Lena Hall

SPOILER: You had this amazing ballet scene on the show, and you get to do all these other theatrical things. What do you have to do to get into the mindset of Miss Audrey? LENA HALL: I was a ballerina when I was a kid and I grew up on stage. My father was a choreographer and my mom was a prima ballerina. My dad had a company and I was literally born to dance [laughs], so that’s actually a comfort zone. When we filmed the scene, the ballet, for Miss Audrey, that was a deeply personal moment. When I read that in the script, I said, “Do you have a choreographer for this scene?” and they said, “No.” I said, “Can my dad choreograph this?” And they said, “Yes.” So I ended up getting to work with my dad, and it became a much more personal scene, and became extraordinarily layered. My father is almost 90-years-old, and it felt like it was maybe the last time I was going to be able to dance for him or do something like this. So the fact that they allowed that put a whole other level into it. For me, that scene felt so comfortable because it’s how I grew up, expressing myself through physicality. And when we filmed it, it was just me and the DP. And we filmed it for, like, 9 hours. I remember getting extremely sore. My feet were hurting. But while filming it was like a duet with me and the camera, and it became a duet and not a solo number. That was an incredible experience.

SPOILER: Isn’t it great that Sean Bean is on the show this season? His character elevates season 2 to another level. LENA HALL: I love it! He’s so awesome and so fun to work with. The minute I got into a room with him we bonded. It was instant respect. If someone doesn’t respect you it’s really hard to work with them because it’s an uphill battle. But if you have mutual respect it becomes very easy to have chemistry, where you’re both being reactionary with each other. You’re not trying to control a scene, but allowing it to take place and unfold in front of you. [When I sing] I get to show vulnerability on stage, but it’s different. The audience is further away from you. They’re not seeing your deep inner thoughts in your eyes. On film it’s far more personal and real. After we filmed the bathtub scene, I felt like I needed to go to a therapist to talk through the grief I just went through and the trauma of that. It’s a lot more difficult to get into that headspace for film, but the great thing about film is it’s always there for you to look at. And how it all comes together is so beautiful. What they did for episode 4 was so beautiful. It was like a poem. I couldn’t believe I was the one they gave such a poetic storyline to. SPOILER: Your musical numbers and big theatrical scenes are so impressive. I’m always waiting to see what you’re gonna do next. LENA HALL: I feel really lucky that they took a look at what I do. They did a deep dive into my past, like, “Oh, she’s a dancer? We’ll write that in!”

SPOILER: You were on Cats on Broadway! Have you seen the movie? LENA HALL: I haven’t seen the movie, I won’t watch it.

SPOILER: Don’t watch it, it’s silly. LENA HALL: Cats was my first Broadway show and I hold it in my mind in such a high regard. I did it for over two and a half years and had such a good time doing it. I still remember all the choreography, and it was over 20 years ago. So yeah, I can’t [watch it]. I don’t wanna taint those memories. I’m sad that they did the whole CGI thing. That’s bizarre. At the time, Cats was so different and so new and out there. It was cool. But to use CGI like that… I dunno.

SPOILER: What got you into Broadway and acting? LENA HALL: It was kinda by default.

Dlena hall I had no choice as far as ballet was LENA HALL: It’s really sad because concerned. I didn’t wanna do ballet I think if he had held on, he would anymore, but my parents wanted me be having a resurgence in his career to stay in the arts somehow. My sister right now. Again, mental health was doing musical theater, so I went isn’t something we ever talk about, and joined this teen musical theater especially back in the day. It’s so company that she was doing and important, especially someone who’s continued dancing until I was out of been in the limelight since they were high school. In high school I didn’t know a kid and doesn’t know anything else, what I wanted. I thought maybe I’d be and they’re having a downward cycle. an accountant because I was good at The world has its ups and downs like a math. And then I thought, “I’m good at wave. And you ride that wave and just science, so maybe I’ll do psychology.” gotta hold on because you will find a And then I was kinda interested in law a resurgence and a new wave to ride. little bit. I didn’t really know. I was aiming It’s tragic what happened to him. He’s more for quote-unquote “normal” jobs, the reason I pursued acting in the first because I didn’t really see myself as a place, and it’s such a bizarre thing to professional performer. It just felt like a dream that was so far away. I didn’t have a knowledge of the business at all. My parents supported me in that they wanted me to be in the arts, but they say, but it’s important to remember why you do this. It’s because I loved what he did and wanted to act with him—and wanted to be his wife [laughs]. didn’t know about the theater business— they just knew about ballet. So then I graduated from high school at 17. I didn’t even take the SATs. I had no idea what was going to happen to me. Then Cats came to town and a friend of mine said I should audition. So I went down with my audition book and auditioned, and they cast me. And that’s how my career path started. Although when I was younger I had always wanted to do TV and movies. Theater was always part of my life, so it didn’t really feel like a dream. As a pre-teen I wanted to be on TV [laughs] because I had a crush on Jonathan Brandis, and I wanted to marry him [laughs]. I was obsessed with the series seaQuest DSV. SPOILER: I saw a picture yesterday of you and Michael C. Hall together. LENA HALL: [laughs] I love Michael C. Hall. We had so much fun together. People are like, “Are you guys married? Or brother and sister?” I’m like, “No.” If you look, “Hall” is my stage name. But he’s so epic. He’s so cool. Talk about mutual respect. When I got to do Hedwig and the Angry Itch with him, there were massive amounts of respect between the two of us. As someone who sat and watched the development of all of these Hedwigs, each one would come in with their own thoughts about it, and then it would change throughout their run and become something a little different than what they walked in doing. And I got to sit back and SPOILER: Sidekicks… watch all of their metamorphoses. And LENA HALL: Sidekicks is my all-time I love all of my Hedwigs, but watching favorite movie! When I found out he Michael C. Hall was incredible. There’s passed away I looked for Sidekicks and something about him. He’s got a very Ladybugs on DVD—this was before dark energy about him, and there’s streaming services. And everything was something going on behind his eyes out of print, so I spent a fortune on eBay that’s a tragedy, and he brought that just to get them [laughs]. And I still have to his performance so beautifully and them! Along with the complete series of wonderfully. He’s an amazing actor and seaQuest DSV. I want to work with him again so badly. We were fully simpatico on that stage. SPOILER: Jonathan Brandis was such a When you just vibe with someone it’s great actor. an interesting experience. It was like we

knew each other before. Sometimes there’s a learning curve, but with Michael it was instant.

SPOILER: I love your name. I understand why you have a stage name, but it’s so beautiful. LENA HALL: [laughs] You’ll see me on the streets busking and I’ll be like, “And thank you so much! My name is Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal and I’m here for your entertainment!” Look, it was an interesting decision to come to. My real name is amazing—although I did find out some interesting secrets about it. I had held onto my real name for a long time, and my problem wasn’t the name, but that I was being seen for the wrong roles because of my name. I’m Spanish-Filipino, but when you look at me I don’t look like I’m Spanish-Filipino, and for castingsake, I’d walk into a room and not be what they were expecting to see, even though they had a picture of me right in front of them, they couldn’t hold the two together. They were expecting the name walking into the room, and instead they got the picture. And also I was in a rock band as well, and I was playing around with names.

But I had held onto my birth name for a really long time. I came from seven generations of artists of Carvajals in the Philippines, and I was holding onto my name because there was this epic legacy. But then I came to find out that Carvajal was actually a stage name and our real last name was Garcia. So I was like, “Oh, okay, so my ancestors would actually be okay with me changing my name so I could do more in the arts.” So I felt a sudden support there that I wasn’t actually forsaking my name.

SPOILER: In season 2 of Snowpiercer, what other scene besides the bathtub scene drained you the most?

LENA HALL: Episode 4 was the most difficult for me to film. It was just an emotional episode. You learn a lot about Miss Audrey’s past and a lot about what makes her tick. And you learn that she was very, very vulnerable. But after that, there’s a scene in episode 7, but I’m not gonna give it away [laughs]. But I will say that she goes through a massive transformation in the span of the scene, and it takes her from one extreme to another.

I just watched episodes 9 and 10 last night, and lemme tell ya… I was like, “I know what’s gonna happen, and yet I’m still on the edge of my seat!” I’m so proud!

SPOILER: Do you like watching yourself on screen or does it make you feel uncomfortable? LENA HALL: I did an independent feature called Becks—you can watch it, it’s available on Showtime and Amazon. But there are scenes in that movie that I cannot watch because they’re very intimate scenes. I also have a hard time watching myself cry on camera. I get uncomfortable when I see myself being ultra vulnerable. It’s like I feel embarrassed for crying about something. That all harkens back to growing up in the ballet world where you have bloody toe shoes and a broken bone somewhere and you’re still dancing. I’ve poured blood out of my toe shoes before. The ballet world is very old school. It’s discipline that’s very tough on the people who are doing it. Give love to ballet dancers because they go through f**king hell. They have a high pain tolerance and are taught to dance through pain; to push your body to perfection. That’s why I was never gonna make it as a ballerina. I didn’t love it enough to get to that point. But I’m so impressed by dancers.

SPOILER: Do you think it’s still like that? LENA HALL: I’m so out of that world so I can’t really speak to it, but I hope not. In ballet, you’re taught these things from a very young age, and so you believe that they’re true. The kids and students won’t speak up because it’s part of their training. They don’t know that it’s wrong to be pulled into a room and to be told they’re fat and they need to lose 10 pounds when they’re 11-years-old, and that becomes a lifelong issue— it becomes an eating disorder for them. So there are instances like that where it’s also mental abuse. It’s hard to know what’s going on in that world if you’re not in it. And it’s hard for a kid to discern what’s okay and what’s not. They won’t tell their parents or talk about feeling like it’s a bad thing. Again, in ballet as well, you’re taught, “Chin up, be strong, push through the pain.”

SPOILER: I feel the lament in your voice, and you obviously bring out that pain in your performance on the show. LENA HALL: Thank you for that. A lot of that life informs Miss Audrey so heavily.

SPOILER: Snowpiercer is amazing, are you excited about season 3? LENA HALL: The show is awesome. I’m proud of where it’s going and of how it’s doing. I couldn’t be more proud.

SPOILER: Have you ever been to any comic conventions?

LENA HALL: I love Comic Con [laughs]. I was at the San Diego one in 2019 and then I went to the New York one that year as well. But I love that it’s a community. I was part of the “brony” community. I did My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I got to be a guest star and got to experience that community. It’s a wonderful community and it’s amazing to find like-minded people. I love the amount of creativity that comes out of the Con community. Not only are you lovers of what’s being produced out there professionally, but you’re also a group of people who take that as inspiration and create your own thing. There’s music being created, there’s artwork being created, there’s screenplays—all kinds of stuff that comes out of what you love and comes out of Comic Con. I just think it’s amazing!