CUMMINGS TO AMERICA

Young Aussie star Ashleigh Cummings talks Vic mcQueen Vic calls herself a “townie” and there’s an exploration of classism influencing the story, as she’s a working class artist. How did that impact your understanding of her?

In terms of the class struggle, that was something Jami [O’Brien, showrunner] really brought to the show and deepened that groove that Joe Hill had explored in the book. It really served as a metaphor for me, regarding Vic’s feeling of isolation and entrapment and inability to escape both the world that she lives in, and also her own mental processing.

Within the horror elements of the series, what really got to you?

Manx’s eyes. It was terrifying. The first time I came up close to Zach in his make-up, he was completely transformed. There’s a line where I’m talking about looking into the eyes of evil and I felt like I was both looking into the eyes of evil and looking into the eyes of a child.

What did you discover about yourself doing this show?

It’s still a developing question, I think. I always came from a place of empathy first, and I didn’t know how to attribute blame towards people for what they did. And through Vic, I actually feel like I internalised a little more strength and accountability towards people, while holding onto that empathy. We deal with these ideas of “good” and “evil” and the show talks about how people aren’t just one or the other, they can be both. That’s a really important message to put out into the world.