Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with T@gged’s Katelyn Nacon

When she isn’t fighting for survival as Enid in The Walking Dead, Katelyn Nacon is captivating audiences as Elisia in the psychological thriller, T@gged. Her character is a high school student who’s suffered a great deal of loss, leading her down the wrong path. Her situation goes from bad to worse after she begins being harassed by an online organization looking for revenge. Pop Culturalist spoke with this rising star about Elisia’s journey, Ashlisia, and why this project means so much to her.

PC: You’ve been a part of T@gged since the very beginning. What initially attracted you to this project?
Katelyn: Honestly, it was Elisia. When I read the sides and everything they gave me for the audition, I loved how complex and messed up she was as a character. Once I read the synopsis and was able to talk to Hannah [writer/director] about the project in its entirety, I loved the whole concept. T@gged shows the dark side of the internet and social media, and how it can really control your life and lead you down a dark path.

PC: When you look back at this experience, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Katelyn: I honestly don’t know—the entire experience has been incredible. I get to spend three months in New Mexico each year and it feels like a different world out there. It’s also been a lot of fun getting to work with everyone. Even from my first callback, I got to chat back and forth with Hannah and break down who we thought Elisia was and how she would act in certain situations.

PC: What’s been your favorite part about playing Elisia and what’s the most challenging?
Katelyn: My favorite part is how complex she is. There are a lot of things that are broken about her, but at the end of the day, she’s very tough. The hardest part is the extent of her brokenness. Portraying that takes a toll on you as an actor, especially with how she was in season two. She fell apart and broke down a lot.

PC: You’re best known for your role on The Walking Dead. Did you bring any lessons you learned on that set over to T@gged? Were you able to draw any parallels between your characters?

Katelyn: Definitely! The Walking Dead was my first big acting job. It taught me all the technicality behind working on a set: where you’re supposed to be, what you’re supposed to do, where your cameras are, and more.

As far as parallels, Enid and Elisia have both lost a lot. They’ve found a bad way of coping with what they are. For Enid, she was building walls and pushing people away. Elisia took it a step further with her cutting, bulimia, and pyromanaic tendencies. But, I think Elisia is a little less hardened than Enid.

PC: Like you said earlier, T@gged tackles the dangers of social media and what you share online. Having been a part of this series, are you more conscious of what you’re posting on your own channels?
Katelyn: [laughs] I’ve always been conscious about social media. One of my favorite things about working on T@gged is that it shows what can go wrong with social media, how it can be extremely dangerous, and how it can lead you down the wrong path. In season one when Elisia is cutting herself, she turns to social media and there are people who tell her, “It’s okay to cut,” “It’s good for you,” “It’ll release all this bad pain.” That’s not healthy and not the place she needs to be going to try and cope with the death and loss she’s had in her life. Not only can social media have a bad influence on people, but there’s also the fact that you don’t know who anyone is when they’re hiding behind a screen. They can create a whole new identity and be a completely different person, and it doesn’t matter to them.

PC: T@gged has become this fan-favorite series with a loyal fanbase. When you signed on in season one, could you ever imagine it would become what it has?
Katelyn: I’ve always hoped for the best. I love this show and this character so much. It’s hard to go in with any expectations and I could never have imagined it would become this huge thing with a strong following. I thought it was a gorgeous show, but my main priority was to become Elisia. When I became a series regular on The Walking Dead, I made sure T@gged was written into my contract so that I could work on both shows. I loved the concept behind the show and the character. I’m so glad it’s gained a following because it deserves it. Hannah Macpherson put so much work into this show; it’s beyond anything I think I will ever achieve in my life! I’m so glad to see her baby come to life and for people to love it as much as we all do.

PC: At the core of this show is the friendship between Elisia, Rowan, and Hailey. How did the three of you build that bond?
Katelyn: It was really easy! We were all living in the same building in New Mexico and there really wasn’t anything else to do but to hang out with each other. We were also spending fourteen hours a day together filming all our scenes. It was incredible. I think Lulu and Lia already knew each other, so I was coming in as this little fifteen-year-old who was really shy and awkward, but they were really accepting of me and I fell in love with them really quickly. It wasn’t hard building that friendship at all.

PC: At the start of season three, we learn that Hailey has left. How does that impact Elisia and Rowan moving forward?
Katelyn: It’s really, really hard on them. Rowan and Elisia love Hailey and they always wanted to protect her and make sure she was safe because she’s a bright spirit. It’s definitely hard for her to leave because it intensifies everything around them and makes them realize this is really dangerous—everything they’re dealing with. But, it also just sucks to lose one of your great friends. You’re not able to protect them anymore because they’ve moved away. You have to hope that it solves their problems. It also increases the anxiety, especially for Elisia, because she sees Hailey run away and it makes her question whether they should even be there anymore and if they should follow in those footsteps.

PC: We also learn that Ash is alive and as a result of his injuries, their relationship changes pretty drastically. Can you tell us how you and Tim approach this new dynamic?
Katelyn: Yeah, it was really complicated. It’s interesting to see how it changes. In season two, Ash was pushing her away, mostly because of KingCobra, but Elisia was also going through a hard point in her life. She wasn’t cutting or bulimic, and didn’t have an outlet for all her anxiety, rage, and the loss she felt inside. The way she inflicted pain on herself was by pushing Ash away and that was affecting their relationship.

In season three, all she cares about is that Ash is back and alive, and all she wants to do is move forward with him. She wants to fix the things she’s broken in her past, which she does in that hospital scene. She explains how she’s always been broken and is lost. She’s stopped physically harming herself, but she’s found a different way to hurt herself, and that’s by pushing him away. There’s also this wedge put between them with Zoe. Elisia knows that Ash and Zoe had a relationship, and whether it was fake or not, there’s something there. Even when she’s trying to explain the things that she’s done, it’s not coming across.

Their trouble communicating makes it very intense between them. It hurts Elisia a lot. She’s in love with this boy, but he’s not listening to her about this person that has really hurt her and her friends. Instead, he’s trying to defend her. Then, to make it worse, he’s defending her for reasons that Elisia’s already been through as well. In one of the scenes, you’ll see him bring up how Zoe’s father passed away, and that’s how they related to each other. It’s extremely hurtful because Elisia has lost her family too, so it’s a lot to take in.

They can’t seem to get each other’s points across without getting into an argument, and it leads her to another relationship. There’s someone else who promises to be there for her, to make her laugh, and makes everything seem so much easier around her.

PC: That’s a great teaser! Of all of Elisia’s relationships, which is your favorite to explore and why?
Katelyn: I love Ashlisia a hundred percent and I will always love Ashlisia. I want to see more of them, but I will say, especially for this season, I enjoy her dynamic with Stinger. You see a lighter side to her that we don’t always get to see. I also love her dynamic with Tessa because I thought it was interesting to see how Elisia really accepted and trusted her, which isn’t easy for her.


PC: If the show is picked up for a season four, where would you like to see your character’s storyline go?

Katelyn: We better get picked up for a season four! I want her to still be going through her issues, but I want her to start trying to love herself again. I want to see her revert back to the Elisia that we never got to meet: the one that was around before her parents passed away. The one that loved partying and going out. She was full of life, love, energy, and I want to see glimpses of who that person used to be.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Katelyn: My guilty pleasure is definitely Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I also can’t stop watching The Great British Baking Show. Anytime I have free time, I’m by the TV watching The Great British Baking Show. It makes me think I can bake like them, but that’ll never happen.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Katelyn: When I was younger, I watched 13 Going on 30 probably a thousand times. I probably watched it maybe once a week.

PC: Favorite book?
Katelyn: The Handmaid’s Tale

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Katelyn: I’ve seen Wicked on Broadway like five times.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Katelyn: Surprised? I listen to a lot of rap like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye, and Post Malone.

PC: Hidden talent?
Katelyn: I can close one nostril and not the other.

Make sure to follow Katelyn on Twitter and Instagram, and binge-watch all three seasons of T@gged on Hulu today!

Photo Credit: Awesomeness