On the drama series Lost Girl, airing Mondays on Syfy, actress Ksenia Solo plays Kenzi, a con artist and thief, who is extremely street-smart and resourceful. She is the only true confidante of Bo (Anna Silk), a Succubus that feeds off the sexual energy of humans, and her wide array of contacts makes her very useful. Regardless of the darkness in her past, Kenzi’s focus is now on protecting Bo from a world that will never understand her as well as she does.
During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Ksenia Solo talked about what attracted her to this role and series, that she’s always loved fantasy and sci-fi, the cool wardrobe and looks she has as Kenzi, getting to work little bits of herself into the role (like getting to speak Russian and play the drums), how tight the whole cast has gotten, and promises that you can always expect the unexpected with this show. She also talked about how much she enjoys personally interacting with fans, her thoughts on social media, her shock and disappointment that Locke & Key (in which she played the role of Dodge) never got picked up to series, how proud she is of her involvement with Black Swan, and how amazing the Life Unexpected fans still are (even though the show was canceled awhile ago). Check out what she had to say after the jump
.
Collider: What initially attracted you to this show and this character?
Ksenia Solo: I think when we all did the pilot, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. What we did know was that this was obviously touching upon a subject that nobody else had touched upon. Everything is about vampires and werewolves, and it’s always the same formula. I think this show is so cool because it has so many different elements. All the best elements of television are put into this one show. To me, it’s very NCIS meets True Blood with a little taste of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. That really attracted me. And for most of my career, I had always played very dramatic roles, so the fact that Kenzi was the comic relief of this show was just really attractive to me because I’d always wanted to do comedy.
Are you typically a fan of sci-fi and genre stories, or was it the other elements of the story that most appealed to you?
Solo: I’ve always loved fantasy. I’ve always loved sci-fi. It’s not like I can list off my favorite sci-fi shows or movies, but I just love being taken into a different world. I’m a huge fan of Steven Spielberg. I’m a huge fan of George Lucas. I’ve always loved it. For an actor, it’s really fun to be able to be on this show, where you’re surrounded by different creatures, and we get to do all these effects and fight scenes. All of that was definitely part of the attraction.
At what point did you get to bring your Russian heritage to the character?
Solo: I was born in Eastern Europe, in Latvia, and I’m fluent in Russian. I think the people that created this show thought it was really cool that I was fluent in this other language. It definitely was incorporated, once I was cast. I get to show my language skills, every now and again. It’s funny because I’m so used to acting in English that any time I have these moments where I have to speak Russian, it definitely takes a different part of my brain to pull it off, but it’s always nice and fun.
Does it feel like you’re playing different characters because you get to go through so many different wigs and looks and changes to your appearance?
Solo: Yeah. Kenzi is such a chameleon and she’s always in disguise. It depends on the case, but she always looks like a completely different person, and sometimes acts like a completely different person. For me, in my life and in my career, I really love to play different roles. I never want to play the same role twice. In a way, that’s definitely incorporated in Kenzi, and how she’s just got so many different sides to her. It’s really an actor’s dream to be able to go to work and play. It’s not often, especially in television, that you get to really play. There aren’t boundaries, like there are with other roles. That’s definitely something I love about her.
Have you had any wigs or looks that you’ve been particularly fond of?
Solo: To be honest with you, I’ve gone through so many different looks, on a daily and weekly basis, that it’s all just one big blur. It’s always fun to have pink hair and purple hair, and crazy hairstyles and clothes. I think my favorite is one of my simpler looks, which we used more in Season 2, where I have a lot of green in my hair. I don’t think I’m cool enough to pull it off, in real life, so I’ll just live vicariously through all Kenzi’s different looks.
The relationship between Bo and Kenzi is such an interesting part of this show. What was it like to develop that relationship and dynamic between your characters, and how has it been to work with Anna Silk?
Solo: The Bo-Kenzi relationship is really unique. I think every person – me, definitely – wishes that they could have a friendship like this. These are two girls that are bonded together for life. It even goes beyond a sisterhood bond that they have. They both are willing to die for each other, at a moment’s notice, without ever thinking about it. Kenzi, especially, because the way that Bo and Kenzi meet is under a very strange set of circumstances. Kenzi is forever grateful to Bo for saving her life. The fact that these girls would die for each other is just really, truly special.
And, working with Anna [Silk] is a dream. She not only is an extremely talented actress, but she is the sweetest and one of the funniest people I have ever met. We have a great time. We’re gearing up for Season 3 soon, and as the show progresses, our bond progresses as people, and as Bo and Kenzi. We’ve gotten to the point where we just feel like family. Like Anna says, you feel each other’s rhythms, so we already know what the other person is going to say, before they even say it. It’s definitely a dream, especially when you have to spend so many hours with someone. If you guys don’t have that acting chemistry, or that chemistry as people, it makes your job really hard. I definitely feel lucky that it’s her. She always makes it fun. It’s like a marriage. She’s like my husband or wife, in a way.
Kenzi has some great moments with everyone on the show. Did the relationship between you guys, as an ensemble, really click right away?
Solo: Yeah. Our excitement for the show really brought us together, right away, especially me, Anna [Silk] and Kris [Holden-Ried]. We just really bonded, right off the bat. It just felt like instant family. We all meshed like a perfect puzzle piece, if I can say it so poetically. We’ve spent so much time together. When you work together so much, you really develop this bond. Gearing up for Season 3, we all can feel each other. We can feel each other’s styles and rhythms. It gets easier, as you go. We all just come in and get to have a great time with these people that we really, really love.
Read the rest of the article over here
