Rose McIver on the Many Brains of IZombie
For the past two seasons of The CW series iZombie, star Rose McIver has managed to enjoy relative anonymity when the cameras stopped rolling. Thanks to the deathly pale zombie complexion and platinum wig of her character Liv (Olivia) Moore, the actress can “walk among us” virtually unrecognized,” writes Steve Gidlow for MediaVillage. “All that may change during Season 3, when Liv indulges in what’s known on the show a Tan & Dye: a process undertaken by zombies in which their paled features are altered to look more alive and allow them to blend in.”
“For the native New Zealander, one of the joys of working on the show is the vast array of different character traits she explores in every episode,” reports the article. As a zombie Liv needs to eat brains to survive. But that results in her absorbing memories from the deceased’s’ brains and takes on some of the individuals’ personality traits. “Which means Rose, the actress, is given something new to play every week,” according to the article.
““[This season] I get to do a conspiracy theorist brain, which was a lot of fun. I was sticking gum over cameras on computers and being suspicious of everybody,” she said.
“There’s also the dominatrix… there is the hot mess brain, which is kind of like a train wreck in the style of Amy Schumer.” So far McIver’s favourite ‘devoured brain’ was the “Dungeons & Dragons brain” because that was a world she didn’t understand it all.
Exploring her character’s ever-changing interests “has actually opened many new worlds in her real life.”
“I’m now playing the guitar. I did that last season with the country music brain! I played a little as a kid, and my brother is a really talented guitarist. When I had to pick it up again it was sort of inspiring and I found myself plucking away as a bit of stress relief. There are all sorts of things I wouldn’t necessarily have explored had I not done this show,” she said.
McIver is “also thrilled the production climate of her native New Zealand is on the rise, given she cut her acting teeth appearing in American productions.”
“Just now there’s an influx again, which is great for all my [industry] friends back home because it’s hard to sustain a career there”, she said.
“It’s so small a world back there. Everybody knows everybody. I know KJ Apa (Archie on Riverdale) and many of the people out here. You kind of end up crossing paths with them; it’s that New Zealand Mafia kind of thing.” “But it’s nice to go home and it’s a great community. I’d love to work there in some capacity.”
On her work on iZombie the actress comments:
“We use humor to hook people in. But hopefully we sort of lay punches with some of the emotional content. There’s definitely an ‘Us and Them’ thing, which I think is so relevant right now. Who would’ve thought playing a zombie would be an emotionally charged thing?”
Article Source: MediaVillage, Steve Gidlow April 11, 2017
Image Source: Twitter – RoseMcIver
