'V Wars' star Jacky Lai on playing an independent female character and the show's take on current political situations
The first season of 'V Wars' is now out on Netflix and one of the characters you meet is a spunky online journalist, Kaylee Vo. The character has originated from the original comics by Jonathan Maberry that the series is based on. In the comics, Yuki Nitobe is a prominent video journalist who is later revealed to be the secret leader of the vampire faction. For the show, the character was renamed to reflect Jacky Lai's Vietnamese heritage, the actress cast to play the role.
However, the Netflix series has switched things up, with Kaylee being an up and coming journalist who runs her own version of Wikileaks called 'Reveleaks'. She has an intern who helps her with her work -- who she sometimes also sleeps with -- and she has sources that help her become a force to be reckoned with on the show.
In a recent interview with MEA Worldwide (MEAWW), Lai told us she prepared for the role by studying interviews of politicians and entertainers, to know "how people from different spectrums tell their story and the marketing tools people use to garner attention."
Dishing on how she prepped for her role, Lai reveals she made use of a theme song for each scene to "function as the 'heartbeat' for me," and would play it while practicing "to create a sensory memory, so that when I heard it on the day of filming, it would put me right into the mood."
For Lai, it was Kaylee's independence that attracted her to the role. She says, "She’s got her own perspective and story in the show that is separate from any other character. Her voice is a strong and unique entity that adds to the other storylines but is never dependent on them. That was very exciting for me because often female leads are connected to a male lead and usually in a romantic way so this was a total girl power moment to read a character like this."
Lai also spoke about how 'V Wars' "exposes human ignorance", asking how humanity can be "so discriminative and judgmental of what we don’t know." She says, "It gives insight into the manipulative power of the government and the media. It’s a beautiful series that shows and warns people about current political outcries."
For Lai, 'V Wars' is full of characters battling their inner and outer worlds, their ideals and expectations -- and she is most excited that she got to be a part of it right from the beginning, "riding the waves as new scripts are being sent weekly, and having all the emotions behind a series being released."
Lai says the chemistry between her co-stars is what she is most proud of and that 'V Wars' boasts of a talented cast that shares a respect for each other. She also speaks of co-stars Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed who brought family onto the set. She says, "They set the tone for how the next few months were going to go. They’re so kind and such lovely human beings, then I see them work and I’m just blown away by their professionalism." She adds that along with Somerhalder, executive producer, and director Brad Turner led the show to serve the story better.
Lai is also one of the leads for 'Fall Back Down' which had its world premiere recently at the Whistler Film Festival. For young actresses, Lai advises them to "get to really know yourself," adding, "our body and emotions are our instruments and the better we understand how they work, the better you can understand character and story."
The first season of 'V Wars' is now streaming on Netflix.