Hi Stephanie, nice to e-meet you! First of all, can you tell us about the upcoming ABC Family show Shadowhunters, and your role in it?
Shadowhunters is an ABC Family fantasy show based on the popular book series ‘The Mortal Instruments’ by Cassandra Clare. The show follows the main character, Clary Fray, an 18 year old girl who finds out she is a Shadowhunter and her adventures in an alternative world. My character, Lydia, is a strong, no-nonsense Shadowhunter with a troubled past. It’s been amazing to be a part of that world! It premieres on January 12th on ABC Family.
What was the auditioning process like, pretty easy or was it rigorous?
I originally sent audition tapes to LA for a couple of other characters on the show before landing the role of Lydia. I knew I wanted to work on Shadowhunters from the start so at one point I flew to LA to get in front of the casting department in person. A few months later I found out I booked Lydia and was ecstatic!
What did you do to celebrate booking it? : )
A happy dance!
What are you most looking forward to when Shadowhunters debuts?
The fans of the book series are awesome and it’s cool to see how excited they are already. I’m eager to see how they respond to the show because I think they’re going to love it. I’m so proud to have been a part of it.
Your role in The Romeo Section is pretty gritty. What is the hardest part about playing that character?
My character Dee is dealing with a variety of struggles throughout the season and in order to make my performance honest I had to expose some really dark sides of myself. It’s never easy to go to those emotional places but I knew I needed to push my limits to do the role and the project justice.
And the most rewarding?
It’s exhilarating to play such a risky and challenging character and I really had to jump in with two feet. I’ve always dreamed of playing a role like Dee and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do so this early in my career. While filming, I felt like every scene no matter how big or small taught me something new about my character and my craft.
Brag to me about your biggest failure (could be as a teenager or any other time), what you did to get over it, and what did you learn from it all?
On one of the first films I ever booked I had a terrible skin reaction the night before my first day. The production did everything they could to work around it but they had to let me go and my role was recast. I was devastated but I loved acting too much to let this one setback keep me from more opportunities. As soon as my skin healed, I was back auditioning. I’m really grateful now that I got back on the horse and kept at it.
Tell me something people would be surprised to know about you?
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated with the supernatural, ghosts and spirits in particular. I would read endless books with ghost stories and I still love reading and watching documentaries on the paranormal.
What do you have coming up next?
I am currently working on a TV show called ‘Motive.’ It’s a really fun role. Stay tuned!
Where can your fans follow you on social media?
I am on Instagram as @stephaniedian
And on twitter as @StephBennett89
Selfie time!
