'It was really moving,' Kimberly Sue Murray aka the Sealie queen of 'Shadowhunters' on show's mega-finale
Freeform's hit fantasy 'Shadowhunters' culminated its three-year-long journey with an epic two-hour finale on May 6, but while the show might have gotten over, we know the magic will live on forever. And speaking about the essence of magic on the show, there is no overlooking the ethereal setting that was the Seelie queen's surroundings every time she came on screen. As much as we have to thank the set designers for that, we also have to thank Kimberly Sue Murray - the red-haired beauty who played the role of the third Seelie queen on the show.
MEA WorldWide had the opportunity to catch up with the Seelie queen in real life, and she revealed just how moving, though challenging at times, the whole experience was.
"It was really special," Murray said about the additional finale that the show signed off with to offer its very loyal fans all the closure they were seeking. "We had a private screening, just sitting there with everyone and watching it. It's two and a half hours and just such a nice way to wrap things up. The showrunners did a beautiful job crafting the finale, it was really moving," she shared.
But first things first - Murray's audition for the role of the Seelie queen. "I auditioned for the part earlier in the week and I did not know what role I was auditioning for," shared the actress.
"All I knew was that she was British, with a British accent, and was powerful. And it never occured ot me that it was for the Seelie Queen because Lola (Flanery) was playing her, and then Sarah (Hyland). so I did the audition, didn't recognize the scenes, and got a call from my agent that 'You got the part.' I was like 'What part?' and she was like 'Oh Seelie queen,' and I was like 'What?' and she's like 'Yeah you have a table read in an hour.' So I went to the table read, met everyone, did a cool read and I was right - just diving in headfirst. "
All that gusto came handy as Murray describes the scenes she was a part of to be quite the challenge. A beautiful one, nevertheless.
"It was really challenging. The set is beautiful, but there's a lot of bodies, a lot of extras, and the rose petals are actually falling from the ceiling and they have these big fans that are so loud!" she explained. "So we knew going in that we would probably have to ADR everything at post. So sometimes Luke (Baines) was five feet away from me and I couldn't hear him. And every time a rose petal would fall in my hair, I had this crown - this wig - and we would have to pause, and someone would have to run in and take the rose petals out. It got to a point where I would just like slowly pick rose petals off of Luke's face and he would do the same. It was challenging, but it was so beautiful like it required very little acting - we were in that world."
Speaking about her character's otherworldly appearance in that divine gown and a flower crown, Murray remarked that she was not allowed to keep any mementos from the set. "Even though it was the end, they hold on to that stuff until everyone's moved on," she explained. "Also because my dress was one of a kind. I would have liked to keep my dress because that dress was handmade. The sequin appliques were hand sewn because the dress is see-through and they wanted to cover my bits."
Murray - who has mostly worked in sci-fi so far - had her first major recurring role on a tv series via 'Shadowhunters.' "I've done a lot of sci-fi because I guess Toronto is the sci-fi hub," she said about her past projects.
"I've done 'Killjoys' and I was almost on an episode of 'Rain', and lots of American shows shooting in Toronto. But 'Shadowhunters' was my first recurring and then I shot 'V-Wars' after. I did 'Lizzie Borden Chronicles' in Halifax, with Cristina Ricci and Creative Al, so that was cool."
She quite tight-lipped about her role on 'V-Wars', but here's what she had to say about the Ian Somerhalder starrer: "I can't say too much, my lips are sealed. However, it's based on an anthology series of the same name so people can read that while they wait for the series to come out. And working with Ian was a dream because he's awesome. He really, really is. I was a little apprehensive at first because you know - big TV star - and I'm a nobody. But he was so welcoming, and he knows everybody's names, he's so dedicated and invested, and passionate; he really set the tone on set."
Murray was also quite lucky with her costars on 'Shadowhunters' as she shares how warm and welcoming they were to her right from the start.
"This was my first experience, and Luke was so wonderful, he and Jade answered all my questions. On my first day at set, I had lunch with Kat (Katherine McNamara), Dom (Dominic Sherwood), Luke, Jade (Hassoune) and others, and they all were like 'Are you ready? If you have any questions let us know, we will guide you."
As for the fans, she had the same sentiments to share. "Everybody's been so supportive. I was a bit nervous about the reaction to having a third Seelie queen because people are loyal to Lola and Sarah. But I think the funniest (tweet from a fan) was someone saying 'She sounds drunk.' I was like 'Okay, I'll take that.'"