Teen Wolf’s Arden Cho Teases Season 5 and Talks About Taking Chances in Life and On Screen [Exclusive] 

I always get excited when a new season of Teen Wolf is about to begin. I’ve enjoyed watching Scott become a true alpha and getting to know all the members of his pack. It’s even better that this is a pack of Scott’s choosing: no one can join unless they’ve earned their place. If you’re in Scott’s pack, you know that you can count on any one of its members to have your back in a fight or during a life crisis.

When Arden Cho’s Kira Yukimura was introduced, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew she was coming onto the show as a possible love interest for Tyler Posey’s Scott McCall. But as a huge fan of Scott and Allison, I wasn’t sure how I’d react. It turns out Arden was “a huge Scott and Allison fan” as well. But when Kira was introduced, it was “a different kind of relationship,” she tells me. In fact, when Arden first heard about the role, “a lot was unknown to” her. She tells me she didn’t “know if Kira was good or bad. I didn’t know what they had planned for her. All I knew was that she was new and that she might have some supernatural power” and that “she was going to be going through something that Scott might be able to help with,” she explains.

This season, it seems like Kira’s kitsune abilities might get her into some trouble. Arden teases, “This season there’s definitely something going on with Kira and her power.” She hints that “maybe it has something to do with her trickster spirit.” But more than that, Kira’s “not really sure what’s happening.” She adds that it’s “hard to comprehend, so we’ll definitely see her struggling with understanding the fullness of her powers and possibly having trouble controlling it.”

How will this affect her relationships on the show? Arden tells me that she, Lydia and Malia “have been through so much. They’re the only ones who fully understand what’s happening.” She goes on to talk about the special bond Kira has with Lydia. “The thing I love about the relationship, too, between Lydia and Kira is that they’re so different and their strengths are incredibly different, but together they really compliment each other very well,” she explains.

She also tells me, “working with Tyler’s great. He’s a good number 1 and keeps the whole set very chill.” She adds that “everyone has different ideas for what’s next,” in terms of what’s in store for them beyond senior year, but sometimes she’s surprised they’re actually going to graduate. She jokes, “In my opinion, none of these guys have time to go to school with all the stuff happening. I mean, come on. When do they ever have time to do their homework and study?” She thinks maybe “they should all fail senior year and do it again.” Well, that would be one way to keep this pack together.

Away from acting, Arden is very involved in the arts. She’s “never been good with words or other forms of expression,” but “the arts always helped” her with that. Other than acting, she also likes the creative outlet that working in fashion and music provides. In addition, she gives lectures to college kids around the country. Arden thinks they have so much to worry about that she wants to make sure they’re “really enjoying that time and learning as much” as they can. “There’s so much opportunity there,” she explains, to “try different things, join different clubs and learn different skill sets. A lot of what I talk about is not being afraid to go after something you love, whether you might think it’s too late. It’s never really too late.”

Arden got into fashion and acting after she graduated college and she still considers herself to be “learning and growing. I don’t think I’m quite there yet.” She likes to encourage these kids to “go after their dreams and really make the most of it.” That applies to herself as well. You may have heard about her watch brand with Leonard & Church. She’s always loved collecting the high end accessory and explains that “they wanted to create something different than the typical fashion watch.” She was “pretty involved” in the design and she’s “really, really happy with the quality.”

In talking about her passion for acting, music and fashion, I wondered how Arden finds inspiration for all these endeavors. “Acting gives me life and music is food for the soul and fashion has stretched my creative muscles. I love them all,” Arden explains. “I love Kira because she’s very strong and she’s very confident. She just goes for it. She doesn’t care what people think. She’s in that realm of strong, confident women.” Away from Teen Wolf, Arden would “love to do more kick-ass stuff. I’d love to do action films, things that are edgier as well.”

Season 5A description, from MTV:

On the eve of Senior Year, Scott and his friends find themselves facing the possibility of a future without each other, a next phase of their lives that might take them in different directions despite their best intentions. Little do they know that outside forces are already plotting to break the pack apart long before they ever see graduation. New villains that use a combination of science and the supernatural for a malevolent and mysterious purpose that will eventually pit Scott and his friends against their greatest enemy yet.

Check out Teen Wolf’s two-night premiere event starting Monday, June 29th at 10/9c on MTV.