ICYMI The 100 is the new dystopian teen show that’s been taking America by storm since the first episode aired back in March. It follows a group of teens as they struggle to survive on a post-apocalyptic earth. Now, as it starts in the UK, we caught up with Eliza Taylor, who stars as Clarke, to find out what we’re in for.
Hello Eliza! Tell us about the show
It’s set 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse and it’s essentially about The Ark, a space station with the last remaining humans on it, that sends down a team of juvenile offenders to see if the Earth is inhabitable again.
And you play Clarke?
Yes. She’s grown up in some very strange conditions; she’s been in space all her life and she ended up in solitary confinement for a year, her father was executed and she was put in prison – not the best way to grow up. But then she’s given a second chance along with the rest of the 100. They’re sent down to Earth and she finds herself becoming a leader. Her ultimate goal is to get people to safety, and to build a peaceful society from scratch, which is pretty heavy.
People are already comparing Clarke to Katniss from The Hunger Games and Tris from Divergent; is that a lot to live up to?
Um, a little bit. When I first read the pilot I saw Jennifer Lawrence in my head, you just make that connection. But I think it’s great that those characters were already out there to take little bits from and build on. It’s a really exciting time for women, I think the way that TV and film is being made is shifting a little bit to include more strong female characters, which I think is fantastic.
For sure, especially in the teen market
Yeah, I think there was just a huge lack of it before.
Things on the show get quite Lord Of The Flies with a bunch of teenagers let loose on an inhabited planet – were you all terribly misbehaved on set?
We were very well behaved actually! We’re not teenagers – any of us. We’re all in our mid-20s, so I think that was probably a wise choice for production!
Ha ha, so was it good playing a teenager then?
It’s great! I’ll play a teenager for the rest of my life if I can get away with it. It’s awesome – you can’t do that forever so the longer we can do that the better.
If this was you in real life, what role do you think you would take in The 100?
Er, I’m more of a run-and-hide kind of girl! I’m not really that similar to Clarke, I don’t know what I would bring to The 100 to be honest! I’d most likely just hide behind a tree.
Obviously the show's done so well in the US – how's your life changed since then?
It’s got a lot busier, which is great. I don’t do well with not doing much. It’s been crazy how quickly my life has changed but that’s always the way. But it’s been amazing.
Is it scary suddenly getting so much attention?
Yeah. Being photographed and doing interviews is something that I wasn’t very well versed in. Even though I did Neighbours in Australia, it’s just not on the same scale as here, so I’m trying to get better at my interviewing skills and photo shoot skills. That’s something that I’m definitely trying to improve on and I did find really scary to begin with.
Like, red carpets are mental. There are so many flashes you can’t see anything and i'm just going, ‘How do you look sexy?!’
Have you learned a red-carpet pose yet?
Yeah, the main one is to cross your legs and put a hand on your hip, so I’m trying to get better at that – but I still look awkward, I can’t help it. I’m not a girlie girl, I’m sorry!
The 100 starts tonight on E4 at 9PM
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.