Luisa D’Oliveira Dishes on Creepypasta-Inspired “Channel Zero: Candle Cove”

On Tuesday night, the Syfy Channel debuted its new American horror anthology series Channel Zero. The six-episode season is based on popular internet-based horror legends called “Creepypastas.” The first season titled Candle Cove, is based on the Creepypasta of the same name and is getting positive reviews, with io9 calling it the eeriest show since Netflix’s wildly popular Stranger Things.

One of the stars of Candle Cove is a familiar face to fans of The CW’s The 100. Luisa D’Oliveira stars as Candle Cove’s Deputy Amy Welch who finds herself involved in the investigation of the mysterious disappearances of her hometown’s children in the 1980s. We sat down with the actress to chat about Candle Cove, what we can expect with the next season of The 100, and who she just might be rooting for in the World Series.

Image Credit: Natalie Robinson

The Hudsucker: You have played a wide variety of characters in your various roles, such as a lawyer on The Good Wife, a detective on Cracked, and a mutated grounder on The 100. With these characters being so different from each other, what draws you to the roles you play or, alternatively, what types or roles do you find most interesting and challenging?
Luisa D’Oliveira: I love trying something I haven’t done before and each of these roles presented a big challenge. I find strong women the most interesting to play. I love living in that powerful and strong space and at the same time finding vulnerabilities and flaws that humanize and make them relatable. Playing between these two is so challenging and fun and feels so human. We all have such great moments of courage and strength and such deep moments of weakness and shame. It really resonates with me and I’m happy when I get to really develop that in a character.

The Hudsucker: Your current project Channel Zero: Candle Cove sounds really interesting and delightfully creepy. What can viewers expect from the show? Have you read the story that the Creepypasta is based on?
D’Oliveira: You bet I read it! I don’t do well with scary, so reading the story and getting in the mindset for the show was a whole other kind of challenge. I think viewers can expect something special from Candle Cove. Psychologically it’s going to slowly take you down a dark and unsettling path. I can’t wait to watch it. And I know what happens!

The Hudsucker: In Candle Cove you play the sheriff deputy, Amy Welch. What’s Amy like?
D’Oliveira: I loved playing Amy! She’s this great beacon of light in such a dark and disturbing show. She’s close to her fellow officers at the Sheriff’s department and especially values her friendship with the Sheriff, who she sees as her mentor. She lives in this lovely small town, same one she grew up in, which makes policing difficult sometimes. It’s hard to get people to take you seriously when they’ve known you since you were a kid.

Image Credit: Natalie Robinson

The Hudsucker: One of your other projects, The 100 returns to television in 2017. What is your favorite thing about your character, Emori?
D’Oliveira: Her spirit. Even with everything she’s been through, her rejection, isolation, the lengths she’s had to go to to survive, she still has this great spirit that really shine’s when she feels alive. John Murphy really brings it out in her. She has this playful and dangerous sense of humor. When she’s on the “hunt” she enjoys it, it’s almost like a game to her. It’s human nature to find humor, even in darkness, and she finds it. I think she’s had to to still feel like a human being.

The Hudsucker: The season three finale of The 100 can only be called epic. What would you like to see happen with your character this next season?
D’Oliveira: I want to see her have to deal with people! The extent of her social encounters have been mostly robbery, assaults, trickery and being hunted. But to be part of a social group again? One she might even be accepted by? I want to see how she deals with that and whether she can ever become part of a society ever again, Grounder or Skaikru. One of her biggest assets was her anonymity. But then she went to the City of Light and now many people know of her existence, what she looks like, that she’s mutated and that she’s with John Murphy. Her anonymity is shaken and she can’t be nearly as effective as a lone wolf as she was. I want to see her deal with a new way to survive.

The Hudsucker: I understand that you are a chronic organizer. What is your all-time best organizing tip or trick?
D’Oliveira: Organize in a way that’s useful to you in real life! And purge the things you don’t need. I know you have some. Get rid of it!

The Hudsucker: I also understand that you are a lover of books. How do you feel that books and reading have influenced you, personally and professionally?
D’Oliveira: The reading I did growing up helped better prepare me for the beautiful and ugly parts of the world that I’ve seen. And it opened a world of magic! I love being taken on a fantastical journey only in my mind. Books also helped me become the woman I am today. Jane Austen in particular introduced me to ideas that are timeless and absolutely relevant today. If I ever have any girls, they’re reading Jane Austen.

The Hudsucker: We’re getting closer to the end of the baseball season. What team do you want to go to the World Series and, if your favorite can’t make it, who do you think will make it?
D’Oliveira: The Blue Jays! I’m Canadian and we have only one team, so that makes it easy. I should be honest, I don’t follow much baseball on TV, but I LOVE playing it. I grew up on baseball and I feel  I just started to hit my stride a few years ago — I wasn’t very good as a kid, my stage fright happened on all sports pitches. If A League of Their Own ever gets remade, I’m going for it!

To keep up with Luisa, follow her on Twitter or check out her Instagram. Be sure to watch Channel Zero: Candle Cove on Syfy Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST. Check your local listings.