Aimee Hicks: To start off; for anyone that doesn’t know what The Outpost is or what it’s about how would you describe it?
Jessica Green: So, The Outpost is a fantasy adventure series that follows the storyline of my character Talon, who was the last of her kind of the Blackbloods. She makes her way to the outpost to find the people responsible for murdering her family and wiping out her whole entire race pretty much. Along the way, she comes into relationships, and there's swords, and fighting, and magic, and romance, and comedy, and action, I mean, there's quite a bit of everything for everyone.
AH: Talon is the driving force behind the series. The casting team had to get her just right for the show to succeed and in my opinion, they hit the nail on the head with you. What was it about the series that made you want to be a part of it? And what in your own background do you think made you the perfect choice for Talon?
JG: As soon as I saw the role, I really wanted it. I mean, I've been out here auditioning and wanting to get that break and to get a role that I could--I’ve always wanted to do my own stunts and have a very action-packed role. Playing Talon allowed me to do that. As well as, playing something a bit different to what I'm usually cast as. As soon as I read the script, as soon as I saw the tag description, I definitely wanted to be a part of it.
JG: I did pretty much everything apart from the ones that they wouldn't let me do which are like wire pulls. There was a thing where I'm fighting up on this little, tiny little bridge kinda, ledge thing, which was only about a foot wide, so yeah, they made the double do that one because if you fell off that, it was like a two-meter fall. But apart from that, I did pretty much everything.
AH: You have a background in fight training. Do you think that helped you get the part?
JG: A hundred percent. When the original audition came through, "Must have some kind of martial arts training or can be trained easily”, I sent my fight reel straight away along with my audition so I think that definitely helped me out.
AH: The show was filmed on location in Utah and the weather did not look overly favorable at least for these first episodes. Did they warn you in advance of the conditions they were going to deposit you into or was it a shocking surprise?
JG: Oh, it was so cold. Growing up on the Gold Coast, I think our winters they get to something silly, like maybe 14°C and we're all freezing. That's cold for us, but I got to Utah and it got to minus 10 which was insane, I've never experienced anything like it before in my life. And apparently, that's a very mild winter for them. So, I don't know, if we go for a second season and they have a poor winter, I don't know how I'm going to survive but it was really cold. Very different waking up to snow and everything which I absolutely loved.
AH: What was it like filming in Utah? Was it different than projects in Los Angeles or Australia?
JG: Yeah. It was a lot different. I mean, it's very different as well, working with an American crew compared to an Australian one. I love both, I've had amazing experiences with both. The climate and the way you guys do things compared to what we do back home, so, yeah, it was a nice little learning curve.
AH: If the show goes for a second season, are you hoping to film in the summer?
JG: Oh, please. Utah, I heard, gets extreme, so it's either freezing or unbearably hot. So, I guess with what my costume is like for The Outpost, which there's a lot of layers, I think I would die if we filmed in summer. Maybe they could be nice and go in between, so we get a bit of summer, bit of winter.
JG: Definitely the night shoots when it was getting down to minus 10. Those nights were freezing, and the ground had ice on it and everything so you would backflip over a few times and I would have to do a running scene, and I would step on some ice and slip. Obviously, everyone tried to prevent that from happening, but it still did. When it got so cold at night, my mouth actually froze up and I couldn't pronounce my words properly, I couldn't talk properly. It was really strange. So that was probably the harshest kind of environment we had to deal with.
AH: Were there any accidents on set? Any major injuries?
JG: No major injuries. It's quite funny, Anand [Desai-Barochia] who plays Janzo, we had this ongoing joke around the crew, because he would somehow manage to hit his head on anything. Literally, any kind of situation you put him in, he would find something to hit his head on. No major injuries, but he definitely got a couple of headaches a few times.
AH: So you’re saying he’s a bit like his character.
JG: Yeah, he’s definitely a little bit clumsy. It’s quite funny.
AH: Talon has been referred to as an “impatient little twit” and is clearly impulsive. That was fine when her actions only reflected back on her, but now that she’s bound to Gwynn her actions impact them both. Will this mellow her out at all or is it still full speed ahead for Talon?
JG: She is still very Talon, she's not gonna let anyone stop her from what she once came here to do, but I think she does start to soften a little bit. With the growing relationship between Gwynn and Garret and Janzo, because she obviously knows that she'll upset Garret if she gets Gwynn in trouble and vice versa. So, yeah, I think, you have to wait and see.
JG: I feel like a little love triangle is starting to form. It's so hard because she needs to be Team Janzo or Team Garret, but both of them are so great and their characters fantastic. So, I guess it's really up to everyone individually who they want her to fall for. But she's got a huge wall up that either one of them are gonna have to try and get down if they want to get closer to her.
AH: What about Gwynn? We saw in the last episode that Talon reluctantly agreed to a friendship with her. Is that going to keep building? Or are things going to get in the way of them being friends?
JG: It definitely does. I feel like their relationship's quite special, they’re pretty much the only two females, almost, in the outpost. They're both very-very strong-minded in what they want and all that kind of stuff. I think their relationship is quite special, and you do see it grow throughout the series.
AH: Can you tease if they are ever going to open up to each other about their big secrets?
JG: Yes. You'll definitely find out about their secrets by the end of the season.
AH: What can you tease about one of your favorite scenes from an upcoming episode?
JG: Episode 5's pretty exciting. There's a few big things that happen in that episode. It's so hard trying to think back. I can't really remember the order of things. There's definitely some big things and plot-twisters and cliffhangers to come. Definitely keep on the rollercoaster and you'll find out what happens.
AH: I have to confess, that to prepare to chat with you I did track down episodes of Alien Surf Girls, which, by the way, was no easy task.
JG: No, its cause it’s called Lightning Point everywhere else in the world. America's the only place that's called it Alien Surf Girls. I don't think it was the best name for it.
JG: Lightning Point was the first show I ever did. I wasn't acting before then, so that was kind of my jump into the film industry and this world. That's when I discovered how much I loved acting and how that's what I wanted to do. Then I went and started doing courses and started practicing the craft. If you look back to what I was like back then…well, I hope I've definitely grown because I never acted before then.
AH: You were good, but you’ve definitely grown as a performer.
JG: Thank you. I don't know, I've just been lucky with a lot of the roles that I've landed that happened to be [fantasy/sci-fi], pretty much all of them actually. There's obviously Lightning Point, Roman Empires is just about to come out. I play Cleopatra in that. It's obviously based on true events. I guess it's got a bit of fantasy in there. And I was in Ash vs Evil Dead, I played a cyborg. I’ve definitely had a lot of run-ins with the sci-fi genre, but I do enjoy it.
AH: Did you intentionally start looking for jobs in the U.S. or did it just come up that The Outpost filmed here?
JG: I've definitely been hunting down the U.S. for a while now because this is where it all happens. This is where Hollywood is. If you really wanna sink your teeth into it and really crack it in the industry, you need to be here and you need to land things here. I would love Australia to be able to provide the opportunities that America does, but they just don't yet. It's starting to grow. The industry's definitely growing there at the moment, but, then again, the huge films that are all coming to Australia to film, they're all still getting cast here in America. So, it's definitely where you need to be, so that's why I've been knocking on America's door for a while.
AH: That's the nice thing about The Outpost. It's a very international cast. There's people from everywhere on the cast and it's actually kind of nice.
JG: Yeah, we've got people from everywhere around. Robyn's [Malcolm] from New Zealand, I'm obviously Australian, and then we've got Imogen [Waterhouse] and Anand from England. We've got a bit of everyone.
AH: Can you divulge if the season ends on a cliffhanger?
JG: It definitely ends on a cliffhanger. So, you'll have to wait and see about that one.
JG: We should know, actually, in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed, we definitely need people to tune in and watch or watch on the CW app. Because, obviously, it's a summer show, there's not as much promotion. The things kind of getting the show out there to let people know it's on so they can watch it. The more people who tune in and support it, the higher our chances are of hopefully getting a second season and I think it'll be great because you'll be able to find out so much more that the writers have in store for the storyline.
AH: Do you think it's looking good for that pick-up?
JG: So far, yeah. The reviews from the fans and the engagement that we've been getting, 'cause we live tweet every episode, we've been getting wonderful response from the fans. And we just did Comic-Con, and we had a line going out the door with people wanting signatures and talking about the show. And at that time it had only aired two episodes, so people are definitely getting behind it.
AH: Who is the on set jokester?
JG: Probably me. I like to have a joke around with everyone. And it was actually quite funny, coming from Australia we're very open about what we talk about and kind of say whatever slips out of our mouths. We like to make a joke here and there, and you have good banter and it was quite funny, I think it took the crew a little while to kinda pick up on my personality and everything. No, it was a lot of fun, so yeah, I think I'm the one who pulled the most pranks and everything.
AH: So it sounds like you are a tiny bit like Talon.
JG: A little bit. There's just a little bit of her that lives inside me, definitely.
AH: Whose your favorite scene partner?
JG: Oh, my gosh, everyone. It'd be hard…maybe Robyn and Andrew [Howard], if I could choose both because they're so experienced and they're so amazing at what they do. I felt like every scene I had with them I learned and I grew, and just watching them, being up close and getting to watch what they do, just incredible.
AH: Who is your favorite character on the show, besides your own?
JG: I don't know, I love Janzo. He's just so funny and goofy and just dorky and he's just so lovable as well, so I think definitely Janzo.
AH: What was your favorite episode to film?
AH: How long ago did you finish filming?
JG: We finished filming in April, so the turn-around has been super, super fast.
AH: What was your most difficult scene to film?
JG: Probably the night ones, just with the temperature it was so cold. I actually had to put my face right up against the heater. Everyone was doing it. Our director actually burnt off his eyebrows because he put his face so close to the heater. Literally, my mouth and my hands were shutting off because it was so cold. I couldn't talk properly, that was definitely a real challenging scene to try and not chatter your teeth and try and get the words out sounding properly and everything while absolutely freezing.
AH: I think I know the answer to this question, but which of the character’s you’ve played is your favorite?
JG: I think Talon would have to be it. I absolutely love everything about her and I had so much fun playing her, so definitely her.
AH: You seem to like to travel a lot. What is your favorite place to travel?
JG: I'd say Mexico was incredible. I had such an amazing time there. They've got so many beautiful things to offer, and the culture and just everything was incredible, so definitely there.
AH: To end things, what can fans look forward to for the rest of the season?
JG: Big cliffhangers and plot twists and laughs and things that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There's a lot to come and it just gets more and more exciting as the season goes on. Definitely hang in there and wait and see how the season plays out.
The Outpost airs on the CW every Tuesday at 9/8c and internationally on Syfy International. Roman Empire is currently streaming on Netflix.
Special thanks to Jessica Green and her manager for the headshot images (first and last images) used in this article.
