We were lucky enough to sit down with Mary Kate Wiles, star of hit web shows The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Squaresville. Check out part 1 of our extensive and exclusive interview now.

The bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice may have come and gone, but here at Hypable we are still celebrating Jane Austen through out love of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Hypable writer Marama Whyte recently spoke with Mary Kate Wiles, who stars in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and spin-off The Lydia Bennet) as Lydia Bennet, to discuss her thoughts on Lydia’s journey, her experiences in the intense Lizzie Bennet Diaries fandom, and much more.

Following on from controversial episode 87, we can now present the unabridged transcript of our interview with Mary Kate in two parts.

Hypable’s exclusive interview with Mary Kate Wiles

Hypable: How would you describe your version of Lydia?

Mary Kate Wiles: My Lydia is very different from the Lydia of the book. I think my Lydia is very loyal to her sisters and loves her family. I think Lydia loves fiercely, as [Lizzie] says in the show, she doesn’t do “anything by halfsies.” She’s very energetic and sometimes loud, but everything she does comes from a desire to be valued by her sisters and her family.

What’s different about Lizzie Bennet is that there’s only three sisters, instead of five in the book, which just creates an entirely different dynamic. Because in the book, Lydia has Kitty following her around and letting her be the leader in that dynamic, and in our show Lydia doesn’t have that. She feels like the annoying younger sister. Obviously Lizzie and Jane love her but I think it’s been clear as the show has gone on that there’s this kind of dynamic where Lydia feels left out and not really understood by her sisters.

Did you imagine when you were cast that Lydia would become the breakout character that she has?

No. I never had any inkling. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing for a while, I was just like “This Lydia is a party girl, so I guess that means I talk like this and I have this crazy energy, and I hope this is funny.” Obviously as time went on, and even from the first rehearsal, Bernie was like “We need to always have a reason that Lydia acts the way she does, or she’s not going to make any sense”, so that was always clear to me.

But I didn’t ever imagine that we would get to delve into it as deeply as we have. Especially with her own vlogs, I never knew that that was going to be a thing, and I cannot tell you how glad I am. I never thought that Lydia Bennet would be a character that, as it turns out, I’m so proud of and so happy to play. I feel like we’ve been able to collectively make a Lydia that a lot of people are able to relate to, and respond to in ways that they never expected. And me too – I’m one of those people.

I never thought that her story would mean as much to me as it does, but I’m finding as time has gone on that I have found a lot of myself in her, when originally I thought that me and her were nothing alike. So it’s been really cool, and something that I think I’ll always remember as this amazing thing that I got to do.

When did you find out that Lydia would be having a spin-off series of vlogs?

I can’t remember exactly when it was. Bernie [Su, head writer, executive producer, director and co-creator] had mentioned off-the-cuff pretty early on that if we had other characters vlogging Lydia would obviously be the main proponent to do that, just because of her personality. As we got closer to Lizzie and Jane leaving for Netherfield Bernie was like “We’re going to do this and see how it goes” and I checked yesterday and Lydia has 72,000 subscribers, which is not as many as Lizzie, but that’s awesome.

It’s interesting that you’ve mentioned that. Obviously not everyone who subscribed to Lizzie subscribes to Lydia, and then those people don’t necessarily follow Lydia on twitter. How do you think their perception of Lydia would be different if they have only seen her pop up in Lizzie’s videos, rather than following this separate character trajectory that people who have been watching her vlogs have experienced?

Well you don’t have to watch them. You’ll still get the story either way, and I know that a lot of Austen purists have been not wanting to watch Lydia because it’s not her story, it’s Lizzie’s story. But as time has gone on it has become clear that Lydia acts a very different way with her own viewers than she does with Lizzie.

And again, all of these things that I never realized would become so important. That’s a huge part of the story now, that Lydia has not been herself with her sister, but she’s been herself with all of these thousands of viewers. So I don’t think you’re going to understand my Lydia if you don’t watch the vlogs, because how could I?

And twitter too, especially with all of the Wickham stuff, there have been some really intense things on twitter, that I personally think is just the coolest thing. It’s so cool to experience a character from these many different sides, and has really challenged me to make sure that all of those weave together and make sense. For a little while I felt disconnected, like “I feel weird, because Lydia is this way on her vlogs, and this way on Lizzie’s”, until I thought “You idiot, that’s why.”

That’s the whole point.

Yeah. So I hope that people watch her vlogs and like them because, again, this Lydia is just not a Lydia that happens in any other Pride and Prejudice adaptation and I don’t mean that to credit myself at all. It’s just really cool that the writers have been able to take her in this direction, and trusted that with me. I just feel really lucky and excited about it, and obviously now in this last arc, if the last time that you saw Lydia was before she went to Vegas and then you didn’t see her again until she just found out about the sex tape, those are two very different Lydias.

I think people would be really confused, and some of them are, because a lot happened in between. And that’s how Lizzie was, and if you want you can have that experience that Lizzie does.

I think this arc, more than any of the others would prompt a viewer to go back and watch Lydia’s videos to try and work out what had happened there, because there’s obviously a disconnect and it is very intentional.

It’s a weird experience. I understand how the Austen purists can have a hard time with the way that thing have gone with our adaptation, but it’s an adaptation – it’s not the same story. It’s based on it, but there are definitely different things, and if it’s going to be modern, there’s no way that things can’t change. It’s funny watching Pride and Prejudice again since we’ve done the show, I’ve been like “Oh wow, I look at this completely differently now.”

I think it’s really cool that we have created this whole world for fans to delve into, and it’s been really neat to see people have really well thought out, indepth conversations and discussions about Lydia’s character and actions – which is kind of cool and kind of crazy.

You were an english literature and theatre major, so this is kind of a perfect combination for you.

I was, definitely. I’m in heaven. It’s crazy to see the things that people get themselves into, but sometimes you have to step back a little bit because you really want to know what everyone is saying, but then it’s like “Oh god, this is getting in my head”.

I’m really glad that our fans care so much, and it’s a really cool way to look at a classic story. It’s really neat to see it through a modern lens because obviously, there’s something about stories like that that keep them relatable. There’s something about Pride and Prejudice that makes it one of the most read stories, still.

I think the thing about Pride and Prejudice is the characters. Obviously Jane Austen had limited space and it really was Lizzie’s story. What you guys have done so well is that you have taken all of the characters but really fleshed them out so that everyone feels like an actual person that you could encounter on the street, or someone that you could find in your own life.

That’s where a lot of the issues have come up with Lydia, because she has become a lot more empathetic than she ever has been, and a lot of people have issues with that.

Exactly.

Talking about your vlogs themselves, Rachel Kiley [writer for The LBD] wrote most, if not all of them?

The only one she did not write was the one that is just of my cat. That one actually wasn’t planned.

Did you guys discuss Lydia’s character? How much input have you had into those as she writes them, or does she go away and write them, and then bring them back for your input afterwards?

As time has gone on it has become clear that we were really on the same page about Lydia and I don’t even know how it happened, it was very gradual. Rachel thankfully has always had Lydia at heart, and has always said “I want to write for this character, I see something in this character that makes me excited.” It was in the first round of Lydia’s vlogs, which are still very much “I’m doing a vlog, watch me, and suscribe to my channel, and here I am with Mary,” that there was this one episode “Babysitting”, which was the fifth episode I think in that round. We almost didn’t shoot it, and when I read it I said we have to have this episode.

It’s the first time you really see Lydia without her guard up, and it became clear to me that Rachel really got where this girl was coming from. It makes me want to cry thinking about it, because that was the beginning of thinking “Oh, there’s so much more here than a lot of people think, or than Lydia wants them to think”. So through that she and I have been pretty much always on the same page with her, which is really cool.

We have a really great relationship and I’m really thankful for her writing such a great story that I really, really love, and have come to care for. She’s very generous to talk to me about what I think, and she was with Wes [Aderhold, plays George Wickham] about George. I just think she’s great and I’m really excited that we’ve gotten to do it.

Talking about Wes, did you read with the actors who were auditioning for Wickham?

Yeah, yeah. I was pretty adamant about wanting to have my two cents in on that.

Did Ashley [Clements, plays Lizzie Bennet] read as well?

Actually she was out of town the first day, so I read Lizzie with all of the Wickhams. They would walk in and be confused. Then we both read with them at the callbacks. Wes was actually the last guy to come in, he almost missed his audition because his agent didn’t tell him about it or something. When he walked in I was like, “It has to be this guy.” Then he came back for the callback and both Ashley and I were like there’s no other choice, he just makes us weak in the knees.

And he’s so sweet and wonderful, and I didn’t get to work with him as much the first time around, I just spilled water on him – but this second time around working with him has been a dream. He really cares about making sure that he has a solid place where he’s coming from with Wickham, and the reasons that he does the things that he does, which sometimes people don’t like to hear – but if you can’t then you can’t act a character.

And he has had a tough job.

He has. I just want to give him all the awards, I think he’s so fantastic. He and I rehearsed together before we shot, but then the day we shot he just brought all these things that to me was like “Oh wow. Oh, you like me.” It was working on my brain! Like, “You are so touchy, so snuggly, and I like that.” He’s just in it, and so present, and that made my job a whole lot easier, so I can’t give Wes enough praise. And he seriously doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, he’s the sweetest most bubbly person, and I’m so proud of him for making all of these people hate him.

It’s a tough gig.

Speaking of the fandom, how different is it to work on a project where instead of having to wait months or years after shooting something, you see an immediate reaction?

It’s weird. It’s been a completely new experience for everybody, I’ve never experienced anything like this, even with my other web show Squaresville. First of all, I love doing web because the turn around is pretty fast and that’s really great as an actor, to just have stuff that you can have out there. and have your fan-base growing and see feedback. But even with Squaresville we shot all of the season all at once, and now it’ll come out for the next six months. Whereas with Lizzie, we shoot every month and so we really are living out the timeline as it goes.

It’s weird and it’s good. In some ways I have really enjoyed it, in terms of my own process just to keep everything Lydia is feeling alive and real – it’s not hard because those things are happening in front of me. Or I get on twitter, and I see George tweeting at Lydia, and it does to me what it is doing to her. Of course I still am a little bit ahead of where everybody is at, and it was weird to know what was going to happen with that and not be able to say anything.

But there’s also – I don’t want to call it a downside, I love interacting with the fans and seeing the things that they make, and the fan art, and the wonderful intelligent posts that they write. But then you also see people that don’t like the direction that you went, or don’t love Lydia’s character at all, and it’s hard for me to not take those things personally.

I know that’s a fault of my own and it’s really been a good learning experience to take everything with a grain of salt. It’s hard though, when you care about something so much, and I really have put a lot of my heart and soul into this story and it’s a really vulnerable place to put yourself in when you’re reading peoples knee-jerk reactions to things.

A lot of the fans also relate you and Lydia very closely, so a criticism of her, especially because this sort of characterization hasn’t been seen before, is almost inherently a criticism of you. How do you switch off and keep your sanity?

I don’t know that I do. I do have to take everything with a grain of salt. It’s been an evolving experience, because obviously at the beginning there were people like “Lydia is so annoying,” and I had to be like “Okay, that means I’m doing my job, that means I’m being the character that I’m supposed to be,” which is why I have a lot of sympathy for Wes in this situation.

But then as time goes on and people actually grew to love her and care more about her, then they got so mad at her for being so awful to Lizzie. I just want to be like, “Guys, it’s a story and it’s not done yet, so just wait!” But I can’t. That’s not my job. Ultimately what it comes down to is that I got cast in this part for reasons and I am this character, and that I need to take care of myself as an actor and as a human being.

I definitely haven’t been perfect in it, and I get very excited to talk about it with people and have maybe said more than I should, but it’s been a great learning experience and overall it hasn’t tainted anything.

Let’s talk about the sex-tape. There has obviously been a lot of discussion about this in the community, some fans have taken issue with it because they didn’t want it to be a sex-related scandal. Why do you think that this was the right way to go?

Obviously it wasn’t my decision – not that I’m saying I don’t support it, because I do completely and whole-heartedly. But I think that no matter what we decided, it would be controversial because the nature of it is controversial.

I actually walked into rehearsal on my first day and Ashley was sitting down and she goes, “Do you wanna know what the scandal’s gonna be?” and I was like “..Okay”, and she said “A sex tape!” And my stomach dropped. I genuinely in that moment was like, “Nobody warned me about this!” and it was a thing that I actually kind of dreaded for a long time, I didn’t know how it was going to play out and I was really nervous about it, because I come from a conservative background, and that’s a little more racy than some of the things I’ve done.

But as time went on, and again with the Lydia vlogs, how we built all of this up, I realized how it was going to happen. I realized that it was going to be a really heartbreaking thing for her, and it became so important to me because I think a lot of girls have been through similar experiences, where she is pressured into doing something she doesn’t want to because of a guy. And I just realized that this story was a lot bigger than me and than Lydia, and that was really cool to me.

I think that it’s something that a lot of people can relate to, and I think it’s really important for girls to look at and realize this is not how I want a guy to treat me. And that means a lot to me, so it has changed from being something I am really scared about – although I still am, that day that the site went up I was literally sitting here on my couch shaking, because, it’s a sex tape! I didn’t know what people were going to think, and I knew that people were going to be mad and shocked.

So I’m still scared about it, but I never thought that it would mean as much to me as it does. I can see where fans are coming from, with it being about sex, but that’s what it was about in the book, and to me it was really important to look at Lydia, who’s perceived as “a slut” through this lens – but this was actually something that meant so much to her and it all came crashing down, and it’s really sad to see her experience that.

By the time this comes out we will know the answer, but in the preview to Monday’s video, Lydia looks pissed. Is there anything you can say about that?

Everybody thinks that Lydia is pissed, but I have seen no one guess who she’s angry at correctly. I don’t know why they chose that part because it’s not very indicative of the whole episode. It’s funny to watch everyone guess what it means by the preview.

I like when they try and do the lip-reading.

It’s amazing when they get it right! I know that it will be a controversial episode for a lot of people, but when I read it, it rang to true to me in the way that I dealt with my first heartbreak. I really related to how Lydia is handling it so much. And it just became so important to me.

The first time that Lizzie ever hugs Lydia is in this episode, ever, in the entire show. And that to me is so cool and so important, and when I realized that it was going to be then – that Lizzie has never once hugged Lydia, Lydia always hugs her first, and I knew it was going to happen in this episode when Lydia is devastatingly heartbroken, and it’s really special.

It’s been really special for me and Ashley and I hope that people, whether or not they disagree with the way the plot is going, I hope that there’s something they can relate to and I’m very excited to hopefully mend Lizzie and Lydia’s relationship through it.

Well I’m excited.

I hope you like it.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our interview with Mary Kate Wiles

Images: Tumblr, Marykatewiles.com