EXCLUSIVE | Grand Army’s Sydney Meyer says Anna Delaney will end up having to ‘choose what she stands for’
Sydney Meyer ('V-Wars', 'Shadowhunters') never expected to be cast in 'Grand Army', featuring teenagers, as she attended casting sessions as "the person reading the scene" with those who auditioned. But her slightly old soul character of Anna Delaney seemed like it was meant for her. Despite being deemed 'too old' at 24 years, initially, she lucked out later when she caught the showrunner's attention during a table read and she was cast as Anna a week before filming started.
In an exclusive interview with MEAWW, Meyer spoke about her shooting experience and what lies ahead for her character on the first season's arc.
Q: What was it like shooting with an ensemble cast like this?
Shooting the series was an incredibly intense and emotional experience for me. I learned so much and grew so much from the experience. You’re dealing with very heavy material so if you’re taking it seriously it definitely has an effect on you. The cast became so close and so protective of each other, I think that was the most engrossed I’ve ever been in the shooting experience of a project. We had a different director for every block (every 2 episodes) so they each had their own style and approach and the notes and working relationship would vary with each director.
Our showrunner Katie [Cappiello] was really the through-line for us in terms of the character arc notes and the tone of the show. For me, I think the most consistent thing that we focused on was making sure that Anna was being accurately portrayed as a 16-year-old girl.
I was the oldest one on the set, so there were times when 16 felt very far away. We worked on making sure I was maintaining my empathy for Anna and allowing her to make the decisions and mistakes that a 16-year-old makes with the best of intentions. I had to make sure I had compassion for her missteps.
Q: Can you tell us a little about how you see your character in the show and the specific nuances you brought in?
Anna is very much the motherly figure of her group. She is very smart, caring, and loyal. She is protective of her friends. She doesn’t mind not being the center of attention and she’s quick to laugh. Anna is a more moderate character than some of the others so I had to really work on allowing for the moments when she was mature and protective and reserved, but balancing that with the moments when she was impulsive and excitable and emotional.
I had to find how she would carry herself when she was feeling confident and on top of the world and how she would carry herself when she was feeling small and wanting to hide. There is so much that is unique to a teenager in a city like Brooklyn, so I had to work on the way she spoke and carried herself. I think the wardrobe helped so much with that.
Q: What do you like about your character and what aspects made you work harder to portray authentically?
I really related to the motherly aspect of her. I found myself slipping into that role on set... I wanted to look out for some of the younger actors. I think Odessa [who plays Joey] and I’s friendship was so genuine and that shows. She lived with me while we were filming the series and so that friendship on-screen just came so naturally. I had to really work on remembering the single-mindedness that you can have when you’re so young and allow myself to believe in that with the best of intentions. I also really had to work at making some of the slang come out naturally. I’m one of the only Canadians on the show, and the oldest so I really struggled [with teen slang]. There is so much slang in the show that is so incredibly specific to young people in Brooklyn and I didn’t understand any of it or how it would be communicated authentically. I was so lucky that a lot of our cast was from New York and helped me with the language because it’s a huge piece of authentically portraying the setting. It’s very unique.
Q: What can we expect as the major arc for your character in the show?
I really don’t want to give too much away in regard to this. But at the beginning, Anna has such a beautiful circle of friends and she has her focus for the future so clearly set, as the show progresses friction arises in her group due to some of the events at the school and Anna is kind of torn choosing between loyalties. She ends up in a position where she really needs to choose what she stands for and who she is going to be. Her world view changes so drastically throughout the season. I’m really just hoping that people feel seen and heard from this show. That the audience relates to some aspect of the stories and that it can be a catalyst for conversations that perhaps were too difficult to broach in the past. If we can get people talking, I will be happy.
'Grand Army' premieres on October 16 on Netflix.