Tristin Mays – MacGyver

By starrymag | February 14, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

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

 

A) I haven’t been busy working on anything else because we don’t really have time for that. [chuckles] Just little personal things like growing my tomato garden and teaching my dog how to speak with voice to talk buttons. That’s cool! Now, things are easing up a little bit so I’ll probably have more time to work on other things and still play on “MacGyver,” too.

 

Q) What is new this season on “MacGyver” and with Riley?

 

A) There are going to be a lot of emotional rollercoasters in Season Four. Our group has disbanded over the hiatus. When the season picks up, it is a flashforward to eighteen months in the future. So, we see where we have been when we weren’t together, how we’ve been, why we weren’t together, what happened and how we eventually get back together and what prompts us to get back together. There are a lot of cool things in store. There is a new character on the show that kind of messes up a little bit. So, it will be interesting to see how we adjust to a new untrustworthy member of our team.

 

Q) How was Riley originally described to you?

 

A) A little paragraph that said “20’s, chip on her shoulder, attitude, tough, but knows how to hack computers.” I did the rest. [laughs]

 

Q) Was there anything you added to her that wasn’t in her initial breakdown?

 

A) Honestly, I just made her myself plus having a little bit of an extra chip on her shoulder being as she just came out of prison. The character has been altered to be me, so I haven’t had to do too much. So, it’s been really, really great. I kind of took out the chip on the shoulder and gave her an edge, rather than your typical girl with a bad attitude all the time. I wanted to change that and not make her your typical mean girl because things can get cliché really quickly. So, I knew what they had in mind, but I knew what I wanted to do with the character. And I think that set her apart from your normal computer hacker. [smirks]

 

Q) What can you tease about how Mac and Riley’s relationship develops this season?

 

A) No, I cannot give any spoilers away. But, as you know, Mac (Lucas Till) and Riley are family at the end of the day. So, they are always going to be there for each other. They’re going to help each other out even if it hurts other people. So, it is interesting to see what comes out of that, too.

 

Q) How will Riley get along with the new character Russ?

 

A) Well, Henry’s [Ian Cusick] character comes in as sort of an untrustworthy character. He had a dark past as well – just like Riley’s character. And even though we don’t trust him because we don’t know him, Riley is always keeping an eye out for her team because they tend to trust people really quickly and get double crossed. Riley also has a little something in common with him being as though she used to be dark as well and now, she uses her stuff for good. So, it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops, if it ever does. He’s just that guy that every time you think you can trust him he does something that breaks it and then he ends up having our back at the end of the day. I can’t give anything else away. [chuckles]

 

Q) There is so much we don’t know about Riley. What would you like to see going forward if there were to be a Riley-centric episode?

 

A) Well, we actually filmed one of those not too long ago. So, you’re going to be able to go back into the past and find out what sent Riley to prison and who she was before when she was younger. Or at least who the audience thinks she may have been when she was younger. That’s really cool. I definitely can’t give that away. [laughs]

 

Q) Going into a new season, do you have to do anything in particular to physically prepare yourself for the stunt work ahead?

 

A) I stay in pretty good shape throughout breaks, but I will say the main thing that I have to do before a season is getting my sleeping pattern back together. I can’t sleep late anymore. I have to start training my body to wake up at least 8AM because we have to be on set about 5:30AM every day. So, sleeping late would just kind of mess that up and it’s such a shock to have to change that. I have to start a new sleeping schedule, going to sleep a little earlier. Also, we film in Atlanta and I live in LA during my breaks. So, I have to adjust myself timewise as well otherwise I’m jet lagged. Sometimes we won’t even make our flight the day before we have to come back and shoot another season. Being as though all those changes are about to occur, I have to start in advance.

 

Q) What have been some of your favorite moments from filming?

 

A) Just having fun with Lucas and Justin [Hires] and Meredith [Eaton]. Now, we have Henry on the show and that’s been really, really great. We have really come together as a family now. We have our core team and we really work well together and we’re happy. It’s important to be happy when you’re working. So, that’s been great. Favorite moments? We sing during the takes and we make up songs. We make up little skits and stuff. We’re just always having fun and that changes everything. It changes how you perform and it changes your energy. The crew and everyone else – no one is stressed. It’s really wonderful to work when you don’t have any stress.

 

Q) What do you think it is about “MacGyver” that continues to make it such a fan favorite series?

 

A) “MacGyver” is a family show. It’s a show that everyone can watch with their kids. There is not a lot of violence or cursing. It’s fun, it’s humorous and it’s stuff that can never be done in real life, but it’s actually believable when you watch it on the show. It’s just kind of fun to see how MacGyver can…It’s not your typical crime series. You can defeat an enemy by making a machine gun out of wine bottles and shooting bottle caps at people. It’s really a twist on your typical cop drama. He’s making something new constantly all throughout the episode and it’s really creative. A big shoutout to our prop team who has to read the scripts and come up with these crazy inventions. I know sometimes they are just ripping their hair out shortly before each episode like, “How are we going to make this?!” Somehow, they always nail it and everything looks great and works great. So, shoutout to everyone for that! It’s a fun show that everyone can watch and it’s always been a classic. So, a lot of older people are able to introduce it to younger generations and bring everyone else into it. It’s a show that could last forever.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

 

A) It’s always really cool to see what the fans think. We do our best to make this stuff work. All we get are words on a piece of paper and it’s our job to make it come to life. Sometimes we don’t know how it is going to come out. We’re like, “Oh my gosh! How is this going to be received? Is it going to look ridiculous?” Just getting that feedback from the fans, sometimes it is a completely opposite reaction than what we expected. It’s like, “Oh my gosh! They believed it! That’s great! They liked it!” So, it helps. It’s a confidence booster. We might not always be confident in everything and the fans change that for us as soon as we read their comments. So, we appreciate that. We appreciate the feedback. We appreciate the fans saying what they want to see and what they don’t want to see. So, fans if you’re out there reading this, make sure to write us on social media. Make sure to write the writers and the showrunner if there are specific things that you want to see or don’t want to see. We can’t really do too much if you tell us on our pages. We can only just read it. But if you tell the people that actually are writing the show that will help. [chuckles] So, keep on with your comments and feedback. We all love it and it’s all really helpful.

 

Q) Is there anything else about the new season you want to be sure we share with our readers?

 

A) I don’t want to give away too much. We have some recognizable faces that will be popping in and out. Some drama. Some heartbreaks. Lots of laughter. Just stay tuned for Season Four. It’s coming for you!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporter of you and the work you do?

 

A) I just want to say thank you so much for watching and being so supportive over the last four years. We couldn’t do it without you guys. Thank you to all the female fans who reach out to me and tell me things they love about my character. It seems that I have been a good remodel and that’s something I’ve always wanted to be. I’m glad that I am able to do that. With a character that wouldn’t normally be a role model and wasn’t written to be a role model, I’m glad that I’ve been able to kind of mold her into that and be a good example for young women who maybe have been through problems in their past and trust issues and things like that and show that even with trust issues you can learn to love and be open to a new family and the people who care about you and you can turn your life around. Thank you for the support and thank you for watching. Get ready for Season Four!