Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Roswell, New Mexico’s Jeanine Mason

Jeanine Mason continues to deliver an out-of-this-world performance as Liz Ortecho on the CW’s Roswell, New Mexico. It’s the first time that Jeanine has led a series, but you’d never be able to tell. The experience has forever changed her as a woman and as a creative. Pop Culturalist caught up with Jeanine ahead of tonight’s season finale to learn more about being number one on the call sheet, what attracted her to this project and role, and where she’d like to see Liz’s storyline head in Season 3.

Career

PC: Take us back to the beginning. How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Jeanine: It was always in me. At seven, I was able to articulate that I loved it. I always wanted to perform. I wanted to put on a show. When I was seven, I was like, “I like doing this. I’m an actor.” I was a self-proclaimed actor. [laughs]

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Jeanine: Oh, wow. I’ve had a lot of guardian angels who have shown up when I’ve needed them. I’ve had a lot of friends who have helped me get to a new level or helped me manage a new point in my career.

A good example is my buddy Jonathan Tucker. He’s an incredible actor who’s done so much. He was recently in that Charlie’s Angels movie. He was the villain, and he was incredible. We ended up in the same acting class while I was shooting Grey’s Anatomy. That was a year before I got Roswell, New Mexico. I wasn’t sure if I could do the class with my shooting schedule for Grey’s Anatomy, but they told me he would be my partner. I was like, “I’ll be there! I’ll drop whatever and I will make it work. I’ll work overtime.” He’s a pro. He’s come through and held my hand through so much. Whenever I’ve needed a big brother for navigating where I am now in my career as a series lead and all the beautiful and intimidating things of what that means, he’s been there.

PC: You’ve worked your way up in the industry and made your debut as a series lead in Roswell, New Mexico. Has anything surprised you about being number one on the call sheet? What’s been the biggest takeaway so far from this experience?
Jeanine: That I like it. [laughs] I didn’t quite know how it would feel on my body. I love being an actor. I love collaborating, and that’s what being an actor means to me. It means being a part of a team. It means being excited about being at video village and talking with your director, writers, script supervisor, and your costumer about what’s best for this moment, this scene, and I’ve always enjoyed taking care of my characters.

I didn’t know if I would enjoy that responsibility. I’m learning so much, and I’m so grateful for this. I’m excited to do this job for as long as they’ll possibly have us. Whenever the next job comes, I hope it’s another series lead. I’ve recently been talking about how much I admire Cobie Smulders. She’s gone from one strong show to another. I’m like, “Shit. I want that for me too.”

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that you reached out to people in your network about being number one on the call sheet. What advice did they share with you? What advice would you share now with someone who’s stepping into a role as a series lead?
Jeanine: Oh, I love that! Thank you for that. The people who I asked are people who really know me. I listened to them when they said, “You need to go in there and do you. Trust that what you’re doing is going to get the job done. If you go and give it a hundred percent, you’ll set a bar that your cast, crew, and everyone involved will meet.”

I decided that I needed to do everything I could to make sure, every day, I would never fatigue and I would do my best. I would try to deliver my best every day, be excited and inspired, and never complain. Listen—are there days where it’s hard, you’re tired, it’s freezing, and you’re shooting in the middle of winter in Sante Fe, New Mexico? Sure. But I don’t ever want something negative to come out of my mouth. That’s not my position. I can go home and bitch, but I always want to be everybody’s light on set—especially on the days when they’re cold and they’re like, “This is too much tonight.”

The advice I would give to someone stepping into a series lead role is you know more than you think you do. You’re more ready than you think you are. Come with your ideas. Come excited. Share them plainly and don’t muddle them in doubt. You’re there because they want your ideas, so share them fully.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Jeanine: I would say So You Think You Can Dance. I’ve always known I wanted to be an actor. That experience gave me my start. Roswell, New Mexico was my seventh network pilot. Every pilot was such a get. Pilots are massive. I don’t think people understand that. You’re like, “I’ve arrived at something.” All of it gives you time in the playground, in front of the camera. All of them have been invaluable, but Grey’s Anatomy was probably the biggest. It was the biggest step that put me in a position to get a job like I have now. When I started that job, I was supposed to do a couple of episodes. I remember the day when we got the call and they said, “We like you guys. Now we’re going to pin you for twenty episodes.” We were like, “Jesus Christ. Okay!” I knew in that moment that this was going to set me up in a way that I could only have hoped for.

Roswell, New Mexico

PC: This season, Liz has been dealing more and more with her dad’s immigration status. What has addressing such a timely issue meant to you and the cast? Has it brought a different weight to the project?
Jeanine: Absolutely. Liz is brazen and unapologetic about the things she believes in. That’s what I responded to with Liz when I read the sides in the pilot to where we are now in Season 2. I wanted that responsibility. I was sick of fluff. At that point, I had come off playing a DACA recipient on Grey’s. I was like, “How do you top this job?” Liz was clearly the answer. When we went out to pilot season and I started doing my research, I was like, “Liz is the dream character.” I could talk about this all day.

When I was on Grey’s Anatomy, I started working with Define American. Our writers worked with them, and I got to meet them. They’re an incredible organization. They do a lot of beautiful work, but they work with writers’ rooms to ensure the accuracy of the portrayal of immigrant families and mixed-status families. It was the coolest moment to have them part of Roswell. They’ve been contributing to our show beautifully. We’re very lucky.

They asked me recently to be the keynote speaker at their commencement. It was such a cool full-circle moment writing that speech. I mean, gosh, I was so intimidated. It took me a week, truly. I had, first of all, never done that. Second of all, which I said in my speech, is these are the people that I want to invest in. These are the people I want to work with. These are the people that are always going to know which way is the right way up. I see that in Liz’s family. They’re decent people trying to do right by themselves and their community. This gig has been such a blessing.

PC: This season, we’ve also gotten to see Liz’s relationship with Isobel change for the better. It’s been great to see strong female characters connect and grow on the show. Is that something you get to shape when you’re talking with the show writers?
Jeanine: For sure. Oh man. We’re always coming up with fun ways. This year, our writers were so excited about building the sister relationship between Liz and Amber Midthunder’s character, Rosa. I loved that. I love working with Lily Cowles, who plays Isobel. Their relationship starts off so low in the series. They’ve come such a long way. They’ve climbed the ladder rung by rung.

Lily Cowles is so dynamic and delicious in this role. She’s Isobel to the T. It’s been so fun to play with her. I feel like the best thing you can hope for is to have a fun tennis partner. Lily is that. She’ll spike it in your face. She just serves, and you better catch up. I’m always here for Isobel-and-Liz scenes.

PC: You’ve also gotten to work with some of the original cast. What’s that been like? Have they shared any words of wisdom?
Jeanine: Oh man. They’re so lovely. It’s crazy to me to see how some shows that have done reboots or revisited properties have not been so positive. That’s crazy to me. It’s the thing that you made and that you love. We all adored the original and the book series. It’s all these layers of fans, who have their diehard allegiances, but they’re so happy to be in the world of Liz and Max. They’ve been so great.

Shiri [Appleby] is such a boss. I love being around that woman. I feel like my brain just kicks into high gear around her. She’s always going and thinking. When she’s on set, we move. There’s such a sense of action that I really love. I’m hoping to continue to work with her.

She just got a big movie. I’m like, “Let’s do that! Let’s do something else too.” It’d be fun to work with her, act with her because man, she’s good. She’s so good. She’s unreal. It’s been lovely both personally and professionally. It’s been great.

PC: What can you tease about the Season Finale?
Jeanine: We recently introduced Diego, who’s played by Cleo Anthony. He’s a wonderful actor and good dude. On the surface, there’s concern. Fans are like, “The ex-fiancé is coming into town. What does that mean for Max and Liz?” That threat is different than people might think. It’s not going to play out how people think. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to be dire or problematic. It’s problematic for the whole town but also for Max and Liz.

The last two episodes are really one episode. It takes place in the same spot. We shot it all at night. It’s this event that’s happening in this small town. There’s these crazy lights and music. We had fire. It was incredible. It was incredible how we were able to pull out all the stops and blow the last bit of budget on those two episodes. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

PC: We know the series will be back for a third season. Congratulations! Where would you like to see Liz’s storyline head? Is there another character you’d like to see her interact more with?
Jeanine: It’s hard for me to share what I want for Liz without ruining the end of the season. But Liz is incredible. She’s truly an academic. She’s such a gift to science, and I want her to get to do the stuff that I know she can do. She has so much going on in her life that she can’t let her mad-scientist flag fly. There’s so much accountability and so many voices around her. Sure, a lot of them are people who love her and want the best for her, but sometimes I want to see what would happen if she totally let loose—left to be on her own accord when it comes to her work. I want that for her. It’s the story of a lot of women, particularly women of color. They feel like their lives are divided amongst so many heavy responsibilities. Sometimes I think if her life was a little less heavy, what are the things that her mind could do but she finds a way to do it anyway.

As far as a relationship that I want to explore more, I want to play with Isobel more. I’m so glad you asked that earlier question because I love the Liz-and-Isobel dynamic.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Jeanine: I love Parks and Rec, but that’s not a guilty pleasure. I love the Hallmark Channel. I will watch all of it. I don’t know why I find it so comforting. In July, they do all the Christmas movies. Christmas in July! [laughs] They do marathons, and I’m ready for it. I will be there. I just watched Tiger King with my brother. I also want to watch Dr. Pimple Popper. I’m going down a dark hole. [laughs]

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Jeanine: I also just watched National Treasure with Nicolas Cage with my brother.

PC: Favorite book?
Jeanine: Oh man, I love books! I’m always reading. Right now I’m reading Mary Oliver, who’s a brilliant poet. She passed away recently—maybe in the last year or so. I’m reading another one of her books. I love reading Chanel Cleeton. I’m about to pick up her book The Last Train to Key West. That just came out, and I’m so pumped about it. I want to read Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Going back to Parks and Rec, I love Nick Offerman’s books, which are weirdly, like, very dude and very much about woodworking, but he’s got some great life advice in there. I highly recommend his books and his book with his wife, Megan Mullally.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Jeanine: I love them all so much! Since I was little, I’ve always loved Phantom of the Opera. It was the first show I ever saw on Broadway. It’s the one, every few years, I’ll be like, “We’re going! Let’s do it.” But I also loved Hadestown. I saw that recently. I also saw West Side Story the last night of Broadway before the shutdown. I have a couple of friends in it, and it was beautiful. I can’t wait to go back. I also can’t wait to watch Plaza Suite with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick whenever that comes back. I was so bent on getting tickets. I love theater. That’s why I love New York.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Jeanine: I listen to a lot of Frank Sinatra. I like crooners. I don’t know why. I also love the Temptations. I’ll listen to that when I’m cleaning.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Jeanine: Damn. That’s a great question. I’m trying to think which of my girlfriends I want to give this job to. I’m like, “Who do I trust enough to do right by me?” [laughs] I’m going to say Natalie Morales. She’s the first one that popped into my head. So I’m going to go ahead and give my girl Natalie the job. I think she’ll make it work. She’ll be pissed that she’s got to do the dancing but, you know, she’ll figure it out.

To keep up with Jeanine, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Catch the season finale of Roswell, New Mexico tonight at 9/8c on the CW.