Together with her schoolmates and friends, she spends a significant amount of time in the V-Club, a virtual reality hot spot in which teenagers act out their hedonistic fantasies. When Ben blows up the train he and Zoe are on, and kills them along with everyone else, her distraught father places the avatar Zoe into the first Cylon, starting them all down a very dangerous technological path.

In this exclusive interview with IESB, co-stars Alessandra Torresani and Magda Apanowicz talk about playing such multi-layered teenagers among the great cast of actors on Caprica.

IESB: How did you get involved with Caprica? Did you just audition for it, or was there something specific about this show that appealed to you?

Alessandra: Mine was a regular audition. I actually didn't know if I wanted to do sci-fi. Once I decided, I read the script and fell in love with it. It was an audition process of me going through about seven times.

Magda: When I auditioned for it, I remember that I didn't want to go in for any auditions because I was getting my wisdom teeth pulled out, but I also ready it and was like, "I have to audition for this." And then, when they were doing the call-backs, after my surgery, I got dry socket and my one side got infected, so my whole face started to swell up. And then the other side of my mouth got dry socket, and I couldn't actually talk for about a month and I couldn't eat solid foods, so I couldn't go for the call-backs. I was very lucky that they trusted in me and they cast me.

IESB: Was there ever any hesitation for either of you, when it came to signing on to play a character that you could end up playing for a number of years?

Magda: I never did. I've had a lot of luck with a lot of TV series that I've done for two or three years in a row. It's an awesome thing to be able to see a character grow, and it doesn't have to stay the same, just because you're doing it for years.

Alessandra: I think it's every actor's dream to be on a show for many years and grow with that character because then you have opportunities to do film and play multiple people, but you always have your ground base and you have that family.

IESB: Can you talk about who your character is and how that character fits into the story of the show?

Alessandra: I play Zoe Graystone, and I play Zoe avatar, and I play Zoe robot, and then I play two other Zoes later on. The first Zoe is the richest girl in the world. Her dad is the Bill Gates of Caprica. She is a rebel. She's trying to fight for the Soldiers of the One. She creates the avatar of herself because she has a plan for the avatar to get to Gemenon, but that falls through when she gets bombed by her boyfriend. And then, the avatar gets put into a robot body by her father.

Magda: I play Lacy Rand, who is Zoe Graystone's best friend. In the pilot, we are trying to get to Gemenon and Lacy decides she can't go, and she loses her best friend on the train when she gets blown up. For a long time, it's Lacy trying to help Zoe fulfill the mission that she originally set out to do, to go to Gemenon, and she keeps failing her.

IESB: Alessandra, do you see all these different versions of Zoe as different facets of the same character, or do you see them all as separate people?

Alessandra: No, I see them as the same blank pallette, and they all have different colors to them. The original Zoe will always only be the original Zoe, the avatar will only be the avatar, and so forth. They're all the same basis, but they're all very different, in their own way.

IESB: Did you start out then by developing the original Zoe and then branching the others out from her?

Alessandra: Yes. The avatar is based off of the Zoe original.

IESB: How difficult is it for you to play all these different versions of the same character? Are any of them easier to play, or are they all equally challenging?

Alessandra: They're all equally the same. It's hard to play the avatar when I'm in the robot because that's very weird. No one sees me except for my best friend, so it's hard to play that. You can't imagine being in a room and everyone talking about you, but no one knows that you're there when you're actually really there. When does that ever happen in life? So, that's not hard, but it's weird. It's definitely something different that I've never acted before.

IESB: Are there any tricks to playing a Cylon, so that she doesn't seem too human?

Alessandra: Not really. She is human, though. She has emotions and a personality. She's not just this droid that walks around.

IESB: Magda, with Lacy being Zoe's best friend, how difficult is it for you, as an actor, to be in scenes with all these different versions of the same character?

Magda: I actually have so much fun with it. I get to do a lot of scenes with Alessandra as the avatar when we're seeing her, and then we do it again with these long poles with lights on them, and then I pretend it's my best friend. It's the fun of imagination.
Alessandra: It's kind of amazing to see her hugging a pole.

IESB: What are the aspects of these characters that you most identify with, and what do you find most challenging about them?

Magda: For me, I found that Lacy is very easy to relate to. She is a young teenage girl, just trying to find her voice in the world, and the whole season has been about that and about her sticking to her morals and values, and actually making decisions based on them. It's a very easy thing to relate to.

Alessandra: The original Zoe is relatable because she's a teenage brat who is fighting for her own voice to be heard. The avatar is not that easily relatable. It's like a newborn child that's discovering things for the first time. And then, the robot is not relatable to anyone. The only way it would be relatable was if you were living this fake, superficial life and inside you feel like a completely different person. I guess that's somewhat relatable, but it's hard to relate to a 15-year-old girl stuck in a robot's body, when no one knows she's there.

IESB: Had you guys been familiar with Battlestar Galactica and the history of it, before being cast in Caprica, or was it totally new to you?

Alessandra: I thought it was the ‘70s TV show. I knew that there was Battlestar, but I wasn't familiar with it. And then, they said it had some similarities and that it was a branch of the Battlestar Galactica series, but it was a completely different show. I didn't watch it when we shot the pilot because I wanted my take on the 15-year-old Cylon to be different than Tricia Helfer and Grace Park. After we shot the pilot, I went back and watched it, over and over and over again.

Magda: I knew how much of a legacy Battlestar had and I didn't want to get nervous about having to do this story that was based off of that, so I didn't watch it until after we finished shooting Caprica. But, after we finished shooting, I realized that it was a completely different story. You don't really have to watch Battlestar to watch Caprica.

IESB: Does it make it more reassuring or more nerve-wracking to know that you have this built-in interest for the show, just as a result of the success of Battlestar?

Alessandra: I think it's really exciting. But, just because people followed Battlestar and we are a spin-off, it doesn't mean that they're going to watch Caprica. They could actually resent it and say, "Oh, nothing will be as great as the original," so we are fighting for that. It's not a guaranteed audience. Every day is still a fight for our fans. We just want to prove that we can hold our own on this show, and that we are great as a cast and a crew.

IESB: What's it been like to work with this great cast?

Alessandra: It's a blessing. They're taught us so much. With Eric Stoltz and Paula Malcomson being my mom and dad, there's nothing more challenging than to be in a scene with them and have to step up to their game. There's no one as fantastic as they are. That's always a challenge and I love a challenge. That's fun.

Magda: I'd like to have more opportunities to play with more of the cast. I had more opportunities in the pilot to play with everybody, but this whole season, I haven't had much chance to act with other characters. It just hasn't made much sense yet to be in scenes with other people, but I get to do scenes with Alessandra and that's fun.

IESB: Magda, how is it to work with Polly Walker and how will the relationship between your characters be developing?

Magda: I love working with Polly Walker. She's a classy lady. She's a very talented woman. She's the type of actor that, when I'm in a scene with her, it's just so easy to get lost in it. You just feel like you're the two characters and you're on the same page. Sometimes, when I'm working with some actors, it feels like the other person isn't listening to what you're giving and vice versa. And, when I work with Polly, that's not even an issue.

IESB: Is part of the appeal of doing a television series the fact that you constantly get to work with different directors and learn from them?

Magda: You definitely meet a lot of different directors and they have a lot of different styles. I love to see the different ways that I work with directors, and it actually hones my craft, working with so many different directors. Even if they don't sometimes speak the same language as you, you have to step up and still provide your work. It's a really cool challenge.

Alessandra: Yeah, it's new and it's exciting, and every day is a bright, sunny day on set. It's fun. Some directors, you can't imagine that it's the first time you've ever worked with them. The way that they come up with these ideas and these shots, you can't even imagine where they came from and it's so brilliant. It's great because we have directors that are very hands-on and let us know what they want, and then we have other directors that just let us do our own thing. It's so weird to have such a mix, but it's really great.

Magda: You get different kinds of performances.

IESB: What was it like to be directed by Eric Stoltz? Did it create a comfort level that you don't have with other directors? Was there anything about him, as a director, that surprised you?

Alessandra: He is THE man. He's a man of many talents, but honestly he was my favorite director. He's the ultimate actor's director. He lives, breathes and eats this character, this family and this show, and he knew everything that was going on. It wasn't like he read the script and saw some dailies. He literally knows everything that's going on. Everyone's very familiar with him and the crew was much easier to get along with. Everyone worked together as this huge family, and it was great. It was like, "Oh, finally, daddy gets to take control." It was the best thing that I've been a part of, in a very long time.

Magda: He was very detailed. Sometimes he would sit us down, and just the way he would talk about a scene, you saw what he was seeing and you tried to do it on screen. The first day I worked with him, I knew he would make me a stronger actor. He just gave me some really good tips that I'll always remember.

IESB: What do you enjoy most about being a part of this show, and what's been the most challenging aspect of it for you?

Alessandra: Playing five different characters has been very challenging. Honestly, it will be very rare, if I ever get to do that on any other show again. I think it would be awesome. Having the mix of two fabulous, veteran actors being my parents, and having such a great cast and crew that all gets along with no drama, and then having the writers we have that give us such fabulous work, is so rare. There are no roles out there for 16- to 24-year-old girls that have the depth of our characters on this show. That's very, very rare. We're so lucky to be blessed to have this. It's such a great opportunity. Why not try to shine in it?

IESB: Are there any hints you can give, as to what viewers can expect from the rest of this season? Is there anything that you're particularly looking forward to viewers getting to see?

Magda: I'm pretty excited about people seeing where Lacy goes. We're not allowed to talk about a lot of it, so it sucks knowing all these things that are going to happen, but have to be like, "Well, wait and see."

Alessandra: I play five people. That's about all I can say.

IESB: Are you surprised with the journey your characters have taken?

Magda: I am.

Alessandra: I feel like Magda's journey has even been crazier than mine, in the sense that you don't expect Lacy to go that way.

Magda: I'm really excited. It's been crazy and it's definitely not what I thought was going to happen, when I first started with the pilot. But, I feel very lucky with where it's gone.

IESB: Magda, you were also part of another popular sci-fi series with Kyle XY. How different has this experience been for you? Did that show help prepare you at all for this?

Magda: I think it definitely helped me prepare. It was a pretty big network and there were a lot of fans. But, it was still different. That character in Kyle XY will probably always be one of my favorite characters that I've ever gotten to play. There's something that I really fell in love with there. Just like this show, it had amazing writing. It was really witty and funny, but it still had a lot of sentimental stuff. But, with Caprica, it's a lot darker, all around. The character comes from a completely place, from a completely different world. In Kyle XY, it didn't delve in as deep as I would have liked it to. In Caprica, I get the opportunity to delve in really deep.

IESB: Now that you've had some experience with this genre, what do you think about the sci-fi fans? Can you understand their total loyalty and dedication?

Alessandra: Yeah, absolutely. I know my dedication to Degrassi: The Next Generation. I had those kinds of things. I know what I'm obsessed with. I totally get it. Everyone has their own thing. This is a smart audience that we're dealing with, and that's why it's such an honor for them to really love us. I hope that we get what Battlestar had, and I hope that we also get a different kind of viewing audience. I hope we get the audience for the basic 8 pm to 10 pm dramas as well. But, the sci-fi viewers who go to all these conventions are awesome. They are so loyal. They are there until your death, and you can't find that anywhere else.

IESB: Has your experience on the show, working with these different directors and getting to do the things that your characters have gotten to do, changed your perspective on what you want to do next in your careers? Does that raise the bar for you?

Magda: I've always loved playing different characters. No matter what I do, even if it's low-budget and no one's ever going to see it, I look at the script and, if I believe in it or I feel like I have something to give to it, I want to do it. I really like playing characters, so I always want to try to do different things. Anything that's different, I'm always up for.

Alessandra: I would love to do a horror film, but more than anything, I would love to do comedy. I think I'm really funny, and I've never done anything comedic. I usually only do drama. So, I would love to do a comedy.

CAPRICA airs on Fridays on SyFy

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