The FALLING SKIES season 4 premiere is tonight on TNT at 10/9c and without giving too much away, Lexi is going to look a little bit different than you might remember.  Cast newcomer Scarlett Byrne stepped into the role of Anne and Tom’s rapidly aging little girl, and she and I spent some time chatting about what’s to come in Season 4.

What did you know about FALLING SKIES before you go involved – what was the process of becoming Lexi like for you?
Honestly, I really didn’t know that much.  When it first aired, I remembered it premiering in the UK because I’m from London, and I remember watching the first couple.  I got rid of Sky, and over the years I had stopped watching.  It wasn’t until I auditioned and got the part of Lexi, I totally binge watched the first three seasons.  It was like, this is great, I loved it! And my mom, my family all started watching; they’re so excited, too.  I was totally excited to be joining such a great cast, and crew, you know, everybody was really welcoming. We had so much fun working on this season.  The bit about Lexi – first of all, she’s very complex.  She’s definitely not one dimensional, she’s got layers to her, the character, and as an actress, it was a complete gift.  I was so excited, but at the same time, there is a lot of pressure.

One of the first meetings I had with David Eick, he said where she was going to end the season, but I had no idea what was going to happen in between.  It was interesting every couple of weeks getting a new script and learning something new about her.  Because all of the other characters know everything about their characters already.  Some of the characters this season do develop and have new relationships with other characters.  But to have a completely brand new character – she’s suddenly grown into a young woman, even though she’s a child; she has these abilities that she herself can’t explain.  Questioning those around her; as an actress, I couldn’t have been more grateful playing this character.  I did feel a sense of pressure because I didn’t realize how significant she was going to be until we started shooting the show.

The last time we see Lexi, she’s maybe 7 in body form. And now when we meet you, you’re not a child any more.  Playing a child in a woman’s body.  I can only imagine that there is so much that goes into the role.
Yeah, definitely! She is very cool, and there is so much to her, it’s all really cool [laughs]. It was fun, but complicated at times! She has this innocence and so much naiveté about her; at the same time, she’s very intelligent. She seems to be one step ahead of everyone else. It was very, very cool, but at the same time very confusing at times!

We obviously get to see Lexi interact with Ben right away – without giving too much away, do you eventually get to interact with Anne and the rest of the Masons as the season goes on?
There are at least 4 different plot lines already in the very first episode; there’s a lot there that everyone is trying to get their heads wrapped around, and figure out what’s going on with the storyline.  But yes, everyone else does slowly start to come together, without giving too much away.  You know, for a start, his is the first season where everybody has been separated; I remember when I first joined the cast, they were all saying that they were so used to being on stage, blocking together everyday, and this is the first time where they were trying to get used to the fact that they weren’t working with each other every single day, day in and day out.  It was nice that everyone was coming together and work working with each other. I think it was fun for the other actors, as well, to be working with other actors that they might not have had such a great relationship with their characters.  Everyone enjoyed the developing of characters, and working together, so it was really fun.

I said something to Drew yesterday about how the show re-invents itself every season and it’s a new theme, a new world every year, but still feels like the FALLING SKIES we know and love.  Has there been an over-arching theme for this season?
The themes are that they’re average people trying to achieve great things.  They’ve stepped into greatness.  It’s so clear this season, for example, Drew’s character.  It’s the first time we really see him step into his dad’s shoes and taking leadership.  The same with Anne – stepping into her role as more of a stronger female role, with the guns and the militia group  Lourdes, she’s changing constantly as well.  She’s gotten more in touch with her spiritual side.  This season, again, has totally re-invented itself.  For the first time, there is a place of peace, with China Town.  I think, for Ben, he doesn’t really believe Lexi’s word is 100% true, either.  This whole notion of no one fighting anyone, to be peaceful is totally bizarre for him, yet no one has touched them.  It’s the first time that these characters, Ben, Maggie, and Lourdes, have felt safe in a long, long time.

What’s it’s like dealing with the effects, having to interact with that? To add on top everything you already have to do with this character – you then have to worry about a ball at the end of a stick!
I know [laughs]! I know.  I have had experience with visual effects before but I loved working with the aliens.  It is funny when you are trying to look at a green mark on the wall, and no one else is there, or I’m looking at a ball, or talking to a ball and trying to have meaningful conversation with no one on the other end! [laughs].  I’ve seen how a lot of the stuff has turned out, and the visual effects are really amazing on the show.

I love that every episode feels like a mini-movie – does that tension / those cliffhangers continue through the final episode?
Yes!  I think you can definitely expect that.  I’m not going to give anything away, I can’t [laughs], but that is a definite yet!