Natalie Krill – Wynonna Earp

By starrymag | June 17, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I have a film that I star in called Below Her Mouth, which is about two women who meet and have an unexpected connection that changes both of their lives forever. I think it will be heading to some festivals this Fall and opening next year.

Q) Tell us about your character in the film.

A) I play Jasmine who works in fashion and she is a perfectionist. She meets this interesting girl, Dallas. They have just a magnetic connection that sweets them both away.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the movie?

A) The main thing was the idea of living authentically to yourself and who you truly are, which I feel is universal. Whether it has to deal with sexuality or anything in life, I think I tis a strong message to get behind.

Q) How was your character Eve on “Wynonna Earp” originally described to you? Did the role evolve or change from that?

A) There was no mention of Willa when I auditioned for the role. It was always just Eve. So, I didn’t really know who I would be playing in its entirety. I thought it was a smaller, guest starring role in like one episode. When I got the role, that’s how I found how important she was in the storyline to the series.

1. Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) It was actually kind of good because I didn’t know a lot about the character, as me the actor. That’s Willa’s journey as well. She doesn’t remember who she is and she is kind of discovering it as she goes. So, I was as well with each script that I was given. Emily [Andras] and the directors definitely guided me with what they needed from me. We joke about the fact that she kind of has this memory loss so keeping me in the dark was actually a good thing too. I didn’t know too much so I couldn’t complicate Eve and then when she becomes Willa it was all a natural discovery.

Q) We meet her in this dark place and dark mindset. Talk about that character development that we saw and continue to see.

A) I’ll say in regards to that, she is stepping into her power. With all the training she did as a young girl, it is coming back to her and making her stronger as a person and as a character as the series goes on.

Q) How will dynamics continue to shift now that Willa has become a full fledged Earp?

A) I think as sisters do, you can be absolutely honest and blunt. I have a sister and two brothers and you love each other dearly, but there is always challenges in getting along.

Q) There has been some animosity between Willa and Waverly. Will that also play a continued role as well?

A) Yeah, I think that maybe Waverly feels a bit left out because Willa was the one trained by their dad to be the heir and then Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) took over. So, I think maybe she feels left in the shadows a bit, which is understandable. Amongst sisters, there is jealousy and everyone wants to be included all the time. So, I think it is just natural sisterly tension. There is definitely more of that as the series goes on.

Q) We saw Waverly last week kind of having to “babysit” Willa when they have no real relationship.

A) I think when they were younger Willa was a little bit hard on Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley. So, I think that Waverly what she remembers of her oldest sister is maybe a lot of teasing and being left out.

Q) Will there be any kind PTSD effects on Willa?

A) Yeah, she was kidnapped when she was young and she doesn’t remember what happened to her. So, as the memories start coming back, she has a lot of pain to deal with. She remembers that her dad was killed by Wynonna and all of these things that start coming back to her really give her some big challenges to deal with.

Q) It’s such a great, interactive cast to “Wynonna Earp.” What was set life like for you?

A) I came along at the end of the series when they were filming and that can be really difficult when you come into a show so far along and everyone has bonded. Not one person didn’t give me the greatest welcome. Everyone was just so loving and took care of me and made me feel right at home, like a family. It always trickles down form the leadership. From Emily, to the producers and the crew, everyone was so considerate of everyone else. It was a really loving set to shoot on. We shot outside of Calgary so it was beautiful scenery. It was a really lovely experience working on the show.

Q) What kind of training did you do for your role?

A) They did a safety training and they are very cautious when we are shooting blanks. There are strict guidelines on there and you have to be very safe. We had training on how to load the guns and how to shoot them. I know that Melanie had quite a bit more training, but carrying the show she has had to do all kinds of crazy things. Mine was a little bit milder, but definitely there was some training.

Q) What are some of your most memorable behind the scenes moments from filming?

A) There are so many sweet little moments where you are waiting to go to set and sitting in the warmup tents with the cast. The comradery, jokes and banter and having coffee together and running lines together and talking about our characters…I would say those are my favorite memories.

Q) Did anyone in particular really bond with you?

A) The sisters. Both Dominique and Melanie were like, “Oh, you’re our sister.” So, all of a sudden I was just their sister. All three of us bonded quickly within that last stretch of shooting. They would introduce me to people if I didn’t know them. The sister connection was probably the biggest.

Q) Do you have any behind the scenes photos you will share?

A) I think I have a few in there. My character has so much about her that was held under wraps that I am a little hesitant to share too much. I more go towards the side of caution so I don’t get in trouble. I wait until the publicist sends me stuff and then I post that. [laughs]

Q) What was the most challenging aspect of your role?

A) The hardest part was keeping it a secret for so long. We finished shooting in mid February and it couldn’t be on my IMDB. I could promote saying I have great friends on the show, but I couldn’t say that I was a part of it. The people closest to me know I was a part of it and my friends and family have been watching from the beginning of the series so they could stay up to date with the characters and see how my character fit into it all. It was like waiting for Christmas. That’s what it felt like.

Q) The show has so many wonderful themes. What are some that you feel have really resonated the most?

A) The LGBT aspect I think is really powerful and important. Also, just the characters in general of the show the way that our writers have developed the series is that these characters are very complex. They are not just straight forward. They all have flaws and are messy and witty and say the wrong things. Maybe they drink too much, but they are saving lives. [laughs] The characters are just really interesting. They are strong, but not just strong. They also have moments of weakness, which is how life is. We’re not always strong. We push through challenges and find our strength. It’s not without having those dark moments. We’re fighting demons so it’s dark! Life is hard on “Wynonna Earp.”

Q) You are a part of social media and have been live tweeting the show. What kind of fan feedback have you been receiving?

A) Everyone has been really excited about Willa and enthusiastic and interested in what her journey will be. I have gotten a few tweets here and there where people are quite unnerved and curious about Willa and how she is going to stir things up. Which is good! They are not going to bring Willa back in Episode 10 not to make people unnerved. I appreciate both – people being like, “We love Willa” and people being like “Eh, I don’t know about Willa.” I think that’s good because that’s how I played her. She doesn’t know what she is doing so that’s unnerving. By the end of the series, you definitely understand Willa a lot more. It will be fun to watch episode twelve this week. It’s going to be a good one.

Q) Fans are so great with their fan art and give so much love back. It’s nice to see how connected the cast is with the fandom.

A) I’ve had a couple of fan drawings come my way on Twitter, which are so special to get. People post screengrabs of Wynonna and Willa busting out of the barn with machine guns and different gifs of funny little moments like Willa making sure she gets her last shot before Wynonna pulls her away. Those funny little moments. I love that because those are the moments that you hope people will get and really love. So, when you see it come back from the fans it is always a good feeling.

Q) What have you taken away from your time working on the series?

A) That’s a good question. I’ve taken away so many great things from it. I don’t know. I think just the real generous quality that was present on set throughout my time and throughout the whole series I have no doubt it was there as well. It’s just the generous quality and the family vibe. We’re actors and we’re telling a story, but we’re humans first. I think it is important to create the bonds with the people you work with. It only makes the show better.