LOVING THE ALIEN

Jeanine Mason talks extra-terrestrial romance

ROSWELL THAT ENDS WELL

“My older sister and I watched [the original show]. [After my casting], I went back and watched it and read some of the book series. I’m a big fangirl at heart. I love anything where I’m going to be a part of people’s excitement in watching.”

A WOMAN OF HER TIMES

“She’s Mexican-American, as she was in the book series. She’s an activist and a scientist, and a woman ignited, as I like to say. She’s been away from Roswell for 10 years and has come back to take care of her dad and really just pass through. But she runs into Max Evans and finds out that he is alien and her whole world is turned upside down. It’s fun to have a character who is so intelligent and generally has all the answers, but we meet her in the pilot and her jaw is on the floor.”

GO WITH THE FLAW

“The wonderful thing about Liz is that as brilliant as she is, she has so much to learn. She lost her sister 10 years ago and ran away from home, so she is isolated in her way. She’s hard. As they like to say, she’s had a string of lovers but no real connections. And then she’s brought back to a place that’s all emotions. In real life, I have a dance background so I tend to connect to characters physically. I see Liz as very grounded with feet fully planted. She speaks from a full voice and her full intelligence. I could really hook onto someone who doesn’t apologise for an ounce of her existence.”

MAKING IT COUNT

“I take portraying Liz Ortecho’s experience very seriously, and so does our writers’ room. We’re working with Define American who try to ensure portrayals of undocumented characters are accurate. Audiences will see Liz’s family dynamic and that she is normal and her family loves the hell out of each other. I hope people fall in love with them and open up their hearts a little bit.”