Mia McKenna-Bruce Talks Vampire Academy, Her Character’s Arc, and the Fan Response

Mia McKenna-Bruce is a dynamic storyteller who has brought complex characters to life on the stage and screen. Her past credits include projects like EastEnders, Billy Elliot, and Persuasion.

This fall, she’s captivating audiences with her portrayal as Mia Karp in Peacock’s Vampire Academy. From executive producers, Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre comes a story of friendship, romance, and danger. In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter vampire society. One as a powerful Royal, the other a half-vampire Guardian trained to protect against the savage ‘Strigoi’ who threaten to tear their society apart. That is, if Royal infighting doesn’t do the job first.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Mia about Vampire Academy, how she approached her character’s journey, and what’s ahead.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and the arts?
Mia: I started dancing when I was two years old because I had a lot of energy as a child. I channeled that into my local dance school in South East London. From there, I realized I loved to perform.

Then I watched Titanic and I was mortified by it. [laughs] I was really upset. My mom got the director to call me. Turns out, I learned recently, it wasn’t the director at all—it was my grandpa. He rang me to explain to me that it was a film, and he explained what actors are. He was trying to put my mind at ease. Then I was like, “Wow, I want to do that. I want to play other people and tell other people’s stories.”

Then I found an audition in a local newspaper for an amateur production. I auditioned and somehow got in. It went from there. I got an agent after that. I’ve been super lucky that I’ve managed to keep working on amazing things since I was about eight years old.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Mia: My mom and my dad. They’ve supported me throughout my career. I couldn’t have done any of this without them, even though they didn’t have a clue about the industry. They’ve always kept me in touch with reality and grounded me. They’ve influenced me the whole way. I always want to make them proud.

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?
Mia: I think the first time I stepped on stage. I was in Billy Elliot: The Musical in London. That was my first professional job when I was eight years old. It was the first time that I went on stage and realized that there were actual people watching us. That was the most impactful moment for me because I was like, “I can really do this. I really want to do this.” That will always stand out to me. I was so nervous. The nerves are always there. But I remember I was still able to go out there and have the best time, even though I was nervous. It filled me with confidence.

PC: Tell us about Vampire Academy, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Mia: I’ve always been obsessed with vampires for as long as I can remember. That’s what drew me to it. I watched The Lost Boys with my dad as a kid.

As soon as this came through and they had a vampire named Mia, I was like, “This is as close as I am going to get to being an actual vampire. I would love to do this!”

Vampire Academy is a show where we have these supernatural humans and these vampires with superpowers. They all have very real everyday problems that they’re dealing with. It’s set in this magical world, but you’re able to relate to all these characters on different levels. It’s such a brilliant way to be able to sit and understand your own feelings without it being too much. You’re escaping the real world and being a part of something magical.

My character, Mia, is super set on wanting to climb the social ladder. She wants to be queen. But that’s taken away from her quite quickly. She goes on this whole journey throughout the series of realizing what’s actually important to her, which I think everyone can relate to. It’s great to be able to play a character that goes, “I realized actually what I want isn’t what I initially thought and that’s okay.” I’m really grateful to play her.

PC: You’ve handled that journey with so much nuance. How did you create the space for yourself to explore that? What’s ahead for her?
Mia: Thank you! I drew from my own experiences of figuring out how to navigate life and learning what’s important to me. I get to do that with this character and this incredible team. We are such a close cast and crew with Julie and Marguerite leading the way. We really had the freedom to play, experience, and see what hit well. It was amazing.

Throughout the rest of the series, we really get to see Mia come into her own. We get to see her fight for what she believes in. I’m really excited for the rest of the episodes to come out.

PC: Like you were saying, you’re working with some heavyweights in this genre. What was it like getting to collaborate with Julie and Marguerite as you brought this story to life? How did that trust and safety allow you to take agency over your character?
Mia: I was a huge fan of everything Vampire Diaries. Before stepping onto the set, I was super excited to work with Julie and Marguerite. They’ve created such incredible worlds in this genre. I had complete faith and trust in what they were doing.

This is an adaptation. There is a big responsibility to make sure you are creating and selling this world that’s been created for you. Julie and Marguerite have taken all the best bits and gone even further!

PC: One of the benefits of adapting a popular book series into a show is the opportunity to really flesh out these characters and create new storylines. Audiences have really taken to a particular relationship of Mia’s that wasn’t in the book. Have you seen the fan response on social media to this particular relationship? Did you feel any pressure since it deviates from what we see in the book series?
Mia: I thought I would feel the pressure because this is a relationship that wasn’t in the book, but everyone has been so amazing. I’ve seen such amazing responses, and I couldn’t have asked for it to have gone better. At the end of the day, you’ve got to have faith that people are going to believe in the stories that you’re telling.

We’re telling the story of this organic relationship and people are responding to that. They’re real people. They’re people with superpowers, but they’re also people with real emotions. Since it’s come out, I’ve been completely overwhelmed by how amazing the response has been and super grateful.

PC: If we’re lucky enough to get a second season, where do you want to see Mia’s storyline head?
Mia: I’m wary of saying too much because there are things that happen towards the end of the season. I’d like to see what happens from there. Let’s just say she gets a little more hands on. She’s fighting to make things better. I hope that continues.

PC: You’re such a dynamic talent. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role that you would love to bring to life either on the stage or on the screen?
Mia: Thank you. I would really love to go back to my musical theater roots and combine that with my work on screen. I’d love to do a musical film or a dance film—something where I could incorporate my two loves. That would be the dream. I would really, really love that.

To keep up with Mia, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Vampire Academy on Peacock.