The second episode of The Tomorrow People airs tonight at 9PM (ET) on The CW, and that makes this a perfect time to share another interview from our recent visit to the set.
Today, the spotlight goes to Madeleine Mantock, the actress who brings Stephen Jameson’s best friend, “Astrid” to life. She is the latest in a line of “best friend” characters on genre shows, a path forged by such folks as Xander Harris, Chloe Sullivan, and Felicity Smoak, who pine from the distance and hope to eventually achieve something more.
In the case of Astrid, she has been a true friend to Stephen (Robbie Amell) for most of his life. She’s seen the weirdness around him for years, and the newest changes to Stephen might inspire some falling out between the two at first.
“She just knows something’s off, and that he is taking medication. She’s aware of the history with his dad that’s the same kind of thing. But I think she doesn’t want to believe it, ’cause she sees all that’s good in him, and she doesn’t want the two to go together. Then as the story goes on, I think she just thinks it’s something else. She knows he’s holding something back, and that’s why they fall out all the time, because she’s kind of like ‘I don’t know why you’re not just telling me! I’m not judging you. Whatever it is, we can take on the world together’!” Madeleine explains to us. “I don’t think she necessarily does think he’s actually schizophrenic, but so many times, she’s like ‘I know you’re not taking your medication, ’cause you’re being weird.’ I don’t actually think she thinks he’s mad. Partly because she doesn’t want him to be, ’cause she loves him,” she says.
Madeleine thinks that the reasons behind her character’s affection for Stephen are clear. “Have you seen him?” she laughs. “She fancies the pants off him. They’ve been friends since they were about 4. Somebody said ‘they’ve been friends since the sand pit.’ That’s the phrase they used. And I guess it’s that thing of knowing somebody so well, and growing up with them, and having that bit of a crush, and I don’t think she wants to let go of it. She’s too hopeful, and thinking like, ‘no, I really do believe that you are a good person, and it just seems that something bad or otherwise is happening to you.’ And obviously, he’s got a great jawline. Great, great genes,” she says.
As the show begins, we won’t get to see much of Astrid’s life outside of Stephen, as the show is “discovering the life and the universe of the Tomorrow People, and how Stephen is discovering that.” Mantock does wonder, though, who her character’s mother and father will be. She has also been lobbying for Aaron Yoo’s dog, Merlin, to be cast as Astrid’s dog. For the beginning, though, Madeleine says Astrid’s role will be supporting Stephen as he’s dealing with the news that he is an incredible human being. This means she hsan’t interacted much with the other cast, although Astrid does wonder who Stephen is hanging out with. She also hasn’t interacted with Mark Pellegrino’s Jedikiah on screen, although she is sure that Astrid is on ULTRA’s radar. “With ULTRA, I feel like they’re like the all-seeing eye, and I’m sure that they have tabs on this friend who is always hanging around and wanting to know what’s going on and who he’s seeing. So, I’m sure at some point there will be something to do with that, but not as yet,” she tells us.
Look for a new episode of The Tomorrow People tonight at 9PM on The CW! Come by our forum to discuss the show and look for more interviews soon!
