Interview By Carol Wright | Photography: Lydia O. Canbakal
We got to chat with Skye Roberts about how she has grown as an actress, working with Diane Guerrero on the character Kay Challis, and season three of Doom Patrol.
Who are some of your acting inspirations?
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Emma Thompson. I love Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada (also Meryl Streep in that), and The Hustle. I love Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman, X-men, The Wolverine and he was great at the Hollywood Bowl – he loves to tap like I do! Oh and I love Emma Thompson in Cruella, Nanny McPhee, Beauty and the Beast, Brave and Harry Potter.
You started acting incredibly young. Since working on Doom Patrol how do you think that you’ve grown as an actress?
I feel like I’ve been developing characters better. I think I’ve become better through real-life experience and professional experience. Professionally, I’ve been on set a lot of times now and I’ve had a lot of coaching, done a lot of plays, commercials, print ads, I’ve been busy. This past season of Doom Patrol I had to convince my Mom to take me to Atlanta, she was concerned I might get homesick on location for five months. Mom got homesick, I didn’t. I think my mind has expanded since I’ve grown older. I’ve really enjoyed traveling to places like New York, Paris, Italy, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, Ibiza, and London. One of my favorite places is New York – there’s so much art, fashion, and food. Walking down the street in New York makes me feel like I’m in a fashion show. And the art! It’s the best. My Mom took me to the MoMA and I was fascinated and inspired by all the Picasso they have in there. When I was standing in front of one of his early works, I turned to my Mom and said ‘I love this guy, he’s really good!’ my Mom started laughing and told me it was Picasso. My love for fashion and food and art is renewed every time I visit New York! And acting! Acting to me is like art.
Tell our readers a bit about your character Kay Challis and what you do to prepare for the role?
I work with my acting coach Kymberly Harris to build Kay’s character and create situations Kay is going through from the script. For the “Forever Young” dance I practiced it around the house for days and also the song I had to sing and dance to.
Were you able to work with Diane Guerrero on the character?
Yes, and she gave me great advice about getting to the emotions of crying in a real way. Diane helped me be more specific with my imagination and to pinpoint moments and the feelings in those moments and then bring them back to life. I didn’t get rolling tears like she can but it definitely helped. I don’t seem to get rolling tears ever – don’t know how Diane does that!
Doom Patrol season 3 is out now. Do you have a favorite moment from filming?
Yes, where I got to eat ‘ice cream’ on set in my root beer float. The whole time in the candy shop I felt free. It was one big experience of joy and freedom to enjoy all the candy I could possibly want – of course I only had the root beer float, where the ice cream was actually mashed potato, so it wouldn’t melt. I didn’t actually eat or drink any but it was the imagination part that was so fun. And I got to film with The Fog who is my favorite character – I just love the British accent she did, I could listen to her all day. Oh and for that episode the director gave me all the ingredients for a real root beer float because I had never had one before and I didn’t get to on-set – that was a lot of fun making floats for some of the cast and crew, my studio teacher and my Mom who only had one sip.
Outside of acting, what are some of your other creative outlets?
Doing makeup on myself, fashion designing, and karate. In makeup, I look up to Nikkie de Jager for simple makeup but I also really like crazy makeup looks. I’m always experimenting on myself. One time I stuck part of a deck of cards to my face and then filled in the rest with makeup. In fashion design, I look up to a family friend, Harris Reed because he’s so free and creative and his clothes work for any gender and in karate, I look up to my sensei, he is a six-time black belt and he’s full of interesting facts about everything from black holes to the eating habits of koalas.
What advice do you have for aspiring actors?
Bring yourself into your character. The more personal your connection is the more relatable your character is.