When viewers tune in to The CW’s new series, The 100, they will be introduced to Clarke, a “kick-ass” character and natural-born leader, who, along with 99 other juvenile delinquents, have been sent down to a post-apocalyptic Earth to see if it is once again inhabitable.
We met up with Clarke’s portrayer, Eliza Taylor, last summer and talked about what drew her to the project and any sort of challenges it brought her.
Though Clarke has found herself taking a leadership role in the group, it wasn’t a position she thought she’d take on. “I dont think [Clarke] realizes that until she’s thrust into a situation where she has to take the lead,” Taylor shared. “So she’s got a lot to do.” Expect her character to butt heads with another who quickly assembles a following on the ground.
With a mom who’s a “total Trekkie,” Eliza Taylor grew up being surrounded by sci-fi — one of the main reasons why she’s excited to step into this genre for her futuristic drama. “She’s over the moon,” she says of her mother. “She’s like, ‘Oh, my God, my daughter’s in a sci-fi!’ It’s such a big deal. She’s so happy. So that’s pretty awesome.”
Taylor credits creator and Executive Producer Jason Rothenberg’s script for the main pull that ultimately sold her. “It almost reads like a feature film,” she says about the script. “It’s just so beautifully written. I was sucked in on the first page. That’s what drew me to the script. You get to the end and you just want to know what happens next and I think that’s a sign of a good episode.”
As for challenges, the Australian(!) beauty points out the transition to an American series.”It’s my first American production,” Taylor reveals. “Coming here was like a whole other scale. It’s so much bigger, there’s so much more crew, a whole lot of producers on set all of the time.”
Taylor also spoke about the beauty of rediscovering Earth and gushes about the alluring filming location. “The whole thing about seeing the earth for the first time, it’s amazing. When do you get to do that? It’s like looking at this world through the eyes of an infant, I guess. Luckily we were shooting in British Columbia. It’s just stunning. These forests we were filming in were like prehistoric; they looked untouched. So I didn’t really have to find some acting muscle too much with that. It was crystal clear rivers and snow-capped mountains and it was just beautiful.”
The series premiere of The 100 airs Wednesday, March 19, at 9pm on The CW.