Katie Stuart – The 100

By starrymag | April 28, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

Q) What has the fan feedback been like for you about Monroe?

A) It’s been amazing! I really didn’t anticipate people to be so shocked or upset about Monroe dying. I wasn’t expecting people to be as outraged as they were. Most of the feedback I got was supportive. A lot of people were obviously upset to see Monroe go. It was sort of bittersweet. It was sad, but it made me feel good that people were like, “No! Too soon!”

Q) To die at the hands of friends…

A) That definitely added an extra sense of tragedy to the whole situation, but I think it was an important moment for the overall story.

Q) We also get to see Monty have a revelation of what he has done wrong.

A) I think it was definitely a bit of a spark that caused a lot of people to reevaluate and take stock of what has gone on and sort of think about their choices.

Q) Did that give you any comfort or satisfaction that it wasn’t a death in vain?

A) Yes, it definitely was. So many people die on this show and not every death is going to have all the meaning in the world behind it. Sometimes there are these really senseless deaths. You’ll be like, “Thirty people just died in an explosion and there is no good reason for it!” There are also a lot of parallels to a lot of political situations that are going on in the Middle East and Europe. I like that the show draws from real life in that way and that sometimes there is a bigger meaning behind someone’s death. Lexa’s death was obviously terribly controversial, but also did play a huge role in the telling of the story. I think people were obviously upset about the trope, but in this show no one is safe and in that future that trope doesn’t exist anymore. So, for me, I thought Lexa’s death was poignant and important.

Q) Both Lexa’s death and Lincoln’s death have had such deep impacts on the show’s fandoms.

A) When everyone was upset about Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), part of me was like it’s not just those characters. I knew that Ricky [Whittle] was going to be gone soon too on the show and part of me was like, “Oh man, once they see that Lincoln is dead maybe that they will feel better about it.” Then, I was like, “Maybe it is just going to be terrible. Maybe it will be piling more tragedy on top of this burning heap of tragedy.” So, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but I think fans seem to be taking it in stride a little bit more now. Maybe it is such a mountain of death that has happened in such a short time period. In the show, the characters don’t have time to grieve for one another and I think the show is catching up fans on that as well. You don’t have time to grieve these people. You just have to keep fighting for survival.

Q) How familiar are you with upcoming episodes?

A) I have some inside scoops, but I always loved watching the show when I was on it. And that hasn’t changed. I haven’t been as active on tweeting, but I still love watching the show and I still support. Even though I do know certain aspects of it, I’m not getting scripts anymore so it’s not like I know everything that is going to happen. I know a few things, but I still like to watch. I knew Lexa was dying, but I didn’t realize it was the episode right after mine. I hadn’t clued into that until I was watching it.

Q) I think an issue for fans was also that it was two lesbians dying after the other.

A) I feel bad about that. I’m a little bit to blame on that one because Monroe never had any love interest in the show – in the actual canon of the show before she died. So, there was really no way to know if she was gay or straight or bi or whatever she was. We had actually already filmed the episode where I died when someone asked me on Twitter if Monroe was gay. I wasn’t even really thinking when I tweeted, “Oh, Monroe is queer for sure.” In my head, I wasn’t spoiling anything because to me my character was dead now so there was never going to be anything to contradict what I say about her sexuality. So, I’ll just decide for myself that she is queer. Then, people were really psyched about that and I was like, “Great! I’m really happy to be able to represent more people and representing a group of people that are notoriously under represented – or misrepresented in television, which is even worse.” So, I was really excited about it. Then, when my character died…I know Jason [Rothenberg] said this and people have gotten really mad at him for not knowing about this trope – But I didn’t realize “Bury Your Gays” was a trope. I hadn’t heard that before. I had it explained to me over Twitter by some people who were really upset. I didn’t even know that was something we were playing into and it is unfortunate because it caused a lot of hurt feelings that I think were totally unintentional. Then, it came up that Monroe died and Lexa died – they’re just killing off the queer characters. I was like, “Guys, Jason didn’t even know that Monroe was queer when she died. He hadn’t said anything about her sexuality, it was all me, and it was well after we had already shot her death.” I felt really badly after that because he was probably like, “Monroe was gay? What?” So, I’ll bare some of the heat for that one. Sorry Jason!

Q) A lot of people wanted Raven to be bi, but then were told that she wasn’t. We create these things. Harpoe wasn’t canon, but fans created it and ran with it.

A) I think this is a relatively new phenomenon for people, it certainly was for me. To be a part of a show that is so popular that there was a fandom canon created along with it, that blew me away. I’ve never experienced anything like it. To have so many people into a show that were creating all these fan fictions and fandom storylines, that really took on a life of their own on social media.

Q) There is such a large cast of the show, but unfortunately they come to dwindle. As a fan of the show, do you find yourself becoming protective of the characters?

A) Oh yeah, definitely. There is sort of an extra weird layer too because the characters become important to you, but that’s also my buddy playing that character. It’s really interesting to watch your friends perform like that. Especially because the show is so intense and there are a lot of big feels all the time. It’s a nice big platform and it’s awesome to watch your friends crush scenes every week. I’m invested on both sides of the storylines and then like the technical side like, “Look at her go! She’s going to explode from emotion!” A lot of times stuff will change in the editing room so even though you read the script and was there while a bunch of it was being shot…In Episode 106, I was like, “Wait! This isn’t what we filmed! How did this happen?” The editing team are just wizards so they can do some cool stuff and they are really sharp. They cut stuff out when it is superfluous, which is perfect because the last thing you need is a sentimental editor.

Q) Some of the strongest and fiercest female characters are on the show. What did it mean to you to be amongst these incredible strong, fierce females and count yourself as one?

A) It was awesome! I was never a lead character, but it was so great to be on a show where every page is badass women making tough choices and dealing with consequences. It really was mind boggling at first. It was so unprecedented to have not just women in these kinds of roles, but the fact there was no discourse about women being in these roles. I loved that this show is set in the future and that women are just in charge more often than men and it is not a big deal. It’s just the way it is.

Q) What are some memories from your time on the show that you have taken with you?

A) I loved every minute of it. It was like camping. It wasn’t always pretty and it wasn’t always warm. It had its ups and downs, but the whole crew and cast were so good to each other. We really were a family. They still are a family. In real life, I’m not dead so I still consider myself a part of that a little bit. Everyone on that show has a hard job. It’s not an easy show to work on as the hours are long. We have some beautiful sets and studios, especially in the third season. The first and second seasons were a lot of running around in the forest in the winter. Everything was wet, cold and difficult. I think everyone did such a great job of supporting one another, just buckling down and getting the job done.

Q) What are some upcoming projects that you are working on?

A) I did a day on a miniseries called “When We Rise,” which is about the feminist movement that sort of spring-boarded the gay rights movement after the Stonewall incident in New York. It’s the story of a young woman who joins a feminist group in Chicago and she makes her way to San Francisco. It follows her on this journey of how the feminist movement helped to push the gay liberation movement and vice versa, really. It’s how they kind of worked together to try and create some equality in America.

Q) The writers have this “death wall” where they plot things out. Have you been to the offices to see Monroe?

A) No, I haven’t been to the offices. I haven’t been down to LA in years. I haven’t seen the offices, but definitely some people from the writers room talked to me after it. They said my name was on the board and Layne [Morgan] kept pulling my name off the board and being like, “No!” So, thanks Layne. Thanks for trying.

Q) Were you surprised by the script when it arrived?

A) I got the script and I was like, “Oh, there she goes.”

Q) Did you spend any time mourning her?

A) I did. I think I waited until we filmed the death scene and then I was like, “Monroe is dead! No!” I couldn’t say anything to anyone. My immediate family knew and everyone on the show knew, but I couldn’t publically say anything because it was four months until the episode aired.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters?

A) I’m so grateful and everyone on the show is so grateful for the fandom. All the awesome inspirational stuff they do like the Trevor Project fundraising blows me away. That’s so impressive! Everyone should be so proud of themselves. That’s really no small task. Even just simple stuff like people being good to each other, being creative and supporting each other’s creativity…It always blows me away. So, just keep up the good work!