In part 1 of OMFGTV‘s chat with The 100‘s Luisa D’Oliveira, the actress opened up about her character Emori and her trust issues, but that’s not the only thing we discussed! We also covered whether she will be getting a backstory, what it’s like filming in a forest, and the best/worst parts of playing the Nomadic Grounder.
With Emori entering the show later in the game (season 3), naturally we don’t know much about her. But that soon will change. Luisa was able to confirm that we will be getting some insight into Emori’s past, and confirms that she will have a bigger presence this season.
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“We will see some sprinklings of a backstory,” Luisa tells us, “and you are going to see more Emori.” Emori is with Murphy, Raven and everyone else on Becca’s island, trying to create nightblood. According to D’Oliveira, Emori sees “some pretty interesting stuff” while on the island, maybe that’s what her character was referring to in episode 404?
The hit sci-fi drama is known for its beautiful shots of the scenic Canadian landscape, but what’s it like filming in such a remote location? “I would describe it as immersive,” she says. “You’re just so in it. You show up at work in your sweatpants and then you go through hair and makeup and you put on the wardrobe, you suddenly are stepping into these shoes that are so different than your own.”
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And it’s not just the cast that feels the effects of how immersive the show is. According to Luisa, the crew feels it as well. And they are able to tap into that immersiveness and the elements to create really powerful shots and scenes. “Whenever a scene is intense, it [the elements] really helps because you can tap into the very real reaction to what’s going on around you. It’s a show that’s high-intensity and high-emotion, I think it really helps.”
A big part of Emori’s character that really stands out physically is her face tattoo. When her character was first introduced, it took hair and makeup much longer to get Luisa ready than it does now.
“When we first started it took me three hours to get completely ready,” she reveals. One season later, after many episodes and filming days going through hair, makeup and wardrobe, they’ve managed to cut that time in half. “Now we’re down to about an hour and fifteen to an hour and a half.” As for applying her facial tattoo, D’Oliveira says, “we’ve gotten it down to being 45 or 50 minutes.”
Emori is a very complex character with a dark past shrouded in mystery, and we wanted to know what it’s like for Luisa to play such a complex character. Luisa said the hardest, yet the best part, about playing Emori is “exploring her emotional trauma.” Emori is resilient, but has also been hurt deeper than we know, according to the actress, and going to that place wasn’t easy.
“Creatively, it feels so cathartic and incredible to do that. But it’s also very exhausting and very painful. You feel this deep responsibility to get it right and to do a good job because you’re portraying people who’ve encountered really severe suffering, and you don’t want to take that lightly.”
Another element of her character Luisa really loves is the relationship between John Murphy and Emori, and being able to work with Richard Harmon so closely. “We have really great working chemistry, and it doesn’t even feel like work, it’s just easy.” Luisa is thankful Emori and Murphy’s relationship is one of few working relationships on the show because “there’s just so much pain everywhere.”
Keep watching to find out what happens to Emori and the others!
The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9pm on The CW.