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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

OLIVIA SINGH writer

jaz sinclair

Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

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,

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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

hannah ellis Words by ELIZABETH FORREST Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

“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

Words by NICOLE MOOREFIELD Photos by CATHERINE POWELL

the vamps

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

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

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

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

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

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