Avery Konrad discusses her role as ‘Sara’ in the hit Epix science-fiction horror series From opposite former LOST actor Harold Perrineau.
In a short space of time, Avery Konrad is making major moves in her acting career. As of 2022, Avery stars as ‘Sara’ in the Epix science-fiction horror series FROM, following a group of people trapped in a sinister town. The show also stars Harold Perrineau, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Eion Bailey, among others.
In addition to this, Avery also appears in the film Honor Society, written by David A. Goodman (Family Guy, The Orville). The film, starring Angourie Rice and Gaten Matarazzo, began streaming on Paramount+ from July 29 onwards.
Read on for Avery’s Exclusive Interview with Courageous Nerd. Or, check out the video version on our YouTube channel, linked below.
You’ve had recent high-profile roles in Honor Society and From, but let’s go back in time. What first started your interest in acting?
Avery Konrad: I showed interest in acting at a pretty young age. I went up to my Mom one day and said, “Hey, I want to try this.” I took a class and really enjoyed it. It felt like something I really understood.
I’m dyslexic, so school was a little bit more difficult. It’s ‘A, B, C’ and there’s only one way to learn something. With acting, it’s the first place where my way of thinking was celebrated.
I fell in love with it because there’s never a wrong answer. Everyone’s interpretation is the right interpretation of what they’re doing. So, that kind of led me to where I am today and that feeling hasn’t varied. Some days are harder than others. I think that’s what got me through to here, right now.
On From, you play the role of ‘Sara’, a troubled girl who lives in the township. Could you discuss the audition process of landing the role? Did you read for any other parts in the series?
Avery Konrad: The process of landing the role of Sara… she was the only character that I read for, in the series. I did the initial audition, which was a tape because over COVID… there still aren’t really any in-person auditions.
Then, I found out about 2 weeks later that I got a screen test. Basically, they bring all of the girls in who they liked from the initial audition to see who they’d like to play the role. I did that and found out [in] less than 24 hours that I booked the role.
It was very exciting and that was over a year ago, which is crazy to say. Time flies. That’s pretty much the process of how that one went. With different projects, you can sometimes read for roles a couple of times. This one, I only read twice and got very, very lucky.
From Season 1 just dropped in the UK. How would you set up the premise to anyone who’s unfamiliar with the show?
Avery Konrad: The overall premise of FROM is about a group of people who are brought into this town. Once you enter, you can’t escape. The tricky part is, when the sun goes down, monsters come out and wreak havoc on everything. Unless you’re inside and safe.
Within the monsters externally, what the show is really about is what the characters are fighting internally. Their internal monsters and how they deal with that. The circumstances of everything they’re dealing with. Trying to find a way home, their struggles to get out of this nightmare town. That’s basically the overall theme of the show.
The series has an unusual premise – people from all over the US trapped in a town they can’t leave. Did this unique storytelling aspect make you excited to do the show?
Avery Konrad: The high-stakes is one of the things that makes the show so intriguing and interesting. I feel like what the characters are going through is played very grounded and real. When these things happen, you kind of forget they’re there. That’s really cool and what I like about the tone of the show.
It’s an interesting concept to wrap your head around, within playing something so drastic. I mean, you can say we’re dealing with monsters every day. It’s a really cool premise and I’m so happy to be able to be part of it.
In Season 1, we do not see Sara’s backstory; namely, how she and Nathan, her brother, arrive in the town. Have you had discussions with the writers about what Sara’s life used to be like?
Avery Konrad: I have a bit of a monologue in episode 5, when I’m talking to Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot). I kind of touch on how we got there and how it’s my fault.
As far as having conversations with people, I feel it’s my job to fill in the blanks. Whatever feels right for her or how she got there. I also feel like it’s kind of all on the page as well.
I can make up my own storyline if I need to, but John [Griffin, series creator] and everyone have been amazing. The writing’s incredible. She’s clearly struggling with a lot of things. She kind of touches on why. We didn’t have too many conversations on what life was like outside of the town.
I did have conversations with Paul [Zinno], who plays my brother Nathan. We would get together and talk about our relationship; what that looks like. Once we show up on set, it’s already kind of set in stone. We have a place to go.
Without giving too much away, you also get one-on-one screentime with series lead Harold Perrineau, an accomplished actor known for LOST, OZ, Claws, Sons Of Anarchy and The Matrix, to name a few. How was your experience working with Harold?
Avery Konrad: Amazing, I love spending time with Harold. I feel very fortunate to have the amount of time that I did with him, last season. I felt very much like we were a team, which we kind of ended up as at the end of the season. Again, without giving too much away.
I’m very grateful for our time and we would also rehearse before we got to set. There’s so much happening. We wanted to make sure we were on the same page, as far as character development goes. On and off-screen, we would spend time together working on that.
I’m really grateful and proud of what we accomplished together, last season.
You also play “Emma” in the feature Honor Society on Paramount+ starring Angourie Rice and Gaten Matarazzo. What did you most enjoy about playing that character?
Avery Konrad: Honor Society was so much fun. I was very grateful to be a part of that movie. I saw the screening a couple of weeks ago; we were all together. It was very special to see that all come together, really amazing.
I had finished filming FROM, so [Honor Society] was the next project I went to. It was really just light-hearted and fun. Really cool people and we just had a blast. I have nothing but great things to say about that experience and the film.
It was fun to be goofy and do some comedy, which I really love as well. I’m so glad that everyone’s liking the film.
How would you explain the premise of Honor Society?
Avery Konrad: Honor Society is about Honor (Angourie Rice), she wants to get into Harvard. She’s worked her whole high school career to get into this school.
She thought she was the #1 choice, but it’s between her and 3-4 others. So, she kind of has to plan and scheme to take them down, so she gets into the school. Within that story is where Emma and Talia (Kelcey Mawema) come in.
We help her with the plan and take these people down. It’s a coming-of-age comedy, there are twists and turns to it. That’s what I really enjoy about it, a different take on coming-of-age comedy. It makes it special and unique, a really fun watch.
Everyone’s fantastic in it and I hope everybody tunes in to watch it.
I recently spoke to Honor Society writer David A. Goodman, who discussed the screenplay being different from his main body of work. How do you find the versatility between projects such as From and Honor Society?
Avery Konrad: The difference between Sara and Emma, you couldn’t get more opposite ends of the spectrum. As I was saying, I was very grateful to go into something as light-hearted and goofy as Emma was. It was exactly what I needed after playing Sara for a while and carrying that weight around with me.
I’m thrilled about the movie and it’s kind of the first comedy I’ve ever done. To be able to jump from FROM and into Honor Society, jump genres as well, was a dream come true.
With two high-profile projects already out in recent months, is there anything else we can expect coming up?
Avery Konrad: Not right now, I mean, From Season 2 obviously is the next thing I’m working on. Things change all the time as far as new projects go. There’s nothing to report right now other than Season 2, but if there is, I’ll be sure to let you know.
In a wider sense, what would you like to accomplish, goals-wise, in 2022 and beyond?
Avery Konrad: Career-wise, I like to kind of see what comes my way and tackle it from there. I don’t necessarily have an ‘I want to achieve this by this time’ . I know some people operate that way, which I think is great.
Not saying I don’t have goals, I obviously do, but I like to see what comes my way more than setting it in stone.
There are obviously lots of things I want to accomplish in my Film & TV career. I would love to do more movies and that kind of stuff. Personally, I just want to remain happy and healthy, which I think is my #1 priority right now.
If I go really simple, just getting into some sort of routine. Routine is really important for me. Life can be hectic, so it’s hard to maintain it. I think that’s what I would say, my goal is to be happy, healthy, routine and good company.
