Interview: Lena Hall Talks Playing Miss Audrey in SNOWPIERCER on TNT

TNT's upcoming series Snowpiercer is a television adaptation is based on the graphic novel series and film from Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho. This adaptation deals with class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival playing out amongst the remnants of humanity - who inhabit a perpetually moving train with 1001 cars that circles the globe.

One of the series' stars is Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Lena Hall, who plays Miss Audrey. We spoke with Hall about her character and what it was like to sing on camera for the show!

Read the full interview below!

Snowpiercer premieres May 17 on TNT in the U.S., and May 25 on Netflix in the UK.

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How did you get involved with Snowpiercer?

I auditioned and our casting director, she's amazing, she really fought for me. I actually auditioned for a totally different role. And then when the switch happened and the new showrunner came on and the new director, they asked me if it was okay if they had me sing and do what I do on the show and I was like, "Absolutely." So then they changed the character that I had been playing before to the current character I'm playing now, so Miss Audrey. But before, I wasn't singing or anything like that and it was very different. So now, I feel very lucky to have a role that was basically tailor made for what I do, since I was already involved in the show. They just looked me up and figured out what I did best.

What is it like to play Miss Audrey?

I love it. I'm new to television and films, so I'm not as comfortable as I am on stage and singing. It's nice to have those songs to feel comfortable and show what I do. The character herself is really great because, she's fairly similar to me in that I've always been kind of an inbetweener, someone people come to as a healer. I never know why but people definitely come to me for healing and [someone that is] neutralized in this space. So it's almost like it's the ultimate place you can go, where you're not judged, you can do whatever you need. It's an open space. There is no side, there is no right or wrong. It's a place that's open for emotional expression. And the character herself is very much like an empath and can feel people's energy and can translate that energy into her performance so that it speaks so personally to each and every passenger on that train. I think it's such a cool character, because when you think of apocalyptic story, you forget that people have lost so much and have gone through so much trauma already and they're continuing to go on this traumatic journey. Miss Audrey is basically the trained therapist for people to come to and share their grief with her in confidence, and she's able to really help them relieve all of that pain and suffering in order to survive in such close quarters.

What was it like to work with Daveed Diggs and the rest of the cast?

Daveed is just a doll. He's just such a warm person and so caring and loving and he is honestly just such a joy to work with. I really couldn't have asked for a better leading man. But also the cast in general, everyone involved, we've all become really close because we've been through this wild roller coaster of a TV show. We've all gotten really close as time has gone by, so this is a family you're gonna watch on TV. I think the cast is admirable, everybody's so talented and very, very unique in their own way. You know, working with Jennifer [Connelly], I've never really worked with someone who can give these kind of performances so consistently, at all hours of the day. We did a scene at the very end and we didn't start filming until like, two in the morning. It was so late and it was such an intense scene and she just delivered over and over and over again. When we wrapped at 6 a.m., I was so in awe of her and I was so impressed by her connection to her emotions and how she can just call upon them. The whole cast is just so fun, really very professional, but also we can all goof around as well together.

How did you adjust to performing in such a small space?

Well, it kind of reminds me of Café Carlyle, super small and intimate. Everybody's really close to you and it kind of reminded me of that a little bit, except it was just one song over and over again. But it was fun to perform for my castmates. A lot of them have never heard me sing before and so it was nice to be able to perform for them even though it was the same song over and over again. Whenever I film a scene where I sing, I always sing live and it always depends on the editor - [if] they want to use the live vocals or not. But I always try to get them to use a live vocal because I know that it's going to be just as good as a pre-recorded vocals. I sing the whole thing live, every shot, every angle, everything. And I like that because it keeps you connected with the song.

It must've also been an adjustment performing in front of a camera instead of on stage.

Yeah, well, you have to be less loud with your facial expressions, which is really hard to do when you sing and you're hitting a high note. So you have to let it go and be a performer and let yourself be comfortable with that. And I think for me, I've watched the whole first season, and I definitely saw an acting arc happening for me as I got more comfortable with the camera. It's interesting for me because I'm pretty new with a camera in my face. I'm not quite comfortable yet, I don't feel like a master at this craft at all, even close. So it's definitely a learning curve that is happening on set every day and I think the more seasons we do, certainly the better off I will get with singing and performing on camera and also just even acting.

Does this make you want to do more on-camera performing?

No, I would love to do more. I mean, I'm dying to do a movie musical. I did one, it was an independent and that was fun. I'd love to keep working on this craft, but I do miss Broadway a lot. I miss performing a lot! I miss it so much. So eventually I hope to get to a place where I can kind of film half the year, and then do a show the other half of the year.

That would be great!

Yeah, so I can go back and forth and get that audience adrenaline. It's like you're an adrenaline junkie when you perform and I really miss that adrenaline that you get when you perform. It's very different on camera because you don't get that same adrenaline rush that you do when you're only allowed to do it once and you've got to nail it. So, I do miss that adrenaline from performing all the time.

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