Chloe De Los Santos is a talented teen actress from Australia who won our hearts as Lily Castillo in NBC’s time-travel drama La Brea.
Since the series began, Lilly has had quite a journey, and Chloe has handled the mature and complicated material like a champ.
TV Fanatic had a chance to chat with Chloe about her favorite thing about Lilly, working with her castmates, and how she handled such emotional material.
What is your favorite thing about playing Lilly and the series in general?
My favorite thing about playing Lilly was getting to explore a new character and bringing her story to life. Lilly has certainly had a journey, and she’s quite conflicted, so she was an interesting character to play.
My favorite part about the series was all the twists and turns with the different storylines. When we would get each script for the following episode, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen.
The fans and I had so many theories about the Castillo sisters, ranging from they were Amish to a cult for what they were hiding. What were some of your guesses early on?
I knew most of what was going to happen with the sisters, but some stuff came really unexpectedly. I’ve loved seeing what other people thought was going on as the season came out, and some people have been right straight away.
I noticed that most people were all asking the questions that we wanted them to ask, so that was great to see!
You handled that emotional material with such material. Tell us about those scenes when you found the dead body and then told Ty you were abducted.
Thank you so much! Both of those scenes were very emotional. The dead body was a shock to all the people in the sinkhole, and the fact that Lilly found him was an important moment.
Although it wasn’t scary (because “Eddie” and I were chatting right before we shot this), I tried to find the range of emotions that someone would go through coming across something like that.
The scene with Ty was actually one of my favorite scenes to film, even though it was freezing and raining on the day. It was a very close moment, and Lilly opened up to someone about what had happened to her for the first time. It was a relief for her but also painful.
She desperately wants to escape the situation she’s in but also feels some attachment to Veronica but is afraid of her at the same time. So that’s what I based my performance off, trying to understand all the emotions she would be going through at that moment.
I’m grateful to the other cast, who all helped me feel comfortable in these moments and made sure I was also ok afterward. Everyone on set was very caring.
You’ve worked the most with Lily Santiago(Veronica) and Chiké Okonkwo (Ty). How did you develop such realistic relationships with each of them?
Awww, these guys!! Lily was one of the first cast members I met, and she’s probably the person I’ve gotten to know and hang out with the most. We were close buds from the very start, and both of our energy just bounced off each other.
Honestly, she is that big sister figure to me in real life (without the abusive history, of course!), and I love and look up to her a lot which I think helps when you have an on-screen relationship like that. She’s incredible.
Chiké I met probably last, but I was super pumped to meet him. I remember I watched one of his live videos on Instagram before I met him, and I remember thinking that he was so humble and full of knowledge and stories (I may have been a little star-struck when I met him).
He’s always making me laugh, helping me with my work, and we would discuss how to deliver lines and things like that. He’s such a kind person, always willing to help, and very collaborative. Also, we have the coolest handshake of all time.
He is just an incredible guy, and it was effortless to feel comfortable around him. I miss them both so much!!
Will Lilly and Veronica be able to overcome this and repair their relationship?
I’m not sure!! I basically know as much as the fans do and a little bit more. I hope the “sisters” can repair their strained relationship, though.
Do you think we will meet Lilly’s parents next season?
I’m not sure, but that would be cool. I do wonder how Lilly would feel being back with her family after such an ordeal. That kind of thing changes people.
Who would be some of your dream castings?
My dream casting would probably be Florence Pugh or Scarlett Johansson because they’re my favorite actresses and the same team on La Brea. After all, they were all awesome to work with.
From looking at your Instagram, it looks like you and your castmates have a lot of fun together. Can you share with us some of the most memorable behind-the-scenes moments?
Oooh!! So many memorable memories on set, it’s hard to pick some faves. One favorite was when the tarp we were filming under started collecting the rainwater and when I walked off-screen and had to wait by the camera, it dumped all the water on my head while they were still shooting.
Everyone off-screen was dying of laughter (silently), but they had to finish that take.
The car scene with me and Lily (Veronica) in ep 4 was another, mostly because I got to sleep in the car but also the part when we looked up at the sky because it was super hard to keep a straight face sitting next to each other trying to look serious.
What other projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a feature film in Melbourne. I can’t say the name yet, but it’s been super fun to film so far, with another bunch of really great people.
You can catch Chloe on La Brea Season 1, which airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.