After seven seasons starring as Raven Reyes on The CW series The 100, Lindsey Morgan moves behind the camera for tonight’s (July 1) installment which is called “The Queen’s Gambit.” In anticipation of the episode, Lindsey did some interviews to promote it, and KSiteTV was among the outlets to get the chance to speak with her!
This interview is relatively spoiler-free, and in it, we talk about her directorial debut as well as how her life might have changed now that filming for the series has concluded. You can see it all below. Enjoy!
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: How did it come about for you to be directing an episode of The 100?
LINDSEY MORGAN: Pure luck. [Laughs] I happen to know a couple of people.
It was interesting, because I wasn’t supposed to direct. We had a director drop out three weeks before I was told and approved to step in, so it was kind of a shock to me, but also such an opportunity [that] I jumped at it. But yeah, I wasn’t expecting it at all.
You had shadowed for another director prior to this, right?
I had shadowed for two years prior. Around Season 4, I started to get the itch and curiosity, and I just kind of want to learn as much as I could. So I asked to shadow in Season 5 and Season 6, and that was so great, and then I applied for the Warner Bros. directing program, but then I had to go shoot a movie in Lithuania, so I didn’t get to attend the program.
So I kind of was feeling like “Crap. I’m not going to get my chance in Season 7. But oh well. I’ll shadow again, and learn as much as I can, and then hopefully down the line I can direct something else.” But then, like I said, we had a director drop out and I got to step in. It was a total whirlwind, but it was fantastically worth it, and I learned so much. I’m very, very grateful for the experience.
Did you have a shorthand with people that you’ve worked with for years?
As far as shorthand goes, totally.
I had crew members… my assistant director had been on the show for us the entire time – Ian Samoil. He was wonderful to work with, and my writer, Miranda Kwok, she had been on the show for many seasons, so I know her, and again, she was so great too. And then, also the actors. We’re all good friends.
Every actor is a puzzle. You just try to find how they how each of them work, and what inspires them, and what gets their gears going, so I feel like with actors I had known as friends from the past, it was easier to navigate versus new actors. But still, everyone we had in the episode was fantastic to work with, and very receptive, and really creative.
Is there any cast member that you wish you had gotten to work with more in your episode?
I wish I got to work [more] with Eliza. I think she’s so great. We just had one scene, that I had to be in.
When you have a great actor, it’s like a Ferrari. You just want to go and play with all the gears. You want to max it out as fast as it can go. You want to take it on a tight curve. You want to keep it slow. So I just felt like I just wanted to see her work more. I think she’s incredibly talented, and I really wanted to play with all of her gears.
Were there any shots or sequences that were particularly challenging to shoot?
I would say [scenes in] the Bardo cells were challenging, because it is just four gray walls. Literally, the first rule I learned from shadowing my directors – I was shadowing PJ Pesce – he said “First learn rule of directing. Don’t shoot into a wall.” And then literally, half an episode is in four walls! So, it was a challenge to find places to be creative in that environment. Also, the set is so sparse and bare. Of course, your actors are always going to do the heavy lifting, but as far as finding an interesting shot or a way to depict them, I was will stumped sometimes with that one. That was a tough one.
What will you miss most about The 100? And did you keep any souvenirs from your time with the show?
Oh, man. I think I’ll miss getting to work with all my friends. When you work with everyone you enjoy and find as a friend, it never feels like work. It feels like you just are having fun all day long. So I’m gonna I’m going to miss that. I hope my next project will be the same. As far as now, that’s what I miss the most.
And I took home Raven’s iconic orange jacket from Season 1, and her leg brace.
Is it odd for you to talk about the series now when you’ve already wrapped yet there’s still so much left to air?
Yes, because it’s not just like we wrapped for a season; we wrapped for good, so it’s tough to talk about the finality of things, and also in the middle of it when people haven’t seen the end.
It makes me a little sad to talk about it, but also, it hasn’t quite hit me yet. I guess we’ll just have to see.
Read about Lindsey’s next role opposite Jared Padalecki in The CW’s Walker
Who do you think changed the most in the last seven years? You (Lindsey) or Raven?
That’s a tough one. I’d have to say we changed together. I feel like Raven really inspired me as I grew as a woman, and as an actress, and as an artist, but I also feel like my growth as Lindsey inspired Raven’s. I’d say that we we grew in tandem. We definitely had our ups and downs, but coming out of it, seven years later, I’m very proud of us both.
See some photos from “The Queen’s Gambit” here (airs at 8PM ET/PT on July 1) and if you’d like to see a trailer, look below!
