The Girl in the Woods interview with star Kylie Liya Page

1428 Elm continues covering the supernatural drama The Girl in the Woods from Peacock TV and Crypt TV with our latest interview. We chatted with actress Kylie Liya Page about her character on the show, Sara. Page is known for appearing in projects like Social Distance on Netflix and will next appear in the true-crime drama The Girl from Plainville on Hulu.

During our interview, we spoke with Page about her role on the show, the immense amount of preparation and stuntwork she did for the part, her brief role in a Step Up movie, working with Krysten Ritter and much more!

The Girl in the Woods interview with star Kylie Liya Page

1428 ELM: How did you get involved with The Girl in the Woods. Can you introduce us to your character?

KYLIE LIYA PAGE: I play Sara Ramseyer. I was initially sent in for Tasha’s character. They liked me but decided Sara would be a better fit, and I honestly also agree. She is a warrior, and she is part of the colony world. So, we have the modern, contemporary world with Nolan and Tasha, and we also have the colony, which is me, Will [Yun Lee] and Reed [Diamond]‘s characters. I was so into the script the second that I got it, the second that I read it.

There is LGBTQ representation everywhere, both behind and on the screen—our writer [J. Casey Modderno] is a trans woman, and our co-executive producer Jasmine [J. Johnson] is also part of the LGBTQ community. Being a part of a dominantly female-run project was super exciting for me.

Also, finding out that Krysten Ritter was directing, I was like, “Oh my god, this is a dream!” All these powerful, incredible, unique women. I was like, yes! Then to find out I was playing this bada** warrior, I was like, double yes!

1428 ELM: Speaking of Krysten Ritter, what was it like to be directed by her?

KYLIE: She’s amazing. She is a total mama bear. She is fun, fierce, strong, and she is so smart. Having film and TV credits made it easier for her to communicate with us. She was really good at communicating very clearly, directly, just the communication of director-to-actor was very nice and something I honestly haven’t experienced before because of how casual it was, but I think she just knew how to talk to actors being one herself.

She knew how to get exactly what she wanted very efficiently. She’s a boss! She just makes you feel so good and safe, and she was always like, “Yes, you’re fierce! This is bada**, amazing!” She was so pleased and so happy with the people she was able to work with. There was a huge sense of gratitude from everybody, the whole vibe. Everyone was just so grateful to be there and happy to be working with such an amazing team. She was just so fun, and you felt so protected with her.

1428 ELM: I think that reflects on the show because the bonds between the teen characters are so strong. What was it like for you to work with Stefanie Scott, who plays Carrie, on the show?

KYLIE: Working with Stefanie was awesome. She’s a dream. She’s a sweetheart. She is so calm and down-to-earth, a very strong individual. I think that she had a lot on her plate. She’s running this whole thing, and she had a great sense of grace throughout this whole process. She was so fun and flexible to work with like, day one we met each other was the first day I had also met with the stunt team and right off the bat, it was like, “Hi, I’m Kylie,” “Hi, I’m Stefanie,” okay cool now let’s get to choreography and fighting each other.

Literally, on day one, we were fighting each other. It was so exciting, and she brought so much humor and flexibility. We both adapted so quickly. We were able to take all of the choreography thrown at us and adapt and make it our own. I think because, from the get-go, we had to get so close with each other physically, the friendship just came with it. So our characters’ relationship with each other came way more naturally just because we were so comfortable with each other.

1428 ELM: Had you done stuntwork before on the level of The Girl in the Woods?

KIYA: I did a little bit. I did this movie called Ninja Assassin when I was like 13, starring Rain, who is a famous Korean popstar. That was a little bit of martial arts training, my character didn’t do—I played a younger character, and I was in a lot of flashback scenes, but before that, I did have to learn some martial arts but nothing to this extent. [The Girl in the Woods] was full-blown choreography, two-minute-long fights, spars and everything. It was intense, but it was such a dream. I found a new passion for it.

Prepping for it, I took some martial arts and boxing classes for like five weeks prior. We had the time because they started filming the contemporary world before they got to the colony, so I had a lot of time to prepare, and I found a new passion. I’m a dancer, and I love going to the gym, weightlifting and all of these things. I knew that martial arts was something I wanted to get into when I got out of college, and then it was like boom! Well, now you have to!

1428 ELM: I saw you did a Step Up movie. 

KIYA: It was funny. I was in a dance movie but eating ice cream.

1428 ELM: Right on IMDb, it says “Ice Cream Girl.”

KIYA: Yeah! Ice cream girl, like standing in line at an ice cream truck! [Laughs] I had always wanted to be a dancer in a Step Up film because I loved the movies as a kid, but it was funny that I got to do that but not dancing.

But yeah, the stunt team [for The Girl in the Woods] was amazing. James Lew, he’s done insane things, Marvel movies, you name it, won an Emmy for it. He was a dream. He was so cool, so professional. It was awesome because we had a lot of time to get really specific. They were really specific with me because I naturally loved it and felt it was a passion.

During our downtime, they were always working with me, working on specific movements, the technicalities of everything, and just really learning martial arts in its whole artform. They were able to give me so much information, and I was able to learn so much. It’s honestly meditative and therapeutic for me.

1428 ELM: Those scenes are such a core component of setting up what life is like at the colony, too. That’s where these young people are being forced to fight against each other to prepare for something terrifying. I mentioned before that when you see the colony, it looks like it’s taking place in another era. What was it like to play as a discipline?

KIYA: It was amazing. First reading the script, I didn’t understand, visually, how they were going to do this, so seeing it with our costumes, the very neutral color palettes versus the contemporary town being totally normal. I had no idea the colony was going to be mythical and added to the mythology of it all. Watching it unfold was gorgeous.

And we’re in Portland, Oregon, which is one of the beautiful places I have ever been, and then adding all of the fog and being in the forest, I was like, “Holy crap, this is amazing!” I’m so glad I’m part of this world because it is so cool to see the contrast between the two worlds, and exciting! And also like, “What is going on here!? Is this a cult? Where are we?” It adds a whole level of mystery that I think is really cool and interesting.

1428 ELM: The nature of this show reminds me of many urban legends I heard growing up. Were there any that stuck out to you where you grew up?

KYLIE: Like the stereotypical Loch Ness sea monster stuff. Actually, in college, I took this vampire studies class. I learned all about European vampires and how, in Europe, all of the stories and the history of these vampires were very interesting and very similar to this, like the old wive’s tales and certain hidden messages.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Keep up with Kylie Liya Page by following her on Instagram. All of The Girl in the Woods Season 1 is now streaming exclusively on Peacock.