Lost in Space’s Taylor Russell: I channelled the spirit of Katniss

Lost in Space’s Taylor Russell: I channelled the spirit of Katniss

0 comments 📅14 April 2018, 14:42

It’s obvious from the get go that Taylor Russell’s character in Lost in Space, is a high achiever – for one thing, she’s a doctor at age 18. Russell says that fact immediately gave her a sense of who Judy Robinson is, but it was a comment in the casting process that really helped her nail the role.

“Being a doctor puts her into a certain category of person – it takes a lot to be a doctor at 18, so you automatically know that she’s worked really hard and is very determined and takes on a lot of responsibility,” she tells MyMBuzz’s Matt Chapman.

“But my first audition was with the casting director and they compared her to Katniss Everdeen, in her determination and her will to just jump in and do what she feels is right without thinking. When they gave me that as a reference it helped me find her even more.

“What I loved about Katniss is that she was this badass, strong character but that didn’t mean she wasn’t emotionally vulnerable and her heart wasn’t on her sleeve. Judy is still all of those things – she’s very strong but she’s also an incredibly loving person, who just wants to protect her family. So she’s strong because she cares so much.”

The whole Robinson family goes through a pretty tough ordeal early on, but Judy’s experience is particularly affecting. Russel actually found the experience to play that shock and trauma from elements of her own life.

“I haven’t had the easiest life because I moved a lot when I was younger. We lived in 14 different houses,” she says. “I’ve had a different situation than anybody would know of, I guess. I definitely used a lot of images from my own life to get to that place. Maybe it’s sadistic but I guess in this profession that’s a good thing.”

Fans of the original series of Lost in Space will also recall that she and Don West (played here by Ignacio Serricchio) have a romantic relationship. So is anything like that on the cards in this Netflix update?

“You’ll have to ask our showrunner,” she says, enigmatically. “I don’t know, we’ll see. My lips are sealed.”

All 10 episodes of Lost in Space are now airing on Netflix.

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