Katherine McNamara spoke with Hypable about two adaptations she’s currently starring in: Shadowhunters and Scorch Trials.
Last month, we spoke to McNamara about Shadowhunters, the new ABC television series that’s adapting Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments saga. Today we have the second half of that interview, where we discuss her role in Scorch Trials, where she’s portraying Sonya.
On portraying Sonya from ‘Scorch Trials’ by James Dashner…
“One of the most nerve-wracking things a person can do is to take on a character that is part of such a beloved book series, and I’m fortunate enough to be part of two different interpretations of different book franchises,” McNamara told us.
“You start to get [Sonya’s character] just for a bit just right as the film is ending,” she continues. “It leaves it open for more, which is wonderful. Her character does stay true to the book character in the sense of who she is as a person and her fight and her spark and her rebellion.”
But what made McNamara decide she wanted this role to begin with? “It was the first badass girl role I had ever played,” she says. “It was a shock! I’m used to playing the high school popular girl or the girl next door. And then you jump into a character of, ‘Oh! This girl has been living in a post-apocalyptic world for quite a while, having escaped from being, basically, a lab rat in one of the most horrific situations anyone could ever be in. And oh, by the way, she’s 17.'”
On having her own input for ‘Scorch Trials’…
“Wes [Ball], the director, and the producers and everybody really involved in the team, were really open to the interpretation of things. They had the group form its own natural formation and relationships and let that play out on screen, which is something I think is so special about the Maze Runner series. The relationships you see on screen between the characters and the dynamic and everything you see is real. It’s natural, and [for] a lot of it, we might not even know there’s a camera on us at that time and they catch something. That’s what I think is the brilliance of the film.”
But allowing the cast to offer up their own opinions doesn’t stop there. McNamara even got to pick out her wardrobe for the role. “There was a rack a clothes and a rack of coats and Doc Martens and other awesome boots laid out all over the floor,” she reminisces. “The incredible wardrobe designer walked in and said, ‘Let’s play.” And we did. And we found this amazing look for Sonya that I think is really, really cool and quite fashionable and a lot of fun. It’s something I look forward to hopefully wearing again if we get to do the third film.”
Luckily, there is no if when it comes to the third Maze Runner movie, titled Death Cure. A release date has already been set for February 17, 2017.
On the ‘Scorch Trials’ adaptation…
“It’s so neat to see these films come to life,” McNamara says. “You read the books, and there’s so much going on and so much action happening, and somehow Wes is able to make sure that’s captured on the screen. But it’s balanced by these real, down to earth kids that are just trying to make it and trying to live in this horrific world that’s been left for them. I think [this] movie is so special and so important, and it’s something that’s really, really an asset to this film.”
If Scorch Trials is anything like Maze Runner, then we’re sure the sets, the action, and the emotional moments will be brought to life by the cast and crew alike, Katherine McNamara included.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens on September 18, 2015.
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