Avery Konrad interview, talking terror and Sara Myers in MGM+ series FROM

Avery Konrad is a young Canadian actor who plays one of the pivotal characters in the horror series FROM.

Her acting credits also include Amazon’s horror-thriller Broil and the comedy movie Honor Society with Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things.

**Before proceeding, please be aware that there are spoilers contained within this article.**

To say that Sara Myers, Konrad’s character, had a lot on her plate in season one in the MGM+ show would be an understatement. It’s been revealed that some mysterious force has been torturing her, sending her orders by carving them painfully on to her arm, then disappearing.

That same entity tasked Sara to open the door to the deadly creatures roaming their nowhere town, killing an old man and the town’s resident nurse as a result. Then it asked her to kill a boy, Ethan, from a newly arrived family. Fortunately, she was stopped before she could harm the child, but she accidentally killed her brother in the process.

What a catastrophe. It’s no wonder the town hated Sara and the sheriff had to take her out to the woods to protect her.

Season two marks the return of Sara Myers, a true question mark among the ensemble cast. The character is viewed as dangerous and unpredictable by the town’s citizens, but considered pivotal by the sheriff and others in authority since she has crucial insight into the supernatural workings of the nowhere town.

Could her ability be used as a weapon against the creatures? Or, even possibly one day, for their escape?

In this exclusive interview, 1428 Elm sat down with Konrad and talked about the demands of portraying such a dark and high stress character and what helps her bring out realism in the varying levels of terror the show demands.

The transcript below has been edited for clarity, but is otherwise verbatim.

You can also listen to an excerpt of the interview at the end of this article!

Interview with Avery Konrad on FROM season 2

1428 ELM:
Sarah has had a lot to deal with since season one. She always seems like such a high stress character to play with just has a lot on her plate. Are there any preparations you need to do in portraying her or to get into her headspace, since it must be hard to always be in that kind of a dark place?

AVERY KONRAD:
Yeah, I think just like what you said, getting into the space in the headspace before I start. Usually the day before, I’ll kind of zone in. I don’t like being in that space longer than I need to and I have found in coming into season two is it’s because I have found that groove per se from season one. Just refining that and sitting more in those feelings, because she had a lot happen in season one. But yeah, mostly just kind of getting into headspace more than anything.

1428 ELM:
The mythology runs really deep in this one, like the previous shows of the producers and showrunners. What about the mythology strikes you or resonates with you? What do you like about it?

AVERY KONRAD:
I love it. I think it’s really interesting with all of these different elements of the show, the horror, and the mystery and the drama and the comedy sometimes.

Like what you were saying, I think with one of those elements missing, it wouldn’t make the show what it is. I think they’re all really important players as well as just any anything else. It’s what makes it what it is. Which is really cool.

1428 ELM:
Sarah is such an integral part of that the whole mystery. She like a fulcrum to many of the revelations and the discoveries. How do you navigate that when you play that character, obviously with not knowing and how that makes her more or less a tortured kind of individual?

AVERY KONRAD:
I take it episode by episode. We’re kind of on the edge of our seat just like you guys before we get a grip. So the more information I have, the more I can map out and make sure that nothing’s the same as it was prior. If that makes sense. No situation is ever the same with her even though maybe it might be the same things happening. It all affects her differently.

Just seeing where that takes her and also leaving a window for questions and having things unanswered is a big part to how I play her. I don’t have a lot of questions answered which honestly, helps me. I like to leave that window open for interpretation. It’s also an opportunity in the future for them to fill in those blanks as well.

1428 ELM:
With portraying fear and terror, there’s a certain level that you need to be at so it doesn’t seem like it’s cartoonish or caricature-ish. What are your tips acting-wise, or with your process, so it comes off legitimate? Like it’s coming from an authentic place?

AVERY KONRAD:
One of the things that really helps is how real the sets are. All of the things that are happening are very realistic. Which is like props to all those departments. Because without them it wouldn’t be as realistic as it is. Which is what also is really amazing about the show, but also keeping the performances is as realistic as possible.

It was always my goal with playing Sarah. She can be viewed and all of these dark lights that goes with the terror as well as all of these dramatic things that are happening. It’s making them really real and believing that they’re happening so they don’t come off, like you said, kind of campy or caricature-ish—there’s a there’s a place for those things too. But that’s not the tone of the show.

1428 ELM:
What would you like audiences to come away with from season 2? Especially with how Sara turns out? Though we can’t say any spoilers for this new season, of course.

AVERY KONRAD:
There’s so many questions when it comes to the show. And I think that that’s what makes it so cool. Also I don’t like putting any sort of perspective on to viewers as well. I think everything’s really open to their own interpretation and which is also kind of like what I love about it, and I just want that to continue and them to continue to tune in and watch this crazy, crazy world that we’ve created.

You can stream the second season of FROM on MGM+.

Which character is you favorite in the series FROM? Tell us about it in the comments section.