to pinpoint. I think there are so many great things that come with the show. The entire cast – I love everyone in the cast. I think I have a great friendship with everyone in the cast. It’s a wonderful feeling to be around people that you really enjoy, like and feel like they are your family and you are close friends with them. I think that is a great thing. I think a lot of the knowledge of things that I have been taught from them (not just in the acting sense, but in my personal life [life lessons and different experiences that I’ll go through]) is that it is always very helpful to have people who are going to be able to help you. Especially since I have been on the show for three years, I have spent a large majority of my childhood on the show and I’ve grown up with all of these wonderful people. It’s great to have all these people to help me and guide me as I become an adult and as I’m growing up.

Q) What do you hope fans take away from watching this part of the season of the show?

A) There are a lot of different things. I think each individual person, storyline and everyone that comes on the show tells you something different and a different story. I think it’s all in a very special and beautiful way. I think that the writers have always done that very well. They create these storylines and they write what they write to try and do the best they can and deliver a really deep message with meaning behind it. I think the fans should always be open minded to change and what is happening. Don’t judge too quickly. I think that “The Fosters” are very good at what they do and people are always going to end up happy in the end because they know how to make people happy and they know what they need to do. I would say to enjoy what you see because it is so much fun doing what I am doing and I’m so happy to be doing it with the people I am.