Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: Alyvia Alyn Lind, wayward

Wayward: Alyvia Alyn Lind on Mystery Thriller, Toni Collette & More

Alyvia Alyn Lind (Chucky) spoke with Bleeding Cool about Netflix's mystery thriller Wayward, creator Mae Martin, Toni Collette, and more.

With over a decade in Hollywood, Alyvia Alyn Lind is becoming one of the most in-demand up-and-coming talents since her debut in 2012 in ABC's Revenge and Nickelodeon's See Dad Run. From there, she's largely been a force on TV with the occasional film, including runs on Prime Video's Transparent, Showtime's Masters of Sex, Netflix's Daybreak, CBS's The Young and the Restless, Roku's The Spiderwick Chronicles, and USA/SYFY's Chucky. While promoting her latest Netflix thriller series Wayward, Lind spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with creator Mae Martin (Feel Good), co-stars Toni Collette and Sydney Topliffe, and keeping tabs on her character's mental state. Wayward follows an academy for "troubled teens," where not everything is as it seems. Following an escape attempt, two students and a police officer dig into the town of Tall Pine's mysterious and dark past.

Wayward Star Alyvia Alyn Lind on Playing a Drug Addict Again, Creator Mae Martin, Working with Toni Collette

What intrigued you about Wayward, and how did you get involved?

Oh my gosh! What a loaded question. The right question would be, what DIDN'T intrigue me about 'Wayward?' Just from reading the first episode, it was immediately the connection I felt with the story and the characters. With Mae Martin's incredible writing and how complex the characters are, I wanted to get in there and create Leile and do justice to all the kids who have gone through this in the troubled teen industry.

What was it like having Mae and Ryan [Scott] as creatives?

They are the best creators you could possibly imagine. They were so attentive throughout the entire process of filming, and were there for any small question Sydney [Topliffe], me, or any of the other cast had and helped us create these characters, and their backstory. It was so helpful having such great friends as showrunners. It's rare that it happens, and such a breath of fresh air.

Was there anything you had to prep for your role as Leila, and was there from personal experience that might have helped you get into that role?

Prepping for Leila was a journey. She's such a complex character and has so many feelings, emotions, and goes through such a wild ride throughout the series. This is my third time playing a drug addict [laughs], which is hilarious. Leila couldn't be more different from me, and I'm a "think through everything I do" type of person. I'm definitely not a "jump first," just the opposite to her in a lot of ways, but finding those little areas where we do connect and do, are similar. Our loyalty to our friends, our strong hearts, and our connection to people we will not let break under any circumstances. Finding those little places we can connect on was fun, but for the most part, it was awesome getting to play a character who's not like me, because I can sink my teeth into it a way more, and it's a lot harder to get into it which makes it way more fun.

Can you talk about some of your costars and the dynamic you kind of work with, like Toni, Sydney or anyone else?

First, working with Sydney was so incredible because it felt like coming to set every day and hanging out with your best friend. We had such an instant connection, and it was a beautiful thing how easy it was to play best friends from day one. Working with Toni was such an honor. She's Toni Collette! I've been such a fan of her for so long, and getting to be on set with her and watch her every single day, getting into [character as] Evelyn and her accent change, which is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It was such a crazy ride to come to set every day and be like, "Hey Toni! Wait, that's Toni Collette?! Oh my god!" That's funny, it was awesome. She's such a light and amazing person. It was really an honor, and I'm so grateful for giving me the chance to do that.

What was your biggest challenge in production?

Biggest challenge? Well, throughout the season, trying to find the places where Leila's spirit stays strong, and also finding the places where Leila's spirit gets broken down a little bit. She goes through such a crazy roller coaster throughout the season, and so keeping track of where she is episode to episode, keeping track of what her mental state is, and what her opinion of the school is episode to episode was challenging, but like I said before, anything that's challenging is way more exciting.

All eight episodes of Wayward, which also stars Martin, Brandon Jay McLaren, Sarah Gadon, Patrick J. Adams, Patrick Gallagher, and Joshua Close, premiere on Netflix on September 25th.

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