Mutant X Interviews: Lauren Lee Smith (8/01 - 9/04 Mutant X)

[mutantxarchive]

Comics Continuum 8/31/01: Lauren Lee Smith

MUTANT X'S LAUREN LEE SMITH

Lauren Lee Smith, who plays Emma deLauro in the upcoming Mutant X television series, told The Continuum her character is not a member of the team when the series starts. "In the first episode, Victor (Webster, who plays Brennan Mulwray) and I are not even part of the team yet," Smith told The Continuum. "Him and I are out on our own. We don't really want to accept that we have these abilities. We're sort of telling everyone, 'Bug off.' Then we realize what a great place this is to be, to help us with our abilities."

Smith's character is a "telempath," who can transmit and receive feelings telepathically and direct the behavior of others. "I get into people's heads," Smith said. "For example, I've made people think they're being strangled by a rope. So they temporarily think they're dying, and then Shalimar will come in and kick their butt. So I can make them think they can't breathe or that they're falling.

"That's how we've been using it so far. I really like playing around with it because, man, if you really had that power, you could do some damage."

Smith previously appeared in the Sylvester Stallone movie Get Carter, the pilot episode of Fox's Dark Angel, MTV's boy band parody 2Gether and then in PAX TV's Christy: Choices of the Heart. "I was never really into sci-fi. This is a whole new thing for me," she said. "I'm enjoying it, actually. It's really a lot of fun."

After auditioning for Smallville for both the Lana Lang and Chloe Sullivan parts, Smith, a native of Vancouver, was one of last members cast in Mutant X. "When I found out I was going to Toronto to test, the first thing I did was look up everyone on the Internet," Smith said of the Mutant X cast. "And I was like, 'Ok, everyone's really good looking and really buff.'"

Because her powers are mental, Smith hasn't done any wire work like her cast mates, who have more of a stunt background than she does. "I'm sure my character is going to develop physically," she said. "I think the plan is for my character, and me, to progress."

Emma doesn't wear a costume per se, but she does have specific wardrobes. "If we know we're going out to kick some butt, we'll wear these outfits," she said. "Mine is sort of this really cool Emma Peel-y look. It's all leather with this little belt and a collar. It's really fun."

Smith said the outfit is functional for physical exertion - except for one part. "Emma does an awful lot of running in the first three or four episodes," she said. "And man, the heels! I don't mean to pat my own back or anything, but at the end of the day, I did pretty well."

Smith was surprised at the immense reaction to Mutant X at last weekend's panel at the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in Toronto. "I've not experienced anything like this before," Smith said. "I was so nervous."

Mutant X opens in syndication the week of Oct. 1. Look for more on the show soon here in The Continuum.

© Comics Continuum

Sci Fi Wire 1/25/02: Lauren Lee Smith

Smith Previews Mutant X

Mutant X star Lauren Lee Smith told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming episode "Double Vision" centers on her telepathic character, Emma DeLauro. "'Double Vision' is Emma's biggest episode so far," Smith said in an interview. "She gets to go over to the dark side and play with Eckhart [Tom McCamus] for a while. There are a few little twists and turns in there, and it was a lot of fun."

Smith added that the events of "Double Vision" reflect the character's continued growth and development. "Emma's a lot more confident," said the 21-year-old actress, whose previous credits include a guest spot in the Dark Angel pilot. "She's in there with the team. She's out on missions with them. She's not just using her telepathy anymore. She's starting to get a little bit more physical and getting more comfortable with that physicality. So you're seeing Emma develop her mutant powers, but you're also seeing her develop as a person and get in on the action. As an actress, that's great. That's what you want. You want a character to be fully rounded, and I think that's the direction we're headed in." Mutant X airs in first-run syndication; "Double Vision" debuts the week of Jan. 28.



Pic from Visimag

Excerpt from Lauren Lee Smith: Visimag's Xpose 2/02 | Sci Fi and TV Talk 7/1/11

Em Appeal!
by Steven Eramo

Mutant X's new recruit Lauren Lee Smith tells Steven Eramo why she's glad to be playing a girl next door with something x-tra... Also interviewed in this issue: Lauren Lee's Mutant X co-star Forbes March (Jesse Kilmartin)

At a quick glance, Mutant X’s Emma deLauro could be your daughter, granddaughter, girlfriend, you name it. However, as the old saying goes, “Looks can be deceiving.” Behind those big blue eyes is the mind of a telepath and an empath. Emma is capable not only of creating a psychic link with living things, but also sensing the feelings of others as well as planting suggestions in peoples’ minds that can influence their behaviour. Playing such a character has proven to be quite a departure from the usual roles for Lauren Lee Smith. “What first attracted me to the part was the fact that it was completely unlike anything I’d done before,” enthuses the actress. “I’m relatively new to the film and TV business. I’ve only been at it a little over two years. Everything I’ve done so far has been very much the-girl-next-door type or the sweet girlfriend. I mean, in my last job I played a schoolteacher from 1912. So when I read the audition sides for Emma I thought, ‘Cool! She’s a sexy girl and an action chick that gets to kick some butt. I like that!’ Once I found out I had the part I met with the writers to talk about what they had planned for Emma, which got me all the more excited. With every episode I’m learning more and more about the character, and that’s been great for me.”

Emma is a child of Genomex, a biotech firm that has been conducting secret experiments on the human gene on behalf of the U.S. government. Their work has produced genetic mutations in a few hundred men and women, which has given them superhuman and, in some cases, dangerous powers. They have passed on these genetic enhancements to their offspring, who, like Emma, are taken by surprise as their abilities begin to surface. In Mutant X’s two-part opener, The Shock of the New and I Scream the Body Electric, Emma crosses paths with Brennan Mulwray (Victor Webster). He, too, is a mutant whose body can generate electricity. Unknown to them, they are being watched by the Genetic Security Agency, a top secret intelligence service under the command of Genomex security chief Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus). The GMA’s [sic] mandate is to hunt down and destroy all mutants. When Brennan is captured, Emma is recruited by Adam (John Shea), the leader of a small band of mutants, to help rescue him. “At the start, Emma is very scared and shocked by everything,” notes Smith. “She doesn’t know what to make of the GSA or Adam and the Mutant X team. In the first two episodes she’s more or less this young party girl. Little by little, though, Emma gradually matures into a well-rounded individual. She’s becoming far more comfortable using her powers and working with Adam as well as the others.

“The pilot was a lot of fun to shoot,” she continues. “The entire cast was flown up to Toronto a month early in order to train with the program’s fight coordinator, Paul Rapovski. This helped us become familiar with each other ahead of time, so once we stepped onto the set to start filming it wasn’t like, ‘Well, who’s this person? What’s he/she like?’ We also had two talented directors, T.J. Scott and Jon Cassar, working with us, which made the process all the more enjoyable.

“One of my favourite scenes from the first episode was the one with me and Victor at the bar. I enjoyed that because it gave both our characters a bit of ‘quiet’ time to get to know each other. Then, of course, there’s the scene where Emma and Brennan are being chased by Frank Thorne [Douglas O’Keeffe] and his men. That took almost the entire day to film. Believe me, it wasn’t easy running in those high heels Emma had on. There were times when Victor was holding my hand and literally pulling me along,” laughs Smith. “If we had to stop suddenly, which we did, I’d go flying forward. Thankfully, Victor would always catch me before I went too far.”

In the climax of The Shock of the New, Mutant X teammates Shalimar Fox (Victoria Pratt) and Jesse Kilmartin (Forbes March), step in and use their powers to try to rescue Brennan and Emma. Still unable to totally control her telepathic or empathic abilities, Emma must stand back and allow Shalimar and Jesse along with Brennan take on the bad guys. “I haven’t had to do very much stunt work or fighting - yet,” says Smith. “I’ve been working more with Paul, our fight coordinator, and he’s trying to get me up to the same level as everyone else. It’s taking a while, though, because I have absolutely no background in wirework or anything like that. I can’t wait until I’m able to do some of the more intricate moves. I had the chance to do my very first fight scene in a story we just finished called Double Vision. Although there wasn’t any wirework involved I did get to throw a few punches and kicks!

“Actually, Double Vision was very much an Emma episode. I guess the title sort of gives it away, but I got to play two different versions of my character. We’re talking total opposite personalities. This story gave me the opportunity to work with Tom McCamus, who I think is a marvelous actor. Up to now, Emma really hasn’t had a reason to interact with Eckhart because he’s on the dark side. However, in this story, one of the Emmas goes over to Genomex and hangs out with him for a while, so that was fun.”

At the time of this interview, the Mutant X cast and crew were busy filming episode twelve, Altered Ego. In it, a new mutant, Charlotte (Emily Hampshire), who has the power to turn allies into enemies with her mere touch, asks Adam if she can be a member of Mutant X. According to Smith, Emma’s gifts allow her to uncover Charlotte’s true motives. Unfortunately, no one listens to her. “My character is very much doubting everyone around her and no one pays attention to her warnings,” explains the actress. “It turns out Emma is right about everything and at the end she’s like, ‘Told you so.’ They should have taken notice of what Emma was saying right from the start. Of course, then there wouldn’t have been much of an episode,” she jokes.

“I’m really pleased with the way Emma is being written for. Originally, in the first script she and Shalimar were very much at odds with each other. I mean, we’re talking catty. Happily, the producers decided to drop that whole antagonism thing. Then there were hints at a relationship of sorts between Emma and Brennan, but that was put on the back burner, too, which was fine. There’s plenty of time for all that. For the moment, the five characters, Adam included, look after one another like family and the viewers seem to be in tune with that.”

The stepdaughter of a documentary filmmaker, the ebullient Smith was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1980. The actress travelled the world with her family while growing up, and when she was 14 they moved to Los Angeles. It was there that a fashion scout approached her and this led to a successful stint as a professional model. At 19, she left the catwalks behind and returned home to Vancouver to focus on an acting career. Smith was signed by an agent and began studying with a drama coach.
....
With Mutant X guaranteed a minimum 44-episode run, Smith has plenty of adventures to look forward to as Emma deLauro, and she is not complaining. “This is going to sound really weird, but I’d come to the set every day if I could,” she smiles. “When I have a day off it’s like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go back to work now.’ I’m one lucky girl.”

Get the full seven-page double feature, with Forbes March and Lauren Lee Smith interviewed, plus more pictures from Mutant X... when you buy Xposé #64

© Visimag

SciFi Wire 1/31/03: Lauren Lee Smith

Smith Previews Mutant X

Lauren Lee Smith, who plays the "tele-empath" Emma de Lauro on the syndicated Mutant X, told SCI FI Wire that upcoming episodes of show, including this week's "At Destiny's End," will cast her character in a new light. "['At Destiny's End'] is my big episode," Smith said in an interview just days before Tribune Entertainment announced its renewal of Mutant X for a third season. "It's my favorite episode. It's different from the rest of the episodes."

Smith added, "Emma pretty much falls in love with this beach dude [Ryan Scott Greene] and takes off. She follows him and falls madly in love and gets her heart broken. It was a lot of fun. I got to go on jet skis and be in the water. It's definitely not what you usually see Emma doing."

Smith went on to say that de Lauro will take an even darker turn in the season's 20th and 21st episodes. "She starts questioning Adam [John Shea] and getting a little bit pissed off at him," Smith said. "She starts screwing around with everybody's minds and going into the rest of the team's minds when she's not really welcome to. So they're really playing around with her the last couple of episodes [of the season]." Mutant X airs in first-run syndication.

© SciFi.com

Extra Cult Times Special #23 9/12/02: Lauren Lee Smith, on Enchanting Emma

Simply De-Lovely
Bryan Cairns

We've heard the story before. An actress currently riding the sweet success of a show almost didn't land the role. Mutant X's Lauren Lee Smith can sympathize. After auditioning for a casting director in her native Vancouver, the higher-powers-that-be sat on the fence, requesting Smith fly herself out to Toronto for a second tryout. Of course, she turned them down. "I was like, 'Ah, no'," recalls Smith. "They couldn't have been that interested because usually if they want to test you, they fly you down." But there must have been some sparks because the casting director recommended resubmitting an audition tape to showcase her talent. After a bit of retooling, Smith resent one and shortly after slipped into the part of superhero Emma deLauro. Thinking back, Smith remembers, "The hardest part was figuring out our powers before we had seen what they were going to look like," says Smith. "I think it was pretty hard for everyone to get that idea. It either felt or looked silly. I guess for me it's the physical part [too] because that is new to me."

For Smith, Mutant X has offered a change of pace and a chance to stretch some acting muscles. "Originally, what attracted me to Mutant X was I just finished doing this mini-series called Christy which was a perioud piece," explains the 22-year-old knockout. "Everything I've done has been sort of sweet girl-next-door, so when I read this, it's like she's a superhero chick, she gets to kick ass, and she's a little bit tougher and darker than anything I ever playesd. And it just sounded like fun. Who doesn't want to be part of something called Mutant X?"

As a telempath, Emma can receive or transmit feelings and emotions. "It's a pretty cool power," admits Smith. In the episode Interface, she even projected illusions to confuse the enemy and enable an escape. However, the Canadian actress notes that ability was probably a one time deal. "God, if she could do all that stuff, Emma could save the world," she quips.

Omnipotence may not be on the cards but the character has taken leaps and bounds in accepting who she is. The premiere episode, The Shock of the New, had Emma turning her back on Mutant X after being thrust into their world. Insecure about her powers, she just wanted to blend into normalcy and ignore her gifts. Since then, Emma has become a team player and proven herself time and time again. Yet while her powers are more of a cerebral trick, her fellow mutants are dishing out some hard-hitting physical blows. Last year on the set, while her French bulldog Scott munched on my shoelaces, Smith admitted she wished Emma would get to beat the bad guys senseless once in a while. In fact, her stand-out moment at the time involved doing just that. "I can't remember what episode it was, but the first one where I kick someone and I knock her out was exciting," exclaims Smith. "I don't have any background in martial arts, so seeing myself kicking butt is funny. I want to do more of that."

Six months later, that tune has changed. "At first, I really, really did," she admits about getting more action. "I was looking around at Vicki Pratt, Victor Webster and Forbes March and going, 'Man, that looks co cool! I wish I could do that. I hope Emma gets to do that eventually!' At the same time, I think it is really neat she's the one that doesn't do that so much. She's the one who plays with minds. And not only that, sometimes it is late at night and poor Vicki is up on those wires for God knows how long and it looks painful. So part of me is like, 'Maybe it's not so bad'."

That doesn't mean she doesn't suffer some of the same hardships as her co-star, the feral Pratt. Both tend to dress in leather or other sexy items, and while Wonder Woman and the female X-Men may make tackling evil in tight outfits look easy, Smith knows better. "I can't even tell you how many pants Vicki and I have gone through," she chuckles. "I don't even do that much, but just from running and kicking, our heels break loose because we're in these platforms during these fights. I've been on wires once but I don't miss it. Maybe I'm just a little bit lazy."

Given the hours put in, Smith is selling herself short. Every week brings more insight to Mutant X as they square off against a new enemy. What is also evident is the close-knit connection these strangers have quickly formed. "It's very much like a family," describes Smith. "All of us have come from weird backgrounds and coming from where we feel like the outcast so I think they all bonde immediately. It's brother/sister. In the original script, they planned on having some relationships in the group too. I know Brennan [Webster] and I were supposed to have a thing, but they decided to keep us more of a family and bring others in."

With Mutant X consisting of five members, Smith says each actor gets their turn in the spotlight so it's no surprise her favorite episodes focus heavily on Emma. "I really liked Double Vision a lot, because I got to play good and bad. And it's so much fun playing the bad girl and being bitchy and snotty to everyone. That was also the first episode I got to do some action. I also liked Interface, where my old school friend came back. There was a neat scene with Vicki and me in the shopping mall. We were throwing around these shopping bags and kicking these guys' asses with our purses. And the vampire one, Lazarus Syndrome, was great too."

But Mutant X might have finally met their match in Season One's finale, where they battle Gabriel Ashlocke (Michael Easton), a man with multiple abilities who shares a dark piece of history with them. "I can tell you the season finale, A Breed Apart, is going to open up quite a lot of doors for Season Two and there are going to be quite a few changes," reveals Smith. "The major conflict will be with Michael's character because he is patient zero. He was the very first mutant."

So what else is cooking for the hip generation X? Good question, and it appears fans aren't the only ones left in the dark. The actors are curious too. Recently, Smith was in LA visiting co-stars Webster and Pratt, so speculations were running rampant. What Smith did hint was that the gang would all get a power boost as their abilities evolve. Viewers can also expect Gabriel to plague Mutant X again, while Genomex head honcho Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus) phases out due to the actor's other commitments.

But you can tell by the enthusiasm and laughter in her voice that Smith has no pulls to pull a disappearing act. Involved in theatre ever since she was two, Smith says she just eased into film and television before moving back to Vancouver from LA. Once settled in, she hired an agent and started taking acting classes.
....
Oddly enough, if you've caught any of her past work, you'll notice a major difference between her past work and her present Mutant X days: Smith isn't really a brunette. Her hairdresser dyes her naturally blonde locks once a month. "Vicki had already been cast and so had Victor and Forbes," says Smith. "I was the last in, so they decided didn't want two blondes. And I'm not sure blondes have more fun." She laughs. "I've probably had every single color of hair possible. It's actually red right now. As soon as we finished the show, I was like, 'I need a change'. I'm kind of hoping they'll keep it for next season."

If they warm up to the idea, Smith will be one step closer to her alter ego. When asked who resembles their character the most on the show, her answer is a certain laidback ex-thief. "Victor is pretty similar to Brennan," she giggles. "Will he be mad at me for that? As for me, Emma is a little mischievous and likes to play around. I would say I'm pretty similar. However, when she gets into her serious mode and really gets upset, I'd like to think I'm not like that. But Emma is very emotional. She's always bombarded with these feelings so that makes her a little scatter-brained sometimes. I like to think I'm not quite that scatter-brained." She bursts out laughing again.

© Cult Times

Excerpt from SciFi Talk podcast interview 12/02: Lauren Lee Smith

SciFi Talk interview: Lauren Lee Smith

Lauren Lee Smith: Everyone assumes you're the sweet young innocent girl then you throw in a little bit of mischief. That's always fun to play. It's playing with feeling and getting all these people's emotions which is why Emma can be scatterbrained at sometimes. She's bombarded with all these feelings. With each episode as an actress you're slowly figuring out your character and who she is. The pilot was a great way to start out for me as Emma was learning as I was. I liked it when she was bad in season one. It was so much fun for me and getting to work with Tom (McCamus). He's just phenomenal. Hopefully Emma will go over to the dark side again. (Laughs)

© SciFi Talk

Season 2 DVD Extras 9/04: Lauren Lee Smith Interview (short version)

Lauren Lee Smith: For season one, Emma was a telempath, so pretty much she can receive and transmit feelings and emotions from people. So she can, you know, she can really screw people over pretty much with her mind, and make them do all sorts of crazy things and pretty much whatever she wants. Which is actually I think part of the reason too why her powers have evolved. Because I know that there was a question of, well, if she can really make people do whatever she wants with her mind, then why wouldn’t she just do this? Or that? Or take over the bloody world? So for season two--actually, the last episode for season one--all of our powers sort of evolved and I got this new psionic blast, which is a lot of fun. I get this, like, energy ball in my forehead and I can shoot people. Which is good too, because last year, I didn’t really have to do that much fighting, Thank God. But the fighting that I did have to do, I mean, Emma doesn’t come from any fighting background or anything. So it’s not likely that she would just know how to go out there and kick butt. So this gives me a way to have a physical power and actually hurt people without having to karate chop and do the flying kicks and stuff. Which I know Vicky and Victor have had training before and they come from that. I’m sort of a wuss. I’m much happier with having my little mind blast.

I think initially she was just extremely frightened of the whole thing and I don’t think she really wanted to believe that she had these powers. She just sort of wanted to ignore them. And I know the beginning of last season, she was really fighting that for the most part. And fighting against whatever it was that she had. And I think especially for season two, she’s gotten a lot more confident. I think she feels now that she is more a part of the team and she has something a little bit more to contribute. It’s like her family now. Adam is sort of like the father figure of all of us to a certain degree, and then with Jesse and Shalimar and Brennan, it’s like they’re my brothers and sisters. So I think originally Emma had sort of a crush on Brennan, but they didn’t really take that anywhere, so I don’t know. Maybe she’ll start to have a crush on Jesse or something, we’ll see. But as of now, I think they want to keep it very much that we are a family. We have a lot of fun. I think we’re all very, very lucky. I think we all get along so well. I mean, I haven’t done a tv series before, but I’ve heard stories about cast members just not getting along, and it just being a nightmare. So I think we’re very, very lucky. We all really like each other.

We’re having quite a lot of trouble with what we’re supposed to be doing with the psionic blast. Originally they had it where they were coming around and doing the whole look thing again. For one episode, I don’t know if you can even notice or not, but they had me going like pow! *makes a shooting noise* And I’m like no, no, no, no, let’s not do that one. Cause I can imagine, you know, going machine gun like, pow, pow, pow! So now I think it’s all gonna be in post, you know? I can think about it, and I form the blast and then it shoots out.

I had never really been into science fiction before this. I think the one science fiction movie that I really liked was Them that I remember seeing years ago. And I have an obsession with ants. Like I have a tattoo of an ant, and I have an ant ring and stuff. So I was like, yeah, Them! And that’s the only thing that I had really seen. But I have an older brother who was very much into science fiction and comic books and stuff, so when he heard about this, he was like, “Yeah, right on!”

If someone is telempathic and they are reading someone’s emotions and stuff, they would obviously, they would be very screwed up. They should be up and down and all over the show. So I think that’s something that we’re gonna play with because, God, it’s gotta be confusing, and it’s gotta drive her crazy sometimes. And it’s gotta make her angry, and it’s gotta make her upset and highly emotional. So that’s something that I really like about my character. It’s fun to play. You never know what you’re gonna get with Emma. You would always want to evolve the character, and I think that’s what’s so great about playing a mutant, because you never know what’s going to happen. And in a lot of these last episodes, we’ve been showing with other guest mutants who come on, how they’ve evolved. And it’s not necessarily a good thing. So it sort of leaves the question as to well, what’s gonna happen to us, you know, down the road? What’s gonna start changing next? You know, is Shalimar gonna start growing hair all over her, like in this episode, where we have the big hairy beast guys? And is Emma gonna become a complete schizophrenic? Or, you know, who knows? So that’s what’s really fun about science fiction. You can really take it anywhere and play around.

I’d love Emma to get a little bit more crazy. You know, it’s always fun to play the sort of screwed up girl, so I’d love it if her emotions just started getting all out of whack and she didn’t know what she was doing. And also, I have to say the “Double Vision” episode was so much fun. So much fun getting to play the bad part of Emma. So, I mean, it would be really cool to get to do something like that again too. Every episode is a whole new thing, you know? Especially with season 2. It’s like a completely new show, really it is. It’s really opened the doors, I think, for a lot of really neat things to come.

S2 DVD Extras 9/04: Lauren Lee Smith interview (uncut version). *Property of Katianna's Place.

Lauren Lee Smith "Emma DeLauro"

I am Lauren Lee Smith, and I play Emma DeLauro and we are in Boyd Park, if I'm correct… yes.

I think what the deal with that was, the first two episodes Emma wasn't really part of the team yet and she was supposed to be sort of like this party girl, crazy girl, so that's what I'm assuming. And I guess, you know, once you join on Mutant X you just have to assume you're going to be wearing tight leather. It's part of the deal, man. It's part of the contract. *laughs* I was totally fine with that though, and made some pretty amazing costumes. Yeah, I know.

Wait a minute, did they have that already ready for her, I know, there was that whole "Emmappeal" patent leather thing. I know, that was pretty funny actually.

For season one Emma was a telempath, so pretty much she can receive and transmit feelings and emotions from people. So she can, you know, she can really screw people over pretty much with her mind and make them do all sorts of crazy things and…pretty much whatever she wants. *laughs* Which is actually, I think, part of the reason, too, why her powers have evolved because I know there was a question of, well if she can really make people do whatever she wants with her mind then why wouldn't she just do this or that or take over the bloody world. So for season two, actually the last episode for season one all of our powers sort of evolved and I got this new 'psionic blast'. Which is a lot of fun. I get this like energy ball on my forehead and I can shoot people. Which is good too, because last year I didn't really have to do that much fighting (thank god) but the fighting that I did have to do - I mean Emma doesn't come from any fighting background or anything, so it's not likely that she would just know how to just go out there and kick butt. So this gives me a way to have a physical power and actually hurt people without having to karate chop, you know. *laughs* Do the flying kicks and stuff. Which I know, you know, Vicky and Victor have trained before and they come from that so…

There's parts of it that are a lot of fun and you know it's just fun getting to kick these big stunt guy's butts. But it's really, really hard and I watch Vicky and Victor and… especially Vicky sometimes on those wires and it’s just like hours and hours on these harnesses doing flips and, you know, I can imagine how dizzy she must be. And all the bruises and everything. So for that reason I'm glad. I'm sort of a wuss. I'm much happier with having my little mind blast.

Well I think the really cool thing with Emma is, and I think that this is something that I've talked about with the writers and producers and stuff, is that if someone is telempathic and they are reading people's emotions and stuff, they would obviously, they would be very screwed up, you know. They should be up and down and all over the show. So I think that's something we're going to play with. Because, you know, god, it's got to be confusing and it's got to drive her crazy sometimes and it's got to make her angry and it's got to make her upset and, you know, highly emotional. So that's something that I really like about my character. It's a lot of fun, you know, you never know what you're going to get with Emma.

You know it's really funny, when I first saw it I'm like, looking around and going 'holy crap, this is like, exactly my room at home.' It was really bizarre like everything, down to like the pictures and everything. I don't know, I think that she's probably been influenced a lot by Adam because I know that last year he was trying to get her to mellow out a little bit by doing a little meditation *laughs* and sorting all the stuff out in her mind so I think that that's part of it.

I think that initially she was just extremely frightened of the whole thing. And I don't think that she wanted to believe that she had these powers. She just sort of wanted to ignore them. And I know, you know, the beginning of the last season she was really fighting that for the most part and fighting against whatever it was that she had. And I think, especially for season two she's just, she's got a lot more confident with her powers. Especially now because of, I think that she feels that she's more a part of the team and she has something a little bit more to contribute. And I think that it's like her family now.

I would say that, you know, Adam is sort of like the father figure of all of us to a certain degree. And then with Jesse and Shalimar and Brennan, I think it's like they're my brothers and sisters. I think originally Emma had a bit of a crush on Brennan but *laughs* they didn't really take that anywhere. So… So, I don't know. Maybe she'll start to have a crush on Jesse or something. We'll see. But as of now I think they want to keep it very much that we are a family.

You know, someone had said that they had read that on the internet too, somewhere. But I don't see that. I think… You're looking at me like 'hmm, really?' *laughs* As far as I can tell, we… him and I certainly haven't been intentionally playing that… but if they would go that route, that would be very… interesting? *laughs* No, interesting. It could take it to a whole new level.

We still have our comm. links *shows that she's wearing hers* we have to keep in touch with everyone. Yup.

Oh my gosh. We have all, I mean, I can't even tell you how many rings we all have gone through. Because, you know, like you, after wearing it for so long, you forget about it, you take them home and they go down the sink or you lose them everywhere. We all have gone through probably five rings each. And now like every day when we come to set they're like, 'd'you have your ring? d'you have your ring?' 'yes, I have my ring.' I think they had to make a whole bunch of much cheaper versions for us.

All the sets have completely changed, there's stuff to do now everywhere, it's not so… kind of sterile and I think that just makes it more real. There's, you know, we're going to have more people and we're going to be out a lot more and I think that's definitely going to help a lot. I think that, you know. People will… people will like it, damn it.

You know when we first came to Toronto, just with the camera tests and stuff, they were playing around with all kind of ideas, and it just seemed to be the best. And I know that this season we were having quite a lot of trouble with what we were supposed to be doing with the psionic blast. Originally we had it were they were coming around and doing the whole look thing again, and then for one episode - I don't know if you can even notice or not - they had me going like 'pshiew' *mimics throwing her head back in recoil* and I'm like no, no, let's not do that one. Coz I could imagine like a machine gun going 'pshiew pshiew'. So now I think it's all going to be in post. You know I can think about it and then I form the blast and then it shoots out.

I think that you would always want to evolve the character and I think that's what's so great about playing a mutant. Because you never know what's going to happen. And in a lot of these last episodes we've been showing - with other guest mutants that come on - what has happened to them and how they've evolved and it's not necessarily a good thing. And it sort of leaves the question as to 'well what's going to happen to us?' Down the road what's going to start changing next and, you know, is Shalimar going to start growing hair all over like in this episode, where we have the big hairy beast guys. And is Emma going to become a complete schizophrenic or, you know, who knows. And that's what's really fun about science fiction, you can really take it anywhere and play around.

Actually, you know what, I was not. I had never really been into science fiction before this. I think the only, the one science fiction movie that I really liked was 'Them' that I remember seeing years ago. And I have an obsession with ants, like I have a tattoo of an ant and I have an ant ring and stuff. So I was like 'yeah, Them'. And that was like the only thing that I had really seen, but I have an older brother who is very much into science fiction and comic books and stuff. So when he heard about this he was like 'yeah, right on'.

I got the part… I was living in Vancouver and I put myself on tape and I kinda forgot about it. I hadn't really heard anything for about a month or so and then my agent got a call saying 'well, you know we're interested if she wants to fly herself to LA for the testings and stuff then, that would be great.' Sort of that's not usually a very good sign, you know, if you wanna fly yourself to LA, so I was like, well no, I don't really think they're that serious, if they're not willing to send me down there. So I kind of waited around a bit more, about a month passed and I guess they kept looking. And then I got a call again and they were in Toronto and they flew me out the next day and, tested, read for everybody and it was really cool because they told me right after the audition, you know, usually you don't find out for a week or so after. I'm sitting in the waiting room after, ready to get on a plane and I hate flying and they all came out and told me, so that was a great plane ride home. *laughs* Probably the best plane ride home.

Yeah, we have a lot of fun. I think we're very, very lucky. I mean, we all get along so well. I mean, I haven't really, I mean, I haven't done a TV series before, but I've heard stories of cast members just not getting along and it just being a nightmare. So I think we're very, very lucky we all really like each other.

I'd love Emma to get a little bit more crazy. You know it's always fun to play the screwed up girl so I'd love if her emotions just started getting all out of whack and she doesn't know what she's doing. And also I have to say the Double Vision episode was so much fun. So much fun getting to play the bad part of Emma, so it would be really cool to get to so something like that again.

It's really hard and I usually do, I usually have my computer set up, but I'm completely computer retarded, I have no idea. So it's down and it's been down for like the last six months so I haven't really been able to keep up with it. But usually, yeah. I try to, definitely. I think that's really important.

I went to one… no two, no one… One last year. And it was OK. It was very odd. I get really, really nervous in front of big crowds, like I… public speaking to me is like 'ugh' but I've been talking to Vicky and she's a pro and says that it's not big deal you just have to go out there and do it and she said she'd help me through it. So yeah, it would be fun to get to do that.

Oh, it's bizarre, the one we went to last year, the show hadn't even aired yet and there were like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people and it was like 'what? You know, we haven't even aired yet?' They don't even know what's going on and they're already like these die-hard fans. So, yeah, it's very bizarre. To see people all dressed up and it's great, it's great.

The little bell look? *sweeps hands in the shape of her old hair-do.* I don't know. I got a few letters on my website and a couple of letters sent to me saying 'yeah, I love your hair, I'm going as Emma for halloween' or something. I'm like 'what!?' *laughs*

She has, I know. We've got a whole new look this season. But that's fun. It's fun to mix it up and change it around and…

Interviewer: Do the dressing up.

Yeah, come on, I'm a girl. Girls like to do that kinda stuff.

You know, I don't think it's that hard because we have some pretty amazing writers. And if there's anything that feels a little bit too… you know with dialogue and stuff, if it's a little bit hard to say or a little bit comic book-ish they're really open and we can just call them up and they really help us out. So it hasn't really… no, I think it's pretty good.

I think so, I think I do. And like I said, with Emma I think it's going to be each episode is a whole new thing. I'll just take it one step at a time and see what comes. And I don't really have a plan for Emma because I just want to wait and see what happens.

Yes, very much so. Yeah, every episode is a whole new thing. Especially with season two, it's like a completely new show really, it is. And it's really opened the doors I think, for a lot of really neat things to come.

Wow… I would love to see our powers evolve even more. I would love to see… You know, who knows? I would love to see… everything sort of fall apart maybe? And then see what happens. With Adam and everything. And everything just comes crashing down and we have to sort of start from square one, I mean that would be interesting. There are so many possibilities. I think it's endless possibilities.

I think it would definitely be Double Vision because it was really hard. You know, some days we would go right from the bad Emma and then it was the good Emma. So it was very back and forth and it was challenging, but that was the fun part. And also Nothing To Fear was a fantastic episode, I think that was definitely one of my favourites. Because it was very dark.

Absolutely. Absolutely it is. And you know, because there's five of us it's not like there's an insane work schedule. I mean yeah, it's a lot of work and stuff, but it's not like we're all in every single scene every day so we do get time off. Like I got to go home for the weekend and stuff so, you know, and you come back all refreshed and excited and, like I said, we all like each other so, coming in to your work you come in and hang out with your friends and get to play around and do crazy stuff. Act like you're seeing, god knows what, you know.

© Tribune Entertainment

Excerpt from Crissu's L4: Lauren Lee Smith

Lauren

Lauren also talked a bit about Mutant-X, a series that she was in before The L Word and why she left that show. When they had started shooting, the budget of the series was good and she enjoyed doing it but for some reason the budget was cut in half after a while. The viewer numbers started dropping and after a while Lauren’s character’s outfits started getting smaller and more revealing with every episode to attract viewers. She said that’s when she realized it was time to get out and luckily she had no trouble getting out of her contract.

© Crissu