NKD Mag - Issue #90 (December 2018)

ISSUE #90 - DECEMBER 2018

by Catherine Powell

NOV. 2018 04 JAZ SINCLAIR

16 THE VAMPS

36 DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL

on choosing very different roles + the chilling adventures of sabrina

on forming the band + traveling the world as best friends

on legacies + her relationship with social media

08 SEAN TEALE

22 ELINE POWELL

46 HILARY WILLIAMS

on the important themes within the gifted + chasing feelings

on siren’s second season + what attracted her to the role of ryn

on her life-changing accident + her album, my lucky scars

14 HANNAH ELLIS

26 ARIELLE KEBBEL

48 SOPHIE SKELTON

on her live show + her latest single, “home and a hometown”

on never getting too comfortable + season 2 of midnight texas

on what she loves about outlander + moving from stage to screen

32 MKTO

on reuniting + their comeback single, “how can i forget”

CATHERINE POWELL

publisher, editor, photographer, designer

SAMANTHA BAMBINO

IAN HAYS

NICOLE MOOREFIELD

CARLY BUSH

RACHEL HILL

VANESSA SALLES

writer writer

ELIZABETH FORREST writer

writer writer

writer writer

OLIVIA SINGH writer

jaz sinclair

Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

04

Some people are born with an unceasing energy that permeates into everything they do. Jaz Sinclair is one of them. As a child, it was sometimes hard to keep a hold on this energy. Raised by her mother and grandparents in Dallas, Texas, Jaz was a child always ready for the next activity, the next adventure. So, from ages 4 to 13, Jaz focused that energy and drive into gymnastics.

Her specialty? The balance beams. She told herself that if she could walk a straight line on solid ground, then she could do it up on

training gymnastics requires, she realized she was wanting more of a regular social life. So, she switched to cheerleading, allowing her to still perform and dance for an audience.

But, while in middle school, she got a taste for musical theater.

That’s when Jaz realized where her energies would be best focused. She fell in love with theater the moment she hit the stage. But it wasn’t until high school that she started looking into it more seriously.

“My choir director had everyone audition for the school musical.

accolades.

At 18, Jaz packed up her car and drove off with her fellow theater friend. It was time to move to Los Angeles. They drove out with her friend’s mom and Jaz’s grandpa, not knowing anybody and with no place to live. Her grandfather would mention how she could get a business degree and Jaz would of course humor him. But they all knew she was in L.A. for only one reason: she was supposed to be. She would use that same energy from childhood and focus it into her dreams of film

“My grandMa always says that for the first ten years of My life she only talked to My feet not My face because i was upside down all the tiMe.” the balance beam. She confronted any fears head on.

“My grandma always says that for the first ten years of my life she only talked to my feet not my face because I was upside down all the time. I was a bit of a handful, just filled with so much energy- bouncing off the walls,” Jaz recalls.

Her teachers would be sure to mention how “social” she was in the classroom, never missing a beat.

While as a preteen, gymnastics was the main event, Jaz’s priorities began to shift. With the amount of

And I was ‘High School Student #2’ in Footloose. I had the most fun and realized this is what I want to do forever,” she says.

She left choir behind and realized theater was her new home.

Like any good story with high schoolers and musical numbers, there was a bit of a rivalry between theater and choir. Any time a musical was announced, all energy was focused by theater kids to not let someone in choir get lead. She cut her teeth on the stage but had dreams of more than hometown

and television acting.

“I feel really blessed. My grandparents have always supported me; they never doubted my dreams,” Jaz says, “They are risk takers. I grew up hearing of their adventures and I’ve always had that same spirit.

When it came time to take mine, they were very supportive.”

With a solid support system in place, Jaz was ready for the next step: getting work. That meant acting classes, making connections whenever possible and auditioning for anything that fit – commercial,

NKDMAG.COM

05

TV and film. She had met her manager through work she did back home in Dallas. Together they worked on finding Jaz’s unique voice and focusing on carving out her own niche in an unimaginably vast industry.

Putting in the work from day one and auditioning for so many various roles, Jaz quickly gained knowledge that she took with her from studio to studio.

“I realized I’m never going to know what they want in an audition room. So, I looked at it as ‘This may be the only time I ever do this scene. So, I’m going to do it my way and have a lot of fun while doing it.’

As soon as I started doing that, the rooms started shifted and I started to book things,” she says.

This led to her first major motion picture role as Angela in Paper Towns. It was a dream come true.

Here she was, a young up-andcomer, acting in a role that was authentic in its portrayal of teens on the cusp of adulthood. Having her first major role with peers she already had great rapport with made for a genuine and fun first movie making experience.

Jaz’s next role made sure to keep her on her toes. As Anna in When the Bough Breaks, she takes a hold of the deranged as a surrogate who begins making her fantasies a reality. It was a chance to explore

06

new depths in truly embodying a character so different from herself.

“I mean, that’s what acting is. I am always trying to branch out and expand roles. I’m really a chameleon and I can do whatever role I put the time into. It’s just tapping into different parts of the self,” she says, “I really want a career where people can’t pin me down. I want a lot of diversity in the parts that I play because I know that I can make it happen.”

In Paper Towns, Jaz likes to say they were all under 22 and “trouble”. But with Bough, she was working with established adult actors like Regina Hall. With the pivotal drama and suspense riding on Jaz’s shoulders, she proved she could hold her own alongside the old guard.

And now there is The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The Netflix production takes a dark twist on the comic turned series. In the show, Jaz plays Rosalind Walker, a pastor’s daughter and best friend to Sabrina.

“I had just gotten back from Vietnam with a friend and saw the script and fell in love with the character. I was like, ‘Yo, she is a badass feminist and is going blind?’ There were so many aspects about her that I was like, ‘Okay, this is juicy, I can play with this!’”

Within days, she found out

she landed the role and would be spending the next nine months in Vancouver filming. With Sabrina being a household name, she was in awe of the support for the show since it was first announced. This was a new level of support and expectations. There was a different level of excitement on set that added to Jaz and her peers really wanting to pull out on the stops on a series with a history worthy of respect and care.

Jaz’s biggest connection to Rosalind is her passion. There’s a reverence she has for this character – someone who knows how to channel their energy into something positive, for a purpose outside of herself. Rosalind is only 17, yet so comfortable in her own skin.

And with her character showcasing her own set of special abilities in this world of magic, Jaz sees it as an opportunity for a truly dynamic character forced to reckon with contradictions and what it means to be herself in a world of power and mystery.

“At that age, most people are still trying to figure out who they are. To perpetuate an image of a girl who is sure of herself – who’s a black female in this timeless era – it just speaks volumes,” Jaz says, “And I really hope people watch and see Roz as a role model. That would be a dream for me.” NKD

SEAN TEALE Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Grooming by FAYE LAUREN

Sean Teale stars on The Gifted, which presents a grounded look at mutants in the X-Men universe – sans elaborate superhero costumes. On the series, now in its second season on FOX, the 26-year-old plays Marcos Diaz (aka Eclipse), who has the ability to absorb and manipulate light.

Sean was born and raised in Southwest London and attended Latymer Upper School in West London. He mainly played sports, but his attention shifted to theater around the age of 15 or 16, even though he admits that he was “useless at drama at the time.”

“I couldn’t say a word,” Sean says. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

As Sean got older he gravitated toward the arts because he was an “energetic” child and it was a relief from the writing-based subjects he was doing.

Although his previous experience didn’t go smoothly, something eventually clicked.

“I have no idea what it was,” he says. “It might have been a removal in pride or an increase in confidence, but from 16 to 18

every day, I just became more and more obsessed with it.”

Sean had a passion for storytelling and the ways that narratives could be brought to life through movies, books, plays and actors. His favorite films involved dystopian societies (like Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange) and he was obsessed with versatile, “incredibly present” actors like Jake Gyllenhaal.

Sean’s acting continued to improve, but he originally planned to become a lawyer. He simply saw the performing as a way to have fun and create.

He was approached by an agent after participating in a school play. Looking back, it’s probably best that he wasn’t aware that person was in the audience.

“I was already addicted to the high that you get performing in front of people,” he says. “I think there’s nothing quite like it and camera work often can’t replicate it. There’s a different high to that. But being in front of an audience in that moment, feeling

that connection is kind of amazing and it would have distracted me probably.”

“And I was doing it for the love of doing it,” he adds. “I wasn’t doing it for any gain.

Maybe the opportunity for game could have clouded that.”

While still in school, Sean took headshots, went on his first audition, and booked a role in the 2011 short film Sergeant Slaughter, My Big Brother (which starred Tom Hardy).

Then he tried out for a role as Nick Levan on the British drama Skins. On his 18th birthday, Sean finished final exams and got a call saying that he landed the part after approximately nine weeks of auditioning.

“That was a really good day.

Skins was an amazing platform, obviously. It’s considered a spring board,” Sean says.

Rather than portray teens having frivolous squabbles, Skins showed them dealing with addiction, depression, and death – among other things.

“That show was the rawest and realest teen drama,” he says.

“Teens had never been depicted NKDMAG.COM

9

10

that way.”

Before The Gifted, Sean was in “a weird place” career-wise. He was playing the lead role on Incorporated (executive produced

by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) and for the first time, felt like he “did everything I could to the best of my ability.” One day, Sean got on a plane to promote the second season, which he was led to believe would happen though the network hadn’t officially renewed the show.

When he landed in L.A., he was told that the series wasn’t going to continue.

“I was heartbroken,” he says.

“I put so much work into that.

It was the formative job. I don’t think I knew what I was doing before – I still don’t. But at the time, I felt like maybe I did.”

Sean suddenly had an indefinitely open schedule and in the six months that followed, he slept for two or three hours a night.

“Your whole life changes, but also your whole year changes.”

At the same time, Sean arrived in L.A. when pilot season was underway and there were plenty of opportunities, so he began auditioning for shows.

Many seemed “completely absurd” and Sean couldn’t connect with them, but he was “fascinated” The Gifted’s story.

Sean went into the audition for Marcos with a straightforward approach. That meant bluntly telling the executive producers that he didn’t understand the character because “the words on the page didn’t correlate” with the Marcos’ qualities of being passionate and driven.

“Maybe because I was heartbroken, but I was in an incredibly honest, transparent place where I didn’t want to play any games,” he says.

During the auditions, Sean realized that because he had just come off a series, people were eager to cast him. As he continually got asked to attend callbacks for the role, he felt that he hadn’t yet “earned the right” because he wasn’t grasping the character.

“I’m certain that there’s favorable treatment based on hype as opposed to ability,” he says.

By the time he reached the screen test, Sean still couldn’t connect with Marcos. Before he could stop the words from coming out, he told the executive producers: “I have no idea how to play this person and I don’t think you do either.”

Sean then learned that Marcos didn’t add up because changes were made to the character and there was miscommunication between the studio and the network. His honesty turned in his favor and he was able to work with them to “build our own Eclipse.”

The benefit of creating a new character not from the Marvel comics was that there was creative freedom and no pressure to “adhere to anything that’s been there before.” But not having any source material meant that he had nothing to base the character on and had to work harder to figure out who Marcos was.

On the surface, Sean – who immediately befriends a poodle amid the photoshoot and makes self-deprecating jokes during our interview – appears NKDMAG.COM

11

to be quite different from the always-frowning Marcos. But the biggest similarity is that they both have huge hearts and Sean can connect to him on an emotional level.

“As a performer, I love to feel,” Sean says. “I feel very strongly about things and [Marcos is] just one giant feeling.”

On any given episode, Marcos will be overcome with feelings of loss, pain, or failure – but there are valid reasons why.

“I think he’s a lot grumpier than me, he’s a lot more jaded, but a lot of worse things have happened to him than they have to me,” he continues. “I think he’s an honorable man who’s fallen victim to circumstance and his environment. He’s had to survive however he has to.”

“Obviously there’s a connection to my South American roots,” he adds. “I’m Venezuelan and he’s Colombian and that was a really interesting avenue to explore.”

Season 1 focused on issues between humans and mutants, with the latter being persecuted and viewed as threatening. The second season picked up after the fallout of the finale, where the Mutant Underground split due to differing approaches to their goal of a better, safer world for mutants. Their contrasting ideologies prompted Marcos to stay alongside Thunderbird and Blink, while his pregnant girlfriend Polaris joined the Inner Circle.

Season 2 explores Marcos’ struggles – from missing the birth of his daughter, Dawn, to being forcefully shown the door 12

after finally meeting her and saving her life. And fans hoping for a quick reunion among Marcos, Polaris and Dawn won’t receive the immediate gratification or quick thrills that other shows often rely on.

“With Polaris and Eclipse, you have to be realistic about what that would do to a man,” Sean explains. “Yes, he has an undying and unbridled love for her and his baby and a desire to make his family whole and to live out that life. But what happens when the person that you love the most leaves you, steals your kid, doesn’t let you see it, doesn’t allow you to name it, you’re not there for the birth?

That would break a human being.”

Viewers will also see how Marcos’ childhood plays a role in the kind of parent he wants to be. After his powers manifested, Marcos was kicked out of his house by his dad and lived on the streets until he was picked up by a cartel.

“I don’t think he probably wanted to bring up a child into this world, but the moment he found out he had one, he loved her,” he says.

Given his past experiences, Sean prefers to go with the flow and not envision anything beyond the current season of The Gifted. He’s also looking into other projects (like a show featuring Latin characters) and developing original content that happens to be of the dystopia genre.

For now, he’s just focused on the remainder of Season 2 and hopes that fans can take away

more than the entertainment value.

“I hope that they understand tolerance,” he says. “I think a lot of the people that watch these kinds of shows are incredibly tolerant anyway. Fandoms can be very passionate and sometimes very cruel, but also very understanding and diverse very often, aren’t they? So, if they could take from this joy, just take entertainment from it, that’s the first thing. Sometimes shows are just there to be enjoyed and consumed and loved, with laughs and tears along the way.”

Another goal is that people can “unify a little bit more” and understand “that we’re one in the same.”

“We have the most diverse cast on TV, and we’re covering complex issues that were based on Xavier and Magneto, who are Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, and every pressing allegory you can think of is in there, whether it’s color, creed, race, genetics, gender, sexuality.”

He hopes that the series’ parallels to real life help viewers understand other viewpoints, rather than getting offended and “beating them senseless with words or fists.”

“If someone could watch our show and realize that even Colby Bell, who’s playing Jace Turner, has reasons for why he’s doing the things that he’s doing – he doesn’t think he’s bad, he doesn’t think he’s evil – then maybe by challenging both sides, people can understand that there are more than one perspective,” Sean says. NKD

NKDMAG.COM

35

hannah ellis Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

14

“I decided I wanted to pursue music as I got into high school, but I already had a scholarship to go to University of Kentucky,” remembers Hannah Ellis. She was determined, but instead of dropping out college to directly pursue her dreams, she used her situation to her advantage. University of Kentucky was only two and a half hours from Nashville by car, so during college, she made the drive and forged connections in the music industry herself.

In 2012, she interned for Big Machine Label Group; there, she met Janine Appleton, who would go on to become her publisher years later. A year after her internship, she graduated college and made the official move to Nashville. She worked her way up the ranks in the industry and in 2015, signed her publishing deal with Curb Records. “It’s been really incredible because since then, I signed with CAA and I’ve had songs cut by Danielle Bradbery and Russell Dickerson,” Hannah says. “It’s just been really special.”

Growing up with parents as wedding singers for a side job, singing was always a part of Hannah’s life.

She delved into the writing side of the process when she was 18. “That was around the time that Taylor Swift was becoming the norm, when they expected artists to be able to sing and write and perform and do all the tricks,” Hannah laughs. When discussing her own writing process, Hannah says, “Sometimes it’s conversations that I’ve had in days previous, or I write down little things that someone said or I thought of.

Sometimes it’s just where I’m feeling emotionally or where I’m at in my life, or, honestly, where my friends are at in their life.”

The idea for Hannah’s latest single,

“Home and a Hometown”, came to her as she drove home to Campbellsville, Kentucky from Nashville. “I realized I was driving pretty fast to get there, and I was like ‘Oh, I always really want to get home to see my family’,” Hannah explains, “But then I realized the same thing happens when I’m coming back to Nashville. Then I had the thought of ‘I really have a home and a hometown.’” She mentioned the idea to her artist boyfriend Nick Wain and they ended up writing the song with Mark Trussell.

As soon as the demo came back, Hannah called her publisher because she knew it was the song she wanted as a single. “I feel like so many people in our generation leave home to go chase our dreams and move to big cities, but we don’t lose that sense of coming home whenever we go home to our families. We still love where we were raised and grew up,” Hannah says. To keep the music video as authentic as possible, the video’s director actually came home with Hannah to her hometown for the Fourth of July.

Everything in the video is authentic, from her niece’s first birthday, to the parade of tractors on the Fourth of July, to the fireworks.

2018 was a busy year for Hannah in terms of live performances. Hannah completed a tour with Filmore in late September, performed at CMA Fest and even had the chance to perform at her alma mater, University of Kentucky. “Creating community with the fans in a 30 minute show where I’m on stage is really special,” Hannah says. “It allows it to feel like we really know each other before we even get the chance to sit down and have a conversation.” But out of all of her performances this year, playing at Mercury Lounge in New York stands out as one of the most special. It was

the first time the whole crowd sang “Home and a Hometown” back to her.

When asked if she gets nervous, Hannah strikes down the thought immediately. “No, never. The stage is my home,” she says. Big names like CMT agree with her; Hannah was named one of CMT’s Next Women of Country of 2018. This means that over the next few years, CMT will do all in its power to make sure Hannah and her cohort’s music has the best shot at being well-received by the fans. In early 2019, Hannah will head out with Cassadee Pope and Clare Dunn on the CMT Next Women of Country Tour.

Hannah’s first experience with CMT Next Women was when she watched Kelsea Ballerini perform early in her career, before “Love Me Like You Mean It” was even on the radio. She wanted to be where Kelsea was. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘If I can just be on that stage, that’s going to be such a special moment’,” Hannah remembers. “It was a really beautiful, full circle moment to get to sit up there and play some songs at the event last November and to be a part of such an incredible community of women down here.”

Hannah promises that she’s working on a full album at the moment, although there’s no release date. The future album may feature “Past the Past,” an unreleased song that Hannah says is the best she’s ever written.

“I’m definitely the kind of girl that can get in my own head and overthink things, so that song is just about if you get can get past the past, then you can move forward and be able to feel love and give love,” Hannah teases. Until then, Hannah is excited to see her fans on tour and also has a Christmas cover video coming out in the next month. NKD NKDMAG.COM

15

Words by NICOLE MOOREFIELD Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

the vamps

The Vamps are four best friends who built a musical empire. They are not one without the other. For James McVey, Bradley Simpson, Tristan Evans and Connor Ball, the band is a loving family and a passion project, not just business.

The story of The Vamps starts with James McVey, the band’s founder and lead guitarist. He was born in Chester, England, but grew up in Dorset from age 4. As a kid, he loved riding BMX and spending time outside. He is still close with many of his childhood friends today. Around age 12, James picked up guitar and started playing with local bands. At 15, he released an EP, Who I Am. James was already being managed as a solo artist when he decided to start a band, and in 2011, 17-year-old James discovered 16-year-old Bradley Simpson’s YouTube channel.

Vocalist Brad grew up in Sutton Coldfield, a town in Birmingham, England, with his older sister and a Labrador named Jess. “Brad was in a band when he was young. He was just a guitarist and the singer wasn’t that great,” tells Tristan. When the singer didn’t show up one day, the band nominated Brad to take over on the microphone. “He’s been singing ever since,” Tristan remarks.

After James discovered Brad, the duo became writing partners and soon created The Vamps. “There were so many other names and the other names were awful,” Tristan laughs, “So The Vamps was a good choice, I think. It’s just a little bit different.”

The next addition was Tristan, the band’s drummer. He was born in London, England, and moved to Somerset at age 3 with his parents and brother. Tristan started playing drums at 7, getting his first kit at 9.

His family moved to Devon when he 18

was 10, where his sister was born. No one in Tristan’s close-knit family is musical except his grandfather, who played piano, “but they’ve always loved music,” he says. Growing up, Tristan always wanted to be in a band and “just kept at the music” until he finished school and could work in London as a session musician.

“That’s how I met James,” he explains, “through a mutual friend.” After James reached out to Tristan about joining The Vamps, the only thing missing was a bassist.

Connor Ball was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, but grew up in Birmingham, England. “Well, just outside of Birmingham,” Tristan clarifies. Both Brad and Connor loved Birmingham so much that they still call the city home when the band isn’t touring. Connor started learning a variety of instruments at a young age, playing in “heavier bands,” says Tristan. “He likes his heavy music.”

Connor’s music taste isn’t the only thing that makes him unique from the other members. “Con was cool growing up,” Tristan shares. “Con was pretty quiet. He still can be a little bit quiet sometimes, which is nice. That’s just part of his personality, which is awesome.” Even Connor’s pets are unusual, including a tortoise and various bearded dragons.

Once the band was finally assembled, they started posting covers on YouTube in 2012. The videos drew enough fan support that labels took notice, and soon they were signed and headed out on tour. “We weren’t the first to [utilize YouTube] and we’re definitely not the last,” Tristan remarks. “We don’t really tend to do [covers] these days because I don’t think it works as well,” he adds; they are focused on touring and releasing original music instead. “But that’s the

NKDMAG.COM

19

reason why we’ve got our original fanbase,” he acknowledges — a fanbase that pushed their first album, Meet the Vamps, to a platinum certification and a fanbase that still remains loyal. Their latest album, Night & Day, made it to #2 on the UK charts and into the Top 5 in other countries, Tristan shares. The Day Edition of the album, their fourth studio release, was certified gold. “It means a lot to us, and it’s just nice to have the fans supporting us, still here five, six years later,” he recognizes.

Even with amazing fan support, growing up in the spotlight wasn’t always easy, but the band tries to focus on the positives. “We have each other,” Tristan says, and they can talk through any hard experiences together. “[We] don’t take it too seriously and we’re always laughing about something,” he adds. Fame has been generally enjoyable for the band, and Tristan loves meeting fans who have been inspired by The Vamps. This is a group of friends traveling the world together, and they never complain about wanting “normal” lives, “because we kind of do have normal lives as well in our free time,” Tristan explains. Their friends back home are understanding, and they are still able to make plans around the band’s touring schedule.

Starting their careers young also had its advantages. “It gives you time to learn [about the industry],” recalls Tristan. They have also had the unique opportunity to watch themselves grow up through their discography. “If you start young, you’re going to make more energetic songs,” he explains. Where Meet the Vamps is filled with party imagery that “captures the youth [and] the excitement” of the band’s early years, Night & Day has a more mature sound that is 20

“quite honest.” The album is “not all about love,” Tristan elaborates, with tracks spanning the emotional spectrum.

Though the writing process varies, “there’s always an element of an instrument” in their songs, says Tristan.

He views lyrics, melody, and production as equally important parts of creating a song, which “takes a long time because we all want to do individual bits.” When the band writes collectively, they work together in one room as well as separately in their individual studios. They write from real experiences but also challenge themselves by creating different fictional scenarios for song ideas.

As much as he enjoys writing, Tristan loves performing just a little bit more. Some tour highlights have been Las Vegas, the Philippines, India, and South Korea, and Tristan would love to visit Russia. The best part of touring is the bus, he says, because “you can go to sleep whenever you want.” The worst is all the waiting in airports.

Their first show was in Swindon, supporting McFly on their UK tour.

“It was just a random show, but it was cool. It was like 4,000 people,” Tristan recalls. Since then, the band’s success has exceeded Tristan’s wildest dreams, which included playing an O2 show and having an album certified platinum. “We’ve played the O2 Arena [in London], which is my hometown, like 16 times, so that’s surpassed [my dream] 16 times. It’s just awesome and we’re so lucky to be able to do that.” They have even played Wembley Stadium, which seats 90 thousand. On their recent trip to Pune, India, “[there were] sold out shows, fans everywhere at the airport — we’ve never been there before,” Tristan shares. “Those things

are so surreal, when you’ve never been to a place but there’s so much support already.”

“I feel like music is an international language, and it shows with the new BTS [songs]. You don’t necessarily have to understand or speak [Korean] to enjoy the music,” Tristan notes. “We’re in the day and age where everyone’s so accepting of different cultures, different music, different genres,” he adds, an openness that he appreciates. “Personally, when we travel a lot, I try to discover new music in that area,” he says. For example, he listens to the new country music when visiting America.

As a band, their influences vary widely. Tristan prefers hip-hop, Brad indie and rock, James country, and Connor pop-punk, “so it comes together in a little fusion,” Tristan remarks. Additionally, they are inspired by other artists, like Tristan’s favorite, Post Malone. “It’s always good to keep your influences fresh,” he adds.

As for a dream collaboration, “it’d have to be someone that not many people collaborate with and [who] has been in the game for a while, like Steven Tyler.”

While they are constantly striving to become better musicians, writers, and producers, and to keep touring and releasing music for as long as possible, the band’s primary goal is “to stay best friends,” Tristan shares.

“It’s almost like a group of friends on holiday just having a good time,” he elaborates. “We go to nice restaurants [and] treat ourselves because we’re in that country [and] we want to try that type of food.” On tour, they are constantly doing fun things, sometimes breaking into groups of two or three but always together. “My best friends are the band, so I’m always with them, which is nice,” Tristan says. NKD

NKDMAG.COM

29

ELINE POWELL Words by VANESSA SALLES Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Glam by MEGAN LANOUX

With an onscreen presence that steals every scene she’s in, Eline Powell truly shines on Freeform’s break-out series, Siren. Finding her love for acting in her early years, the Belgian actress credits a school play for starting it all.

“I remember being involved in the play and feeling such a rush,” she says. “I didn’t know much about the acting world or how to become apart of it but I knew that I wanted to pursue it. I took things one step at a time and went to theater school, moved to London, and sort of found my way through it all. The more I discovered about the acting world, the more I loved it.

It’s been such a crazy journey because I feel like I’m literally living the dream now.”

Instantly drawn to the script, Eline had no doubts that Siren would be the magical show that it is. “I really loved their take on mer22

maids,” she explains. “I love the whole Sci-fi/fantasy/ supernatural genre so I was instantly hooked on the story.

The opportunity to play Ryn and create this character that’s never really been seen before was so appealing because I knew she’d have an interesting journey and I knew that it’d be fun to bring such a strong female character to life. Ryn is definitely a character that allows the writers to push boundaries and really go as far as they’d like to with it – since there hasn’t been anything like it before, there are no guidelines to follow. The creative control that the show has is something that I love.”

With a character development that truly allows the actress’ range to shine, Eline’s onscreen persona quickly became a fan-favorite. “When we first meet Ryn, her perception of humans is not a positive one,” she describes. “She’s

very apprehensive because all she knows is that these people are responsible for taking her sister. She has a bad interaction with someone very early on and that kind of solidified her negative opinion about humans. However, as the season progresses, so does her state of mind. She becomes more open-minded and, the more she sees and builds her relationship with Ben and Maddie, the more curious she becomes about human nature.

She starts to see the good side of humans and she allows herself to be apart of their world.”

Describing her character’s evolution, Eline reveals it’s been the most rewarding part as an actress. “I’ve loved this role and being able to have this new lens where I can look at the world as if it was brand new,” she says. “It’s kind of like having an alien perspective because everything is so foreign to Ryn; I’ve loved the journey of letting go and growing and being more understanding. Ultimately, that’s what her journey is about. She’s the only one in her family that has had this experience with humans and the only one that doesn’t hate them. She sees the good side and begins to change her behavior, beliefs, and actions.

We see a lot of that in the first season and I think we’ll see a lot more of that in the second.

The same thing can also be said about Ben and Maddie; it’s a two-way street where the humans and the creature are

NKDMAG.COM

23

24

learning about one another.”

With the second season airing through the winter, Eline reveals that viewers can expect to find Ryn in quite a tough spot. “I think Ryn is actually very lonely,” she explains. “She comes from a pack life and this journey in season one has led her to be excluded from her pack and ultimately lose her sister. She sees that she isn’t fitting in too well with whatever she was trying to build with Ben and Maddie. Her siren song has caused Ben to behave in an irrational way and so she’s definitely feeling conflicted about everything. For Ryn, the only way out of a situation like that is through it. She’s in a very fragile and vulnerable spot but luckily, she’s a survivor. She knows how to just get on with things and she knows that she has to make the best of things and find a way to redeem her life. I think that, going into the second season, she’ll be forced to move forward. She’s tough and wouldn’t allow herself to just sit in a corner and feel sorry for herself. Her objective in these new episodes is to try to make a living in this new world and find a way to be this creature that’s caught between two worlds.”

Recalling her time on set, Eline shares that it’s one of light-heartedness. “We’re always laughing on set,” she notes. “I’m the worst because I truly have no control so I’m always cracking up! Of course, we always make sure

to bring our ‘A’ game when it truly counts. Whenever there are heavy moments onscreen, we truly surrender the mind and just completely invest in the importance of that moment and scene. Everyone gives it their all and is always so dedicated; it’s a great work environment. We know how to get the job done but there’s also a lot of laughing and giggling!”

As for what she’d like to see onscreen, Eline says she’s the ultimate fan of the show’s writers. “The writers on Siren are fantastic,” she gushes.

“They know how to do their job so well and they write things that I personally get very excited about. They just always know how to deliver and I can’t wait for viewers to see the second season – I can’t say much about it but what I can say is that the writers are really exploring the things that I hoped they would.”

Wrapping up 2018, Eline’s had time to reflect on the incredible milestones. “There have been so many highlights this year,” she smiles. “I absolutely love the people that I’m working with so it’s always an amazing time together. From the cast and crew to everyone that’s behind-the-scenes, we’ve become a family and the times where we’re just bonding together are so meaningful to me. I’ve also gotten pretty good at free-diving, which I’ve learned through the show, and it’s very exciting! I know more adventures are waiting in the new year.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

25

arielle kebbel Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Make-Up by MIA JONES Hair by SAM LEONARDI Styled by JAMIE FRANKEL

Actress Arielle Kebbel’s career began with her desire to create a savings account for her horses. At the time, Arielle cared more about her competitive horseback riding career than making a name for herself as an actress. She actually began modeling because there were so many opportunities for that in Miami, but as she got older, she found her way into acting. “I was just blown away with the energy on set and I had no idea how many people it took behind the scenes to tell a story,” Arielle remembers. “I loved everyone doing their part to prepare for each take, and that same adrenaline that I got in the show ring while horseback riding, I felt when I visited set.”

From there, Arielle told her mom she needed a headshot.

At 15, Arielle made the two-hour drive to Tampa four nights a week for an adult acting class. She lied and said she was over 18, but because she was serious about learning, the teacher looked the other way. She then put herself into a private performing arts school so she could graduate early and move to Los Angeles. “My parents gave me great advice; they said ‘We’re not worried about you working, but please don’t move to L.A. without an agent’,” Arielle laughs. She went back and forth between agencies, but ultimately signed with an agent in the fall of 2002, graduated school in 2003 and moved to Los Angeles for her first pilot season.

Arielle’s first audition was for Gilmore Girls. “I remember going in there and thinking, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t deserve to be here, everyone’s so much prettier than me, everyone’s better than me, I’m going to make a fool of myself’,” Arielle says. But she received a call 28

back.

Once she was back in the room with the producers and director Kenny Ortega, Arielle was petrified and “bombed” her next audition.

She immediately wanted to cry, but Kenny Ortega stopped Arielle, told her to breathe, asked her to put herself in the girl’s shoes and told her that he knew she could do it. “It just somehow gave me permission to relax and trust my instincts,” Arielle explains, “And from that point until I left the room, I don’t even remember what happened. He almost gave me permission to have an out of body experience where the character took over.” Before she even got home from the audition, she learned that got the part and had to be on set the next day.

That pilot season, she also booked a role on Grounded for Life. Although Arielle was fortunate to be working on two shows, she also worked as a nanny, waited tables and trained to become a cocktail waitress in case she struggled to book more roles. And in the years since first moving to Los Angeles, Arielle has worked towards finding the consistency in her work that is so elusive to many in the entertainment industry. “Never get comfortable because you always have to find another job, whether you’re creating it or auditioning for it, and the business is always changing,” Arielle says. “What I love about it, but what has also been so challenging along the way, is how do I constantly reinvent myself? How do I grow myself and find stability in a world that’s so unpredictable?”

She’s still working to find that balance. In 2016, she made the difficult decision to leave her role as Tracy on Ballers, a comedy that also stars

Dwayne Johnson. “It’s hard on a thirty minute show about football; I loved my character, but I always felt like, ‘Where are we going to be find the time to develop her?’” Arielle remembers. Based on the show’s formula, there was no room for it.

Soon after making the decision, Arielle decided to take a break and go on a yoga retreat. Even though it was during pilot season, she thought that it would make her a better actor.

Arielle’s team urged her to go on one last audition before leaving.

That audition was for the role of Olivia Charity on NBC’s Midnight, Texas. Olivia was appealing to Arielle because she was a tough, strong assassin and Arielle had always wanted to do her own stunts. “I was excited I would have the opportunity to embrace this woman who was so strong on the outside, but so wounded on the inside,” Arielle explains. “I felt like, you can’t just be tough, you have to build it from the inside out, so that meant I had to have the anger and the hurt and all the emotions and cover it with sarcasm and be a badass.”

She went into the audition room with no idea what to expect, but it went well. “The ones I know are meant to be are the ones where I lose myself and the character takes over,” Arielle says. “It’s just like, ‘Whoa, for whatever reason that just aligned and I don’t know why, but I’m meant to do this job next.’” She felt a part of herself come alive when she played Olivia and realized that she needed the character in her life.

Before she even left the building, she texted her manager to say she wanted the part. Luckily, her manager had already received a call about her. Arielle went on her yoga retreat, landed in Mexico and then found

NKDMAG.COM

29

30

out she was cast. “I was staring at the water thinking how special this moment is because I left a show I really loved, I took myself out of pilot season to do a yoga retreat and I was still able to get this job I really wanted,” Arielle recalls, “It was a lesson on listening to my instincts and taking care of myself first – a moment where I felt like I was being rewarded for taking the time to slow down.” A week later, Arielle flew back into Los Angeles and was off to New Mexico to shoot the pilot.

There was a large break between Season 1 and 2 of Midnight, Texas.

Even when people behind the scenes were unsure of the show’s future, the fans never gave up on it. Because of this, Arielle is especially thankful and very humbled. “Our fans are the reason we’re back on air, so I really hope they enjoy Season 2,” she says.

“I think it’s sexy and sassy and scary.

Thank you, because I love Olivia Charity and I’m grateful I get to do it again.”

Time and time again, Arielle’s fans continue to amaze her. Arielle still can’t believe the number of girls that come to her saying that Arielle was a part of their lives when they were younger. “That’s why I do what I do,” Arielle asserts, “To hear that things I’ve been a part of have created experiences for other people, to me that’s what art is: inspiring and bringing people experiences and memories.” And although she claims it makes her feel old, she is grateful to have been a part of someone’s childhood.

In mid-November, Arielle’s Amazon movie Another Time was released. She plays the role of Ally and describes Another Time as a “sweet independent film” and passion project of hers. In addition to a great

director and wonderful producers, Arielle was intrigued by the concept of time travel. “It takes me back to Back To the Future days,” Arielle laughs, “I was happy to sign onto something that I felt had good people and a sweet story.”

But to be able to play both sweet and assassin requires strategy. Before she prepares for a role, Arielle categorizes it by emotional or physical.

For roles that require more physical preparation, she does all that she can to get into the character’s body.

“When I got the role of Olivia, a cat came to me,” Arielle says. “I did stretches that were very feline, and sometimes I would turn on music in my trailer and dance provocatively.”

Some characters require more subtle and emotional work, though, especially when it comes to their backstory. “If I don’t have the same journey as the character, I’ll ask myself, ‘What is this feeling the character is having?’ and take note of different life experiences,” Arielle says. To her, part of the fun of creating a new character is using a different approach every time.

In the future, fans can find Arielle onscreen not just on NBC for Midnight, Texas, but also on ABC. She will play a role in Grand Hotel, a remake of a Spanish Netflix show about a family-owned hotel and a disappearance, set to air in early 2019. “It’s a great cast; everyone’s super hot and they’re all in their twenties and super gorgeous,” Arielle says. She also encourages fans to check out the podcast she created with her friend Sterling Jones.

The podcast, called Spiritualgasm, explores sexuality, sensuality and everything in between. “Our tagline is we do everything together, except each other,” Arielle laughs. NKD NKDMAG.COM

31

mkto Words by RACHEL HILL Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts?

Oh, you mean MKTO. Pop duo Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller found solace years ago in each other’s offbeat social identities – a reoccurring theme in their music.

The pair shot up the charts with smash hit “Classic”, which reached No. 14 on Billboard Hot 100 and scored double-platinum recognition in the U.S. Malcolm and Tony met as actors on the set of TeenNick’s Gigantic and fostered a close relationship after playing best friends on the show.

After Gigantic, they proceeded on to other acting projects separately, yet still remained in touch.

With a mutual, lifelong passion for music, Malcolm and Tony tossed around the idea of creating some together.

Malcolm grew up in Long Beach, California and was adopted as a young child. “There has just always been a desire for that [music] and I’ve known what I wanted to do since a young age and sticking to that. There’s so many different layers that unfold in entertainment from in front of the camera, behind the scenes and writing and creating,” says Malcolm. As a participant in his church’s choir in his youth and dabbling a bit with the saxophone, Malcolm realized the excitement he found in telling stories, be it through acting or music.

Tony weaves a similar creative tale. He was raised in Houston, Texas and was given a saxophone by his grandfather as a child, later becoming good enough to perform in the marching band in high school. “That’s the kind of thing I actually sort of loved about high school and hated it at

the same time. Playing those kind of instruments, I don’t think you’d be the ‘cool’ kid, but I knew doing that sort of thing would have at least help me out when I wanted to do music in the future,” Tony reveals. He was intrigued by a variety of music and artists growing up, usually favoring country. He believes this assortment in taste contributed to his own musicality and skilled ability to write today.

“There’s a lot of different kinds of music and I think that’s the one thing for both of us,” says Tony, “I feel like it’s just something that you add to the arsenal of learning when you’re trying to write and/ or just writing melodies and lyrical concepts. I think listening to a variety of music allows you to see everything 360.”

When MKTO signed with their first label, Columbia Records, in 2012, work quickly began to release their debut single, “Thank You”, in early 2013. Following the ensuing commercial success, the guys jumped on the road with Emblem3, serving as the opening act for two of the group’s tours.

In 2014, Tony’s pal Demi Lovato from his As the Bell Rings days invited them out to open for her on her Demi: World Tour. That same year MKTO released their self-titled, debut album.

After their own headlining tour and another EP release (Bad Girls), Malcolm and Tony announced MKTO would be taking an indefinite hiatus, but would get back to making music in the near future. In 2018, they returned having signed with ICM Partners and BMG Nashville.

Through their gap in activity, Tony found it reopened his eyes

to how grateful he was and still is to be able to do what ignites his inner fervor. “It’s a crazy thing that when you step away, you realize how much you love something and so, I mean the goal is to be able to do it day by day and doing something you love, living in the moment and hopefully everything else will follow,” Tony says.

MKTO’s new single, “How Can I Forget”, was released in September 2018 and has swiftly recaptured the attention of their legion of loyal fans. The hit was written

by Malcolm over the hiatus alongside Emanuel “Eman” Kiriakou, Evan “Kidd” Bogart, Lindy Robbins, Dag Lundberg and August Grant. To write the emotion-laden lyrics, Malcolm conjured up feelings from previous relationships and situations that would remind him of someone in particular. As far as the big picture, the guys want “How Can I Forget” to symbolize their return to the musical arena. “It’s kind of establishing that we’re back, you know, re-introducing ourselves and also an ode to the fans. It’s like how can we ever forget you guys for sticking with us and definitely a song available for interpretation,” explains Malcolm.

Fans of the song should check out the music video that incorporates a Westworld memory-wiping concept developed by the visual’s director, Izak Rappaport. Of course, the communicative quality of the pair’s videos are deemed to be more polished as they are both established actors. “We had a fun time shooting it and definitely with the support of our label and our partners at BMG. We have the opportunity to be able to make NKDMAG.COM

33

a little mini story to go with our songs,” says Malcolm, “That’s always amazing and I love that about music videos, how it brings a whole new life to it.”

This new release has already garnered more than 7 million streams on Spotify. And the duo are no stranger to the power of streaming. “Classic” has amassed over 360 million streams on Spotify alone. “Just Imagine It”, “Monaco” and “American Dream” all boast over 40 million plays, with the majority of their tunes coming in with more than 10 million. “We’re just very grateful on the response, the streams, you know, the support with “How Can I Forget”. If that’s going the way it’s going, then I’m sure there’ll be some new music very soon,” Tony reveals.

Methods of collaboration typically vary from artist to artist.

Certain challenges arise when the group is often located on opposite sides of the country. Tony frequents his Houston home, leading to himself, Malcolm and the rest of the team tossing ideas around via email. It transpires along the lines of, “I got an idea, listen, spruce it up. It’s an amazing thing because I don’t know if we’d be able to be writing as much if it wasn’t for those kinds of outlets to be able to do so,” Tony admits. The guys have worked with trusted producers and confidants, Eman and Evan, for the long haul and rely on their artistic instincts.

“We still are very thankful to have Eman and Evan and that just helps us tremendously, especially when we’re writing because they have such a resume of great music,” Tony says.

34

This admittedly new era of MKTO is to resemble the continued growth of both Malcolm and Tony in both personal and professional facets. From the start, however, one key trait they’ve attempted to show, and successfully so, through their work and actions is a sense of genuine humanity. Tony is oftentimes vocal on social media with his struggles and triumphs with sobriety, casting aside the rigid stigma society associates with such a truth. “I think we’re always growing. So it’s just really cool that we have our life experiences, you know, allowing that to help the music grow at the same time staying genuine to that original fan base that we’ve had and still have for the band,” he adds. Their goal has always been to make music they enjoy listening to, and if it positively affects even just one person, they’re happy. “Everything else is just an awesome response,” Tony claims.

With the success “How Can I Forget” is seeing, the duo expect more work to be put out fairly quickly. They can’t wait to get back on the road and ‘re-meet’ the fans who have stuck by their side and hopefully draw in some new ones as well. “One of the big things for me is finally getting to go to some of these places we haven’t been yet. I think would be awesome,” mentions Malcolm.

However they’re not keen on looking too far in the future. The pair are big present-day thinkers.

As Tony suggests, “I feel like in any career you’re at, if you think too far ahead, you can sometimes forget what’s happening around you as of right now.” NKD

NKDMAG.COM

35

DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Make-Up by COURTNEY HART Hair by MARC MENA

Danielle Rose Russell was nearly 10-years-old when The Vampire Diaries premiered on The CW in September 2009 and sparked a new generation of supernatural-obsessed young fans. At the time, she never envisioned herself being part of the TVD universe, let alone starring on its spin-off, Legacies, at 19-years-old. All the New Jersey native knew was that she had “a knack” for acting.

“I always really loved it, but I never thought it was something that I would pursue in my life,” she says.

Danielle participated in plenty of school plays and regional theater. It wasn’t until one of the parents at a dance class approached her mother and suggested that Danielle try modeling. Her mom was hesitant at first, but Danielle “ended up taking these really bad 4x6 photos in front of my elementary school brick wall and I held on to them for a couple years.”

At some point around 10-years-old, Danielle and her mom were stuck at home without power during a snowstorm. Purely out of boredom, her mom went through boxes, rediscovered the headshots, and decided to mail them out.

By the following week, she got calls from a few managers and agents.

Danielle went on to do print ads and commercials until she was 13-years-old, when she began studying acting and subsequently landed her first role in the 2014 drama movie A Walk Among the Tombstones.

“After my first day on set, I 38

knew that it was what I wanted to do for forever,” Danielle recalls.

“I remember my first day on set, it was the middle of February and we were in Queens [New York] and I was just so excited,” Danielle recalls. “You know that feeling when you’re so excited about something that you don’t feel whether you’re hot or cold or hungry or anything like that? It was like that feeling. I remember freezing outside, but I was just so excited.”

Danielle starred in the movie alongside Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens and David Harbour.

Back then, she wasn’t familiar with those names, but at the very least, knew that she wanted to continue what she was doing.

“And as I started doing it more and more, I just fell more in love with it knowing that this was what I wanted,” Danielle says. “I learned a lot from my peers and I learned a lot of things from the people that I worked with. It was this huge learning curve for me and it grew me up fast from a young age, but knowing what I know now, from those experiences, it’s priceless.”

Growing up, Danielle “was in love with Broadway” and thought she’d become a Broadway actress, especially after seeing productions like The Lion King.

“That was my goal,” she says.

“My mom was a huge believer in exposing me to the arts from a young age, so she would take me to Broadway shows.”

“I was so infatuated with

what I was seeing and when I first started acting, I thought that musical theater was what I wanted to do,” Danielle adds.

“And it might be a road down the line that I’ll go on, but right now and for the past almost 10 years, I’ve really fallen in love with film and TV and getting behind the camera. It was kind of a path I never thought I’d take, but here I am.”

A couple of roles later, Danielle auditioned for a role as Hope Mikaelson on The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals. Prior to the audition, she got into TVD because her Walk Among the Tombstones co-star, Sebastian Roche, starred as the Mikaelson patriarch on The Originals.

Danielle watched TVD for a few years, but didn’t keep up with The Originals, so when she learned years later that hybrid Klaus had a daughter, she was “thrown off ” – but also fascinated by the concept.

For people who didn’t follow both series as closely, it might have been hard to imagine that Klaus, who was first introduced on Season 2 of TVD, would become a parent with werewolf Hayley Marshall.

Young Hope was played by Summer Fontana, and Danielle joined the show on Season 5, following a time jump in the storyline. Going into the audition, it was easy for Danielle to relate to 15-year-old Hope.

“I found that my voice as Danielle was very similar to her voice and I really just found my groove in her words and in who she was,” she says.

After the first audition, Danielle was asked to attend a callback.

“I remember there being four other girls there and I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m never going to get this’,” she says. “These were like, supermodels.”

According to Danielle, the girls were “stunning”, tall, and had blonde hair – while she considered herself an edgier, brunette girl from New York.

Regardless, she tried her best and a few days later, got on a Skype call with series creator Julie Plec. It turned out that Julie saw Danielle in the 2015 romantic comedy Aloha and was impressed by her performance in it.

Danielle vividly recalls the day the news came out that she landed the coveted role of Hope on The Originals, after weeks of meetings and negotiations. When it was announced on Entertainment Weekly’s site, Danielle gained approximately 30,000 followers immediately.

Naturally, it was overwhelming to be thrust into a show with a massive and passionate fanbase.

“I had no idea that this was happening,” she recalls. “So over the next couple of weeks, I was thrown into this whole new world of being an actor and being an influencer all at the same time. I act just to act, not to have everything else that it came with.”

“Over time, I got a little more used to handling it and using my platform,” she adds. “But I remember being so overwhelmed and excited and everything all at once. It was a very 40

strange feeling.”

Going into The Originals, Danielle wasn’t fully aware of the full extent of the show’s impact. Once the episodes started airing, she saw the immediate feedback from fans – many of whom carried over from years as dedicated TVD fans.

Moreover, when Danielle signed on to play Hope, she thought she’d be part of a minor plot line. The idea of having a spin-off of her own never even crossed Danielle’s mind.

“As Hope’s story and her relationship began to develop within the Mikaelson family, I began really being a part of it, more than I thought I was going to be,” she says “I never, never would have thought that I would have gotten this part and I never would have thought it would have taken me this far,” Danielle adds. “I was prepared to do like a year of The Originals, but we all just fell so in love with Hope and how she’s developed over the past couple of years.”

Since fans were first introduced to the teenage tribrid (aka a rare mix of vampire, werewolf and witch), she’s experienced pain and loss, especially after the death of both parents during The Originals final season.

Prior to the loss of Hope’s family members, Danielle was able to relate to the character because of her mannerisms and the ways she interacted with her own family. She had to adjust her acting approach once major changes took place in the storyline.

NKDMAG.COM

41

42

NKDMAG.COM

43

“The dynamics that she had and the relationships that she had with her family and even with the people around her were very similar to the things that I’ve gone through in my past,” Danielle says. “So I was really able to pull from that. But as she got older and after she went through this intense trauma by losing both her parents and all the things that have happened in Season 5, it was a little more difficult to create her identity.”

On Legacies, which explores Hope’s life at The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted with other witches, werewolves and vampires, Danielle is able to understand the 17-year-old more clearly.

“I’m finally able to really see where she’s at and create her now,” Danielle says. “I feel like I finally have a handle on her again. But it was a little bit of a struggle at first because I’ve never been through that, so I had to kind of draw from the things that she went through in Season 5 almost as memories of her as a character – which was kind of fun and really rewarding as an actor to get to do, to play this character on a long term.

But it’s been a challenge for me as an actor and I’m also really enjoying it.”

The Mystic Falls boarding school, which used to be the home of Stefan and Damon Salvatore, is run by vampire-hunter-turned-headmaster Alaric (who has been likened to Harry Potter’s Albus Dumbledore and X-Men’s Charles Xavier). It’s a place where Hope is surrounded by other teenagers coping 44

with supernatural abilities, like Alaric’s twin daughters, Josie and Lizzie.

For fans that grew up watching TVD and The Originals, they’ll find similarities on Legacies. But the show is independent and very much rooted in friendship, above all.

“It still does have the same twisted, sexy romance that The Vampire Diaries had with the action-packed plotlines that The Originals had, while also having a little bit of a sense of family,” Danielle says, “We have the Saltzman family and Hope being the survivor of the Mikaelson family and they all kind of create their own family in the boarding school. This is really kind of all they have and their only world.”

Legacies also differs from its predecessors tonally. It doesn’t take itself as seriously, and it features a new monster each week when a new episode airs.

“It has a sense of humor, it’s a little bit lighter, and it has a little more teenage angst to it,” Danielle says. “It really does stand out against the other two shows. But it is most certainly rooted in what the other two shows established in this universe.”

In addition, Legacies is also laced with TVD Easter eggs for viewers, plus a few familiar faces – like Steven R. McQueen reprising his role as Jeremy Gilbert and Zach Roerig returning as Sheriff Matt Donovan. Paul Wesley (who starred as Stefan) won’t make an on-screen appearance, but he’ll direct an episode.

Looking at where her career has taken her, Danielle is glad that she’s part of the Vampire Diaries universe.

“Originals and Legacies are both shows that I’ve always wanted to do in my career because I do love the supernatural,” she says. “I’ve always been interested in the supernatural, so it’s been a lot of fun, and very rewarding for me on my bucket list as an actor to get to play in this world.”

“I love the darker stuff,” she adds. “I love to play characters with trauma and I really love those genres with an edge to them. Those are my favorite characters to play.”

Going into the new year, Danielle hopes that Legacies will resonate with viewers and have longevity on TV. “I have a lot of hope and a lot of faith in our show and I hope that’ll go over well and that we’ll get to do this for a couple more years.”

Another goal for 2019 is to travel more on her own and learn how to navigate being an actor and having a social media presence.

“I want to be able to use my platform a little bit more and to have fans get to know me as Danielle, as opposed to just Hope Mikaelson,” Danielle says, “In all of my platforms, I’ve kept it super professional, but it’s been a goal of mine more recently now that I’m a little more used to having a platform, to really use it and to be an activist for things that I believe in.

That’s a huge goal of mine for next year.” NKD

46

WILLIAMS

Words by SAMANTHA BAMBINO Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

HILARY

Hilary Williams never imagined she’d one day release a full-length album. She also never thought she’d live past the age of 27.

It was 2006, and the daughter of legendary artist Hank Williams Jr. was driving with her sister Holly along Highway 61 near Tunica Casino. Hilary looked down for a moment to change the song on her iPod. But that one moment, that brief second, changed everything.

The car hit a deep rut in the road and Hilary, startled, overcompensated and jerked the steering wheel. One of the car’s wheels came off, causing it to slide across the road and flip over in a nearby field four times. Holly’s arm was broken, crushed under the weight of the car, but Hilary’s condition was much worse. With both hips shattered, left collarbone broken and colon ruptured, she was forced to wait an excruciating 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

“They said I shouldn’t have lived over 20 minutes,” Hilary says. “I remember a faceless angel coming to take my hand and going up to heaven. I saw my grandparents Hank and Audrey, and Johnny (Cash) and June. It was just the most heavenly music I’ve ever heard, it was so peaceful there. My grandparents gave me a hug and I turned around and came back.”

Three days later while undergoing surgery, Hilary got a blood clot and briefly died a second time.

Once again, she came back.

“It wasn’t my time,” she says. “I had a lot of factors against me, so I’m definitely here for a purpose.”

For Hilary, that purpose was realized during one of the darkest periods of her life, when she was

forced to find her inner strength and translate her pain into art.

“When I was recovering at my mom’s house in my hospital bed, a good friend of mine, she was like, ‘You need to be writing.’ I didn’t feel like it, but I’m really glad that she pressed me to do that,” Hilary says.

From the confines of the bed, the song “Sign of Life” was penned, forming the basis for My Lucky Scars, an album of inspiration that was released on May 25.

“It was just really cathartic for me to be writing and get the song done. My voice teacher would come over, and she helped me build my voice back because I lost my voice for six months having all the breathing tubes,” she says.

Throughout her recovery, which included nearly 30 surgeries, Hilary continued to write, taking her time with the process to ensure everything was just right. Now, at the age of 39, she’s thrilled to share her voice with the world.

“I feel like I gave birth,” she says of the album. “I remember when it came out on iTunes, I was shaking and I was so excited. It’s just this baby I’ve been working on for so long and nurturing. It’s just such a great feeling. It’s so amazing.”

So far, My Lucky Scars has enjoyed great press from outlets such as Rolling Stone and Billboard. But possibly more important to Hilary is the positive support she’s received from her family.

“My dad’s always like, you’re the one with the voice in the family, he’s always been really encouraging,” she says.

Growing up in Nashville, Hilary was surrounded by music - from her father, grandfather Hank

Williams, and mother Becky, who sang backup on the song “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

“She would play the piano, dad would play the guitar, and we would all sing along and it was super fun,” she says.

Despite the divorce of her parents at the age of 8, Hilary’s childhood was relatively average... for the most part.

“Even having a famous dad, we didn’t have big parties at the house or anything. I remember June Carter Cash coming over a couple times, but we grew up pretty normal,” she says. “The only thing that wasn’t normal was going to shows with dad on a private jet and getting in limos and everything.”

It was always a given that Hilary would someday follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.

Her mother told her how she’d “sing from her crib” all the time.

“It’s just in me,” she says. “I don’t know, I’ve just always loved singing and it’s always pulled at my heart.”

Though it was questionable for some time whether Hilary would be able to pick up the Williams torch, she fought to ensure that one day, she’d be able to. And that fight is paying off. After a sold out show at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Hilary is in the process of booking a 2019 tour to promote My Lucky Scars.

“I’m so grateful that everyone is loving it because I put my heart and soul into it. There’s no fluff or anything on this album,” she says.

“I just want to give people hope and inspiration that have gone through tough things in life also.” NKD NKDMAG.COM

47

sophie skelton Words by CARLY BUSH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Glam by AMANDA THESEN

Sophie Skelton is best known to Outlander fans as Brianna Randall Fraser, the daughter of a World War II-era nurse and an eighteenth-century Highland warrior who meet thanks to the wonders of time travel.

The series, inspired by the novels written by Diana Gabaldon, is a unique period piece that incorporates fantastical and science-fiction elements— and it’s popular enough to have amassed a devout fandom that includes William Shatner, who is reportedly a huge fan of the show, and has been renewed for two more seasons.

Nonetheless, it’s Sophie’s portrayal of the bastard child of a time-traveler and her long-lost love that has caught the attention of many viewers, impressed by her ability to combine both of her onscreen parents’ mannerisms to craft a unique character. At 24, she’s already a promising actress with a bright future. However, she was not initially an actress, or even interested in film work.

Her background, interestingly, is in dance.

Growing up just outside Manchester, U.K., in the lush Cheshire region, Sophie enjoyed a childhood with frequent exposure to the arts. She

was professionally trained in ballet from the age of 3, which entailed daily rigorous practice.

“From there, I did a lot of stage work and then musical theatre and plays and stuff, but then I just decided to go into screen, really.”

She goes on to explain that while she loved the “rush of being onstage”, she saw screen work as an intriguing opportunity to act in a more raw, intimate setting. “You’re sort of coming into [the audience’s] home, as opposed to somebody watching for two hours in a theatre and then getting on with their day,” she says. In the case of Outlander, there is no lack of audience engagement and emotional attachment.

Years before the success and madness of Outlander, Sophie was in her early teens, looking to make the transition from stage to screen, when she was picked up by an agent. “I think I was 15, and he asked me to be represented with them, and it just sort of went from there, really.” She got her first “proper job” two years later, and never looked back.

That’s not to say, however, that Sophie didn’t face obstacles, and ironically enough, her stage background was a boon to

her success in the film industry.

She remembers having to work extra hard to be taken seriously due to her lack of on-camera experience.

“It kind of takes someone to take a chance on you, because you can do good audi-tions, but they go with bigger names, and stuff like that. One thing that’s been re-ally great with Outlander is that they’re not going for super well-known people.

They’re sort of taking a chance on new talent, which is really great, and has opened a lot of doors,” she says.

Constant auditioning—and near-constant rejection—is one of the most challenging aspects of being in the film and television industry, and oftentimes, the highlight reel of successes fails to showcase the grit and hard work that goes into a full-time acting career. Sophie believes that you “need a very thick skin” to manage it.

“Even with Outlander,” she says, “I originally auditioned in 2014 and didn’t hear anything for a year, so I thought someone else had got the job.

Then the audition came around again after a year, and it turned out that they were going to put Bri-anna at the end of Season 1 and then decided not to.”

NKDMAG.COM

49

When actors audition, they are not told as much insider information as the general public might assume. Sophie was not aware of the casting change that had been made, and as such, started looking for greener pastures—only to be pleasantly surprised when Outlander cast her after all.

“It’s always a bit of a waiting game, and some of them can hit harder than oth-ers,” she laughs. “But you just have to sort of forget about them and power through. It does take a lot of patience and a lot of thick skin.”

Throughout 2014 and 2015, Sophie threw herself back in the game, auditioning “all the time”, something that she states is necessary, “especially now, with self-tapes.”

She is quick to emphasize that, although she tries not to get too attached, some roles are really difficult to put of her mind. “There are certain characters that you’re more passionate about, and almost protective over. Brianna was one of those.”

In the week leading up to her initial audition, Sophie had researched the role by reading “all of Brianna’s bits” of the Outlander series. She only had a few days to prepare, but she was determined to impress the casting directors from the start.

“I really wanted to play her,” she admits.

Fortunately, her hard work paid off. By the time she was cast, the show had al-ready been on for a full season, and Sophie was able to watch it “on 50

repeat” in or-der to “morph Jamie and Claire’s mannerisms into one person.”

She enjoyed the experience of “creating” Brianna, and engaged in some mild method acting in order to get inside the head of her character, who is a historian. “I read up on Scottish history. I did sort of read up on a lot of American history, just the sort of making of America, so I could be in Bri’s mind,” she says.

Sophie immensely enjoys and appreciates dramatic historical fiction, but she doesn’t want to be typecast. On the contrary, she thinks it’s good to remain open to versatility. She considers herself lucky to have landed a role that allows herself to step into numerous worlds at once; the time-travelling Randalls make it possible for her to explore different eras without ever leaving the Outlander set.

“I think it’s good to have a mix. I do love period pieces.

I’m kind of a sucker for the Downton Abbey era,” Sophie admits, “That’s kind of the cool thing about Bri, is that I get to start in the ‘60s, and the go back in time—so I’ve kind of managed to do a good mix all in one character.”

Despite her passion for history and representing it accurately through her portrayal of Brianna, there is no specific genre Sophie is specifically tied to. Instead, she likes to “jump around”, stating an appreciation for action films. Her recent role in 211, a bank heist thriller starring Nicolas Cage, was an opportunity to work in a differ-

ent realm.

“It’s just very interesting,” she muses, “To work with someone like Nicolas and people who therefore also work with him in a completely different way, it’s just nice to see which actors have different techniques.”

Her costars did not take on the mentor role, per se. Instead, Sophie observed Ni-colas and the rest of the cast to see if she could learn anything from them. This is her preferred approach when working on a new set; rather than directly obtaining advice, she likes to watch actors work, storing ideas in the back of her mind and filing them away for future use.

On the other side of the coin, at times she has witnessed diva behavior on set. “Sometimes you learn what not to do! If someone’s being a brat on set, you’re like, ‘Ugh, no’,” she says.

Sophie comes across relaxed, intelligent, and well-adjusted, but also modest; when asked if there is anything people might not know about her, beyond her character-istic fiery red hair, northern accent, and portrayal of intellectual Brianna, she ex-claims, “I’m not a very interesting person! Oh, gosh… well, I used to play hock-ey. I played hockey and I ran track.”

A ballerina with an athletic streak? That would probably be interesting to most people.

However, neither dance nor sport are Sophie’s focus nowadays. On set, her main hobby is the same as any other 24-yearold: listening to music. “I always have my speaker on in my trailer all the time,” she says. NKD

NKDMAG.COM

51

NKDMAG.COM