Pop-Culturalist.com

Mary Kate Wiles became an artist because she wanted to connect with audiences and evoke the same emotions she felt when she first saw The Lord of the Rings. That pivotal moment was the starting point for Mary Kate as she’s traversed the industry and become one of Hollywood’s most exciting triple threats. Mary Kate, an actress, producer, and creator, can now be seen (and heard) as the lead character in the highly-anticipated web series, Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye. Pop Culturalist caught up with Mary Kate to learn more about her, her career, and Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Mary Kate: I was an only child. I grew up in dance classes and in choir when I was little. Performing was always something that I was doing, but it was seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when I was a teenager that completely swept me away. Seeing that movie was so big for me. I was like, “Oh my gosh. This is incredible. I want to do that. I want to go on adventures. I want to make art that makes other people feel the way that I feel right now watching this movie.” I haven’t looked back and we’re still going.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Mary Kate: Lord of the Rings is my number-one thing in terms of storytelling as a whole. I love the books as well as the movies. I studied literature in college. I love classic literature and that has turned out to be a huge inspiration for me. A lot of the projects I’ve done in my career have been based off literature, which has been awesome.

As far as acting goes, Cate Blanchett is my idol. She’s incredible. She disappears into her roles in such an admirable way. Also, on the comedy side, I love Amy Poehler. I love Parks and Recreation; it’s my favorite comedy for sure. It’s such a wonderful television show, and it’s so uplifting. I want to be a part of projects that are funny, fun, and smart but also are uplifting and encouraging.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a producer and creator. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actress and vice versa?
Mary Kate: Oh my gosh. It’s invaluable. There are so many reasons for actors, especially now, to get behind the scenes. It’s something that I never really expected that I would do. When I was starting out I was like, “I’m just an actor.” But in this climate where we have the internet and with everyone streaming, it’s so accessible to get your work out there. In some ways, we, as actors, are almost expected to do that.

It’s invaluable in terms of how much you will learn being on the other side. It will make you go into all your other projects, where you’re just acting with a lot of respect for all the work that goes into making something.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout the years. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Mary Kate: Oh, man. Thank you. That’s very kind. It’s hard to define one particular moment. I think for sure, obviously The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was huge. Everything that I’ve done since, for the most part, is thanks to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. That was such an exciting project to get to be a part of in the way that it was breaking ground as a digital series that was also interactive, played on classic literature, and everything that we were able to do with the series. It’s something that won’t really ever happen again because it was such a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. It became popular so fast, and people were interacting with the characters online. It was so, so interesting.

That was a huge, huge point in my career. But there have been a lot of other really wonderful moments as well. I mean, working with Sean Astin in my upcoming show, Wayward Guide, was a dream come true. Obviously, I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan. [laughs]

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye

PC: Speaking of Wayward Guide, can you tell us about the series, your character and what drew you to this project?
Mary Kate: Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye is a digital series that’s starting this week. It’s about my character, Artemis, who is a super-tenacious and driven podcast reporter, and her brother, Paul, who’s her partner in the podcasting situation. They end up going to this tiny little town of Connor Creek to investigate some weird happenings. The story is told both through regular digital episodes but also through podcast episodes.

The podcast episodes will be coming out every week. It’s an inward podcast that Artemis and Paul are making. It fills out what you are seeing in the episodes and just fills out the story in a fun way. This is the first time I’ve been involved in something like this. It was a lot of fun.

I’ve worked with the Tin Can Brothers before. They’re the producing team [and] friends of mine. They’re just wonderful comedic writers and producers. I did a stage show with them back in 2016 called Spies Are Forever. That got put online and has gotten a lot of attention since then. That was a joy. Anytime you get to work with friends, it’s great. I’m super honored that they’ve continued to invite me to play these really incredible, awesome female characters who are driven and passionate but also real and flawed. I’m very honored anytime they ask me to come play.

PC: Like you were just saying, in addition to this being a live-action series, there is also an eleven-episode narrative podcast that fans are going to get to enjoy. When you’re working on a project that’s tackling two different mediums, what is that process like?
Mary Kate: We shot the show in 2017, so it’s been a little while. We recorded the podcast this past summer. It was really nice to have something to do in the pandemic that we could do safely. That was a nice break from a year that hasn’t been super work heavy. It was really interesting to get back into the mindset of playing this character that I hadn’t played in a couple of years. We watched the episodes and I tried to familiarize myself and put myself in that headspace. Also thinking about how a podcast is a different medium than a film or series.

So I was trying to figure out how Artemis is as not just herself, like you see in the series, but behind the podcasting microphone. How does she present herself in that way? It was a fun challenge. I hope people enjoy it. I’m very excited. I haven’t even heard the podcast episodes myself, so I’m really excited to hear them.

PC: Fans have been patiently waiting for this project to come out. If you look on the internet, there’s so much buzz around it. Did that bring any pressure at any point during this process?
Mary Kate: Absolutely. I wasn’t on the producing side of this one in particular, but I have experience producing. It’s hard sometimes for people on the outside to know how much goes into creating something of this size. We are so lucky that we have a super-engaged and active audience. They’ve been so excited about this project since it was announced three years ago. So that’s awesome, and it’s something that we’re all thankful for.

We’re also thankful that they’ve been super patient. I hope that it will be worth the wait now that it’s finally coming out. In some ways, I don’t want to speak for the Tin Can Brothers because I’m not on the producing side of this one, but it’s kind of a blessing in disguise that now in this time of not being able to do much producing that they have something ready to go. We shot it years ago before all this happened.

PC: There’s this fantastic dynamic between Artemis and Paul. How did you and Steve Zaragoza approach that relationship?
Mary Kate: I love Steve. He’s so great. He was part of a series called Frankenstein, MD, which was done by the same team that did The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pemberley Digital. We knew of each other peripherally through that. But man, he’s fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about Steve. I don’t think he ever complained at all on set, and I know I did at times. He’s such a sunshine of a person. He’s so excited to be there. He totally shows up. He’s always got a great attitude. He loves to play around. He’s so weird and so silly, and he really just brought such a fun energy to set. It was perfect because that’s very much who Paul is.

Artemis is super serious and wants to get down to business. Paul is kind of like a puppy, jumping around, being excited, looking at everything around him. I think Steve just innately brings that to the table, and that’s super fun to play off of.

PC: If you had to summarize the first season in one sentence, what would it be?
Mary Kate: Podcast reporters Artemis and Paul find that their investigation gets a little hairy when they head to Connor Creek.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Mary Kate: I’ve been watching Top Chef recently. I love it. I’m like ten years late to this game, but I love cooking shows and I had never watched Top Chef before. But a month ago, I started watching some of the early seasons. They’re so silly and dramatic, but I got sucked in.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Mary Kate: My boyfriend gives me a lot of crap because I love Love Actually. He thinks it’s terrible.

PC: Favorite book?
Mary Kate: Anne of Green Gables. I have been working on it recently, and it’s so good. It makes me cry. It’s a wonderful classic novel about a female, written by a female, filled with wonderful female characters.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Mary Kate: Into the Woods is my personal favorite musical. I’ve never been in it. I would kill to be in it. There are so many great roles in that show. That would be a dream for sure.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Mary Kate: Jukebox The Ghost.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Mary Kate: Elle Fanning. I recently started watching The Great and she really impressed me.

To keep up with Mary Kate, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Catch new episodes of Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye every Tuesday.