The Strain Preview: “The Battle For Red Hook” + Natalie Brown Talks Kelly’s Evolution [Interview] 

[Warning: General spoilers ahead]

One of the viewer bonuses of the current ultra-competitive TV landscape is that we get new programming on holiday weekends. Sunday night, FX gives us a new episode of The Strain, and it’s a gloves off kind of affair as Eph redoubles his efforts to protect Zach, Dutch navigates her romantic entanglements, Eichorst makes a move, Justine realizes exactly what the hell she’s fighting, and everybody in Red Hook (minus Quinlan, Palmer, and Gus) has to go big or go home. Bonus–formal, fancy new title credits!

We joined a press call last week with Natalie Brown, who plays mama Bear Strigoi Kelly, who’s also in the mix this week, and we asked about the many layers of her performance, as she’s played Human Kelly, Animalistic Strigoi Kelly, and now Sentient Strigoi Kelly. “Being able to experience Kelly as a human turned vampire turned back to human-looking is a challenge I really relished. After having gotten the physical affectations of a newly turned Strigoi, the challenge at the beginning of season two was letting go a lot of those affectations and becoming more regal, if you will,” she explains.

“It’s been a process of adding and eliminating and being expertly guided by our vamp choreographer, Roberto Campanella, as well as the writers and directors. It’s a matter of choosing what to keep and what to throw away…what to layer on, and having that sense of restraint at all times. In ‘Intruders,’ it was a matter of restraint. Keeping a lid on my own human tendencies and speaking less articulately and moving more mechanically is something you work hard as an actress not to do, but our director, Kevin Dowling, was quick to remind me of when to hold back and when to let the foot off the pedal, so to speak. [Kelly] does have access to all her memories and emotions, so it’s like hearing an old familiar song and knowing all the words. It’s like an old, familiar sweater.”

Emotional layers aren’t the only thing involved either–Brown  says she’s the longest one in the makeup chair–a whopping four and a half hours to get just the right look. “[A] costume change and a little bit of lipstick can go a long way to making even a Strigoi happy, but the [prosthetic] process is something a I really enjoy. The gifted artists who work on hair and makeup make my job really easy,” she says. “They definitely bring the terror before I set foot on set. [Quinlan and Bolivar have more body makeup], but I have a lot more details and transfers (layers of silicone that blend the prosthetic pieces) to make the make up seamless to allow Kelly to be more expressive.”

Kelly’s tiny henchkids, The Feelers, were cast through local dance studios in Toronto. “They hired some of the most gifted dancers and acrobats. They are so physically gifted, that they’re creepy-looking enough on their own, but they’re aided [onscreen] with speeding up their movements and…trampolines to help with the springing effect,” she points out. “Generally, they become pretty creepy once they’re processed in hair and makeup. They were a joy to work with. We had a lot of fun playing make-believe and turning some of the darkest subject matter into the most fun days on set.”

Brown also worked on her own physicality to help capture Kelly’s movements. “I love attempting my own stunts. The stunt coordinators know I’m game to give it a go as long as it’s safe. I was not able to leap off a second story onto Corey Stoll’s back [last week]–that’s when they bring in the professionals. I studied different movement classes and tried to prepare more physically for this season,” she shares. “[Everything] from Flamenco to Muay Thai to clowning, mime and physical theater. I wanted to know what it felt like to be more physically foreboding without having to attack. Depending on what the episode demands, it was a matter of what physicality I was restraining vs. acting on… what human tendencies vs. Strigoi tendencies I’m playing with.”

Her favorite episode so far was last week’s “Intruders,” and she’s fond of the moment from the first season when Strigoi Kelly turned her BFF. “I thought it was a really rich scene to play with so many elements going on,” she recalls. “And that fine line between human and vampire and discovering what that turn felt like as [a character and actor].” This season, she was thrilled Kelly got to join Eichorst in his makeup room.

The Strain airs Sundays at 10/9c on FX. Here’s a sneak peek of “The Battle For Red Hook.” Also keep an eye out online in the coming weeks for a condensed time-lapse video Brown did of her daily routine in the makeup chair. She teased that she’s more chatty during the process than Rupert Penry-Jones, who tends to be more meditative while he’s turned into Quinlan.