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[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for First Kill.]From showrunner Felicia D. Henderson and creator V.E. Schwab, who also wrote the novel the series is inspired by, the Netflix original First Kill shows how complicated first love can get when a teenage vampire falls for a vampire hunter. Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) is feeling the pressure from her powerful family to make her first kill as a vampire while Calliope (Imani Lewis) has all the necessary training to take out her first vampire as a hunter, but instead, the two find themselves drawn in a very powerful way toward each other and their building attraction complicates everything.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Hook and Lewis talked about why they were so drawn to this project, how they first met each other, how Hook got into the vampire mindset and wearing the fangs, the way Lewis prepared for the physicality of being a hunter, the collaborative experience of working with their showrunner, how they approached the first kiss for their characters, and how much their jaws dropped upon reading the script for the season finale.
Collider: There are different elements and layers to the series that make it very intriguing. It’s a take on vampires that feels very different from what we’re used to, it’s a family drama with emphasis on the drama, and it’s a queer teen supernatural romance that isn’t afraid of its gay relationships, which is nice to see. What was it about this show that most interested you? Was it one aspect? Was it all of those aspects?
SARAH CATHERINE HOOK: It was everything. How could you not wanna do this show? Obviously, we were so drawn to our characters. But the show, as a whole, with the representation part of it, it checks off every box.
IMANI LEWIS: There’s character development, throughout the entire story, that anyone and everyone will be able to relate to, one way or the other, even if you look a little different.
So much of this show really depends on the chemistry between your characters and the audience rooting for them. When and how did you guys first meet? Did you do a chemistry test together?
HOOK: We met at our chemistry read. We didn’t even really get to introduce ourselves. We just went straight into the scenes. We just knew it was totally meant to be. I turned into a little puddle of happiness. And then, as Sarah Catherine and Imani, we got to know one another over a four hour FaceTime session that we simply could not get off of because we were just gabbing the whole time. And then, throughout the show, we got to play a lot with one another. The great thing about our relationship is that, throughout the whole time, especially during the more intimate scenes, we were very protective of one another. We wanted to make each other feel safe and comfortable. So, it was a really great relation work relationship.
LEWIS: Absolutely. It was very communicative, very honest, and very supportive. We both love what we do and we both adore our characters. I think we both had a different kind of excitement to bring them to life and to bounce our energies off of each other. It was just a very close knit process. It was awesome.
Sarah Catherine, what helped you embody being a vampire? With so many different vampire stories, movies, and TV shows, did you look to anything for inspiration? How did you find your inner vampire?
HOOK: I watched a lot of vampire content. I made sure it was just all vampires, all the time. Something that I picked up while I was auditioning, because I was trying to get more of the tenacity of the vampire, was that I would watch videos of lions. Literally, I would watch them walk back and forth, having this scary stillness to them. So, I was one with the lions, during filming, for my vampire world.
Did you actually have to wear fangs, or were those CGI?
HOOK: Oh, yeah, I insisted upon them. If I didn’t have a scene fans, I was like, “What are we doing? This is a vampire show. Why aren’t I wearing my fangs?” I wanted to wear them, as often as possible.
Imani, how did you develop and work on the physicality of your character? Calliope is a real badass, so how did you internalize that, to have that confidence show through?
LEWIS: It’s a testament to the writing. It’s very beautifully written. There was a lot of agility and a lot of combat training. I had been kickboxing for a couple years prior to, so I was like, “This is my chance. This is where I show my agility.” Calliope is written as such a strong, confident, well-rounded, tenacious character, and I love strong characters. I love that she’s a strong female character. I just felt this responsibility to really do the work behind the scenes and really take my time and understand her character, so that I could display all of her attributes on camera. When I read the short story, I was like, “Oh, yeah, I love Cal.”
How involved have you guys been in the development for your characters? What’s it like to be able to work and collaborate with the creative team? How much of a voice do you guys have?
HOOK: They wrote all the episodes before we started filming, so we didn’t get to have that much input, as far as what our characters said. But as far as how we wanted to present them, I felt like we had a lot of agency over that. And if we ever had any concerns, we were both really close with Felicia D. Henderson, who’s our showrunner and executive producer and one of the writers. She wears many hats. She really, really cared for us, as cast members, and wanted us to feel like we could voice our own thoughts and opinions and concerns. She said that to us, in the very beginning. That was really cool. I felt like the communication was really there for us.
LEWIS: Yeah, absolutely. I love that, with this opportunity, they trusted us to physicalize these characters and to embody these characters and bring them to life. It was very collaborative and there were a lot of conversations. But it was written beautifully, so the rest just followed suit.
A kiss that leads to one person getting bitten in the neck with vampire fangs and the other getting a stake in their chest is certainly a way to make an impression. What was that like to work out, choreograph and shoot?
HOOK: Personally, it’s my favorite scene. It’s just so beautiful, and I feel so proud of it. We worked really hard on that. We went in there and we were professionals. We were like, “This is no laughing matter. We’re getting this right. This is for the queer community.” We are very, very, very proud of that sequence. It took a little bit of choreography, but I felt like there was a natural flow that we got. We had a great time with it.
LEWIS: We had a lot of conversations, prior to, with Jet Wilkinson, the director of episode one and two, just to understand the steps, and what looks realistic and what doesn’t. We also wanted to understand the fluidity of the relationship and the fact that it’s two girls, which makes a bit of a difference, in terms of how they handle one another. It was very collaborative and very communicative, as to how to go about that, which made it a breeze.
HOOK: I forgot to mention, we also had an intimacy coordinator.
LEWIS: Yeah, Dr. Tiff.
HOOK: Thank you, Dr. Tiff. She was amazing. She was always there, even if we just wanted to brush each other’s shoulders in a scene. She just wanted us to feel really comfortable.
LEWIS: She was always like, “Are you guys okay? Do you need anything?”
HOOK: Yeah, she was amazing.
Things are left at the end of this season in a way where we don’t really know what’s going to come next for anybody. Have you had any conversations with the creative team about what could come next for these characters and for the story? Do you have any personal wishes? How do you guys feel about where it all leaves off?
HOOK: I’ve definitely whispered in some ears. I feel like we have our own personal desires, but they probably won’t come true.
LEWIS: We have our own selfish desires for what happens to our characters, but they probably won’t happen. That’s the fun of it all.
HOOK: It’ll be fun to see what they come up with.
What was your reaction to reading that last script and seeing where it leaves everything?
HOOK: We read it together, in my trailer.
LEWIS: And our jaws dropped.
HOOK: Our acting coach was in there too, and we were freaking out, screaming. It was so exciting. And then, at the end, we were like, “Who wrote this?!” We were freaking out. It was amazing.
LEWIS: We were very excited.
I have no idea what to think, as far as what could come next.
HOOK: We’re still wondering too.
LEWIS: We’re still recovering.
First Kill is available to stream at Netflix.
