5:28PM, Nov 02, 2009
For five years, actress Evangeline Lilly has been stuck in a never ending love triangle with her Lost character Kate Austen.
Lost's leading lady tells us the truth behind the rumours of her departure from the show and gives her opinion on the eternal Jack versus Sawyer debate.
Are you happy with Kate's character development?
I am. I think it's fascinating to see her go from someone who is seriously independent and cares only about herself to someone who will sacrifice everything and anything for another tiny, beautiful, little human being.
I think it's a very strong arc and I think it's a huge change in television. Normally, they don't want characters to change because they want the audiences to be able to tune and recognize people they are familiar with. They take so many risks on our show. They change people all the time, which is true to life.
What changes can we expect for Kate in future?
Kate is still growing and learning, but I don't think you will see any drastic changes like the one we saw from season three to season four when she became a mother. I don't think they will ever find that degree of shift for the character again.
Kate has been defined by the fact that she has left her son and never departs from that moment when she left him. She can't. She's stuck there. She goes through a ups and downs and adventures and trials, but ultimately that's all she's thinking about and all she cares about. She's very singularly focused, which gives her determination. It gives her a strength that she hasn't had in the past where she had no goal and no end game. She has one now.
What used to drive Kate forward?
She used to be driven by the two men in her life: Jack and Sawyer. I had always hoped the writers would find a purpose for her outside of them – and they have.
What did you make of Kate and Sawyer's reunion?
I was nervous because I didn't want anything to undermine Kate's character. I didn't want to see Kate coming back to the island and falling in love with Sawyer again after three years of having a relationship with Jack. I was very nervous that would happen and I didn't want to have to try and justify that because I'm the person who has to make that believable. But the writers didn't do that.
I think it's a very intense thing for both Kate and Sawyer. I don't think Kate realized he was even alive. The last time she saw him, he had jumped out of a helicopter and was swimming in the ocean to an island that disappeared minutes later. For all intents and purposes, Kate thought he was dead.
Do you want to see Kate settle with Jack or Sawyer?
I am not rooting for either one. I have to be careful on this show not to commit myself to any ideas because the writers change things all the time. If I was really invested at this point, five years into the show, I would have had so many phone calls to the writers screaming, yelling and crying. I would've spent hours pleading, "This can't happen and I won't do it. I refuse." I learned very early on that I have to keep a blank slate. I have to wait and see what the writers have in store for Kate and then go with it.
Is there any truth in the rumor that you're leaving Lost?
Why on Earth would I want to leave the best female role on television? I'm happy on the show and I have no reason to want to go anywhere. That rumor started because the world is bored and they need a little drama, so they make things up. That's it. It's very simple.
Why do you think Lost is so successful?
I think there are a lot of reasons for its success. It's a layered show and there are so many characters to follow, so you never get bored. If you don't like one character, you're going to like another. Lost covers such a wide range of entertainment venues, too. It's a hospital show, a legal show, an adventure show, a sci-fi show and a soap opera – and you're left with all these cliffhanger mysteries. You have all these questions answered. There's a lot going on.
Lost on Lost? Catch up on the story so far with Season 5 on DVD, available from Mon 26 Oct.
