Guest Star Goodness Q&A: Supernatural’s Lindsey McKeon [INTERVIEW] 

Season nine of the CW’s Supernatural is a thing of the past. We are now in what can only be considered a painful hellatus thanks to the tragic yet exciting “Do You Believe in Miracles?” ending. Dean is a demon. I still can’t get used to that. Looking back at the latest chapter in Supernatural‘s history, I think it was fascinating how the season started with Sam as an angel and ended with Dean as a demon. Great bookends I never expected to see.

The ninth season also saw the return of characters like our favorite reaper, Tessa. In “Stairway to Heaven,” she fell on Dean’s sword (the First Blade) bringing an end to an intriguing relationship and one of the show’s amazing recurring characters. In this Guest Star Goodness Q&A, we talked to actress Lindsey McKeon who shared her thoughts on Tessa’s death, working with Jensen Ackles and some of her upcoming movies. Here’s a tease: she faces a Chupacabra in one of them.

TV GOODNESS: Any Supernatural episode that featured Tessa [“In My Time of Dying,” “Death Takes a Holiday,” “Appointment in Samarra,” “Stairway to Heaven”] was always one of my favorite episodes.

Lindsey McKeon: You are awesome. Thank you for saying that.

TV GOODNESS: What did you enjoy about playing Tessa?

Lindsey: Honestly, I enjoy so much about her. I enjoy the relationship between her and Dean. The sort of, back and forth between these two strong-willed individuals. And the mutual respect that they have for one another, but also kind of annoyance at times. It excites me as an actress to be able to get into a character that isn’t human…well she’s human form but she’s not a human being. She’s from these other realms so she’s more spiritually aware. She has more wisdom, more knowledge and she gets to come earthbound to bring some of this awareness and information forward. So to me that’s exciting.

TV GOODNESS: The way Tessa began, she was there to reap Dean. And in “Stairway to Heaven,” Dean was integral in the way Tessa died. Which I don’t like by the way. I don’t like that Tessa died…

Lindsey: I know. A lot of people are really upset about it.

TV GOODNESS: Well how does that make you feel?

Lindsey: I’m grateful. It means they liked my character. For me, I just hope I always do the acting and the character justice. I think what they [fans] don’t like is the storyline aspect of it. So that’s always a good thing for me.

TV GOODNESS: Well what did you think of the way Tessa’s story ended?

Lindsey: Well, for me, it’s cool. For me as an actor to get into that headspace of why this character is doing what she’s doing…and to connect it to a greater good and a greater purpose is…it’s really, really exciting for me to delve into. I don’t see it from the outside in. I don’t feel like ‘Oh my gosh, she’s dying’ or ‘Oh my gosh, she’s killing herself. Why would she do such a thing?’ I get inside those thoughts and feelings of the character and then work that way. And so to me, that’s entertaining because that’s not something I get to do on a daily basis. Nor is that something that I would ever do.

TV GOODNESS: There was that scene where Tessa explained to Dean how awful things were for her because she couldn’t help the souls get to heaven, they were all stuck here on earth. That must have been emotional for you to play.

Lindsey: It certainly was. And I’m so glad that the director, Guy [Norman Bee] was on board for me to play it emotionally because normally from the angels you don’t see that much emotion. And I know there’s conflict on whether Tessa’s a reaper or an angel…she was a reaper now she’s an angel, storyline stuff but…it was neat for me to show that aspect of it because she is stuck now, sort of in this human world and she can’t get up to heaven and she can’t do the job she was meant to do. And that affects her.

TV GOODNESS: What was it like to work with Jensen over the four episodes that you were a part of?

Lindsey: Each time, different. We’ve actually…we’ve known each other for 15, 16 years now…I worked on Saved by the Bell: The New Class when he was on [Days of our Lives]. So we were at NBC in Burbank, a stage away from each other and he was friends with another actor on my set. So I met him way back when. So every time I go up there  [Vancouver] it’s just sort of like meeting with an old buddy. It’s great to see him and catch up and see how he’s grown and evolved and has a family. And every time I go up on the set everybody is so friendly and so playful that it just lends itself to such a good time.

TV GOODNESS: What has it been like to be a part of this Supernatural universe and the fandom? Has it been a different experience even with having been on One Tree Hill?

Lindsey: It is sort of the same. Because the fans are so supportive. And so into these shows that someone else I was talking to said, ‘is it interesting that you have been a  part of all of these sort of cult shows from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Drop Dead Diva, One Tree Hill, Supernatural, Veronica Mars…’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God! I never even thought of it that way.’ I didn’t realize that but that is really funny. So it is interesting and exciting because you really have fans that love these shows and back them wholeheartedly. Whatever shows they are, this is their show. And sometimes this is their life. And, yes, I’ve experienced it a bit with One Tree Hill as well. And what’s so interesting is that some people will cross over and watch…keep up with the different shows. But if you’re a One Tree Hill fan, you’re a One Tree Hill fan for life. If you are a Supernatural fan, you are a diehard Supernatural fan. And there’s really no straying from that.

TV GOODNESS: What was your favorite Tessa moment, scene or episode and why?

Lindsey: This episode was probably my favorite just because of where I am as an actor and as a human being, this was my favorite work by far.

TV GOODNESS: Why?

Lindsey: I really loved the raw emotionality of that final scene. I really enjoyed being able to share that place. And then…the scene prior to it where I am so determined and set in my ways while Dean is interrogating me. From the inside I just have so much conviction about what I see and why I’m doing it. But from the outside when I watch it, I’m like ‘Oh my God, she’s evil! She is so intense!’ But that is definitely not how it feels on the inside. So to me that is always such a cool thing because we look at people from the outside constantly and we see that person as evil or that person’s a bitch or, you know, we label it. But to get inside of that human being, they’re not sitting there saying ‘I’m evil, I’m a bitch, I’m a horrible person.’ They are just so convicted in what they believe and they are acting out of that. And we see how they look from the outside. For me it was really cool to get to the inside of that. And then watch it play out and I’m like, oh my gosh. That was completely different than it felt.

TV GOODNESS: You have all these other film projects going on. Can you talk about Indigenous?

Lindsey: Indigenous is a horror film about five friends who go to Panama for a fun, drinking trip. And my boyfriend is super curious about the jungles there and other teams that have gone missing. And we meet some Panamanian locals and they tell us about this indigenous creature — the Chupacabra — and that we’re not supposed to go in the jungle but…

TV GOODNESS: You did…

Lindsey: Of course we decide to go in the jungle [laughter] and a lot of drama occurs. That was just in Tribeca and at Cannes being sold. So fingers crossed that it will be out towards the end of the year. And then Flock of Dudes is a comedy that I’ve done that is a sort of bromance between a bunch of comedian/actors and their girlfriends played by Hannah Simone [Cece, New Girl], Hilary Duff [Lizzie McGuire]…Ray Liotta‘s in it and it has a huge cast, a huge amount of people in it. And that should be out towards the end of the year as well.

TV GOODNESS: Are you going to be doing any more TV?

Lindsey: I’m sure that I will.

TV GOODNESS: Because we love seeing you on TV.

Lindsey: I love TV too. But I’ve always had a very, very special place in my heart for film. But, you know, everybody crosses over these days.

TV GOODNESS: It’s crazy.

Lindsey: It is so crazy.

TV GOODNESS: What do you think about that trend?

Lindsey: Partially I think it’s really cool. Because for me it’s wonderful to now see these great shows on television with really great acting. So obviously as an actor it’s like, ‘Woo, hooray!’ But at the same time when you’re auditioning or going out there like, ‘Oh, we offered this recurring part to a name. Oh…we offered this to somebody. Oh…there’s this star and this star and this star.’ And you’re like, really guys? Really? You didn’t enjoy enough your film star days and now you had to come to TV too?

TV GOODNESS: What shows are on your must see list?

Lindsey: Newsroom is my favorite. Girls is my favorite. Homeland was at the top but I wouldn’t call it my favorite anymore. I just watched Penny Dreadful which is super gory for me. But the acting is fantastic.

What did you guys think of the way Tessa’s story came to an end?