GRUMPY MAGAZINE - Katherine McNamara (Collector's Edition) by Grumpy Magazine

On the cover About Grumpy Magazine is an international digital and print publication founded and curated by Jasmine Perrier. Selfpublished from Paris since 2016, we aim at covering the cultural landscape across the world and sharing a genuine vision of life to get you out of your grumpy mood. More than just a magazine, we are interested in aesthetically pleasing a modern take on traditional staples and thus offering a unique book capturing thoughtful stories and stimulating sceneries. Our ‘‘COLLECTOR’’ series introduces a unique edition in collaboration with one talent and special guests to craft the most authentic story.

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INSIDE THE CAREER OF

Katherine McNamara

Taken from our interviews with Katherine McNamara in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Upbringing Growing up in Missouri in a family of scientists and medical professionals, Katherine first discovered performing arts when she took part in a community theater project directed by a family friend who needed a dancer. Whereas she enjoyed being on stage on the premiere day, she never thought she could be an artist until she started playing more complex characters. Meanwhile, she also pursued her initial plan to go into finance and gladly uses her knowledge to manage her current career. ‘‘I can handle my finances and read my contracts. It’s been extremely helpful.’’

Breakout role Katherine led Freeform’s show Shadowhunters based on The Mortal Instruments book series by Cassandra Clare for three seasons as Clary Fray — a role she believes she will certainly cherish for the rest of her life. ‘‘I’d like to say thank you to the entire Shadowhunters fandom for making this experience too special. Everything that has happened to me and everyone else on this journey is truly extraordinary and rare.’’

Music ‘‘With my music, it’s an opportunity to really share a piece of myself, a piece of my heart, and my experience.’’ When she isn’t in someone’s else shoes, Katherine hopes to help and inspire through her music. Fans of Shadowhunters may have heard her song ‘‘Ember’’ which was featured in the season 2 finale. In 2020, she shared two recordings from her archives titled ‘‘What Do We Got To Lose’’ and ‘‘Making a Monster Out of Me.’’

The Stand Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the limited series available on CBS All Access centers on a group of survivors who have made it through a deadly disease and confront a battle between good and evil as humanity’s future at stake. Introduced in the fourth episode, Katherine’s character Julie Lawry is certainly unlike any of the heroic characters she has played before. ‘‘I always think of her as the intersection of Erin Brockovich, Harley Quinn, Elle Woods, and Villanelle because she’s such a loose cannon with extraordinary taste for extravagance. And yet, she’s a little bit insane. She’s the erratic Tinkerbelle of the apocalypse.’’

Next projects Katherine reunited with some of her former Shadowhunters co-stars in other upcoming projects — she stars in Push opposite Matthew Daddario, and worked with Luke Baine on a horror movie filmed entirely at home while in quarantine. ‘‘Those should be coming out next year.’’

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K atherine McN amara KNOWS NO LIMIT Interview by Zelda Williams Photos by Sami Drasin at Walter Schupfer Management Makeup by Anton Khachaturian at Cloutier Remix Hair by Hayley Heckmann Production Jasmine Perrier at Studio J•T•P Location The Chromacabana Illustration by Jenny Sorto

HE MIGHT BE JUST 25, BUT IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT KATHERINE MCNAMARA FEELS LIKE SHE HAS LIVED A MILLION LIVES THROUGHOUT HER CAREER. UNAFRAID TO PUT HERSELF OUT OF HER COMFORT ZONE AND

EXPLORE HER INNER SELF ACROSS ALL MEDIUMS, THE VERSATILE ACTRESS — WHO CAN ALSO SING AND DANCE — HAS PROVEN HER DEDICATION OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS BY GETTING INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE AND DIVERSE PROJECTS. SHE BOOKED HER BREAKOUT LEAD ROLE ON FANTASY DRAMA AND GLOBAL PHENOMENON SHADOWHUNTERS WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 19, THEN KEPT FINDING SUCCESS BY JOINING THE CAST OF HIT SUPERHERO SERIES ARROW — ALL THAT IN A MATTER OF YEARS. AS A TRUE “CHAMELEON” THAT SHE INTENDS TO BE, ONE OF HER MOST RECENT PROJECTS LED HER TO TAKE ON A DARKER ROLE AS SHE ENTERED THE APOCALYPTIC WORLD OF STEPHEN KING IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE STAND ON CBS ALL ACCESS.

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at — as many refer to her — was interviewed by fellow industry friend Zelda Williams on New Year’s Eve. The two of them met at their first Upfronts for Freeform in 2016, when Katherine was promoting the first season of Shadowhunters while Zelda was attending the event for her show Dead of Summer. As a horror movie enthusiast, Zelda directed and produced Kappa Kappa Die in which Katherine made a brief — but memorable — appearance, as she recalled happily that she was shooting Arrow in Vancouver and flew to Los Angeles for a day to get murdered with a Jello shot. Throughout the friendly conversation full of positive energy, Katherine reflected on the hugely different year 2020 has been for her, staying creative and busy during quarantine, and successfully going from hero to villain on-screen. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

KATHERINE MCNAMARA: Hi darling, how are you?

human interaction this year [laughs], and a family that we’ve built together.

ZELDA WILLIAMS: I’m good! How was your night sweet one?

ZW: It was so nice to actually get to be closer to you, given that, as you said, you’re usually on a plane every 10 days. This is the first year I’ve gotten uninterrupted Kat time [laughs]. I had no idea you bake as much as you do.

KM: It was good. I’m up at 4-5AM every morning. ZW: I don’t know how you do it. KM: I think I’m used to not having a lot of sleep and now that I actually have time to sleep, my body just goes, ‘‘You’re going to be awake.’’ ZW: So Kat, how did we become friends, and I’m here doing this? [Laughs] KM: I feel like we’ve known each other for so long now. But I remember it was at the Upfronts for Freeform several years ago because I had worked with Mark Indelicato years ago that you were doing [Dead of Summer] with, and he introduced us. Then, I’ve just never let you go. ZW: I remember that — the dreaded Upfronts. You and Troian Bellisario were the two people who helped shepherd me through what has been my first and only Upfronts, which I’m very grateful for because those can be incredibly strange. KM: That was my first one as well. All of us were going, ‘‘What is this new world?’’ ZW: It’s an aspect of the industry that a lot of people — especially fans of shows — don’t get to see. It’s strange because for me, it still feels like Comic-Con, but for bankers [laughs]. In any case, we will move forward. Funnily enough, we have spent this year together. What has [it] been like for you, especially given your family? KM: It’s been very strange. I went from being on an airplane every 10 days to not leaving Los Angeles for about 10 months for the most part. That has been odd — just being in my condo for the first time for this long and not seeing my family for a year, not traveling and doing Comic-Cons all summer. But having people like you and our safe little pod has been the biggest help because it has given me some form of

KM: Baking is a huge form of therapy for me, and I’m glad I have a place to bring all my baked goods and not just eat them all myself [laughs]. ZW: I don’t know if this is very common knowledge, but your mother is an epidemiologist. It was really interesting to also have this expert perspective. KM: She is — by training, she is an infectious disease research scientist. She’s been a big resource and help for me, the one person in my family that’s not in the science and medicine industry. And it’s nice to have an excuse to talk to her all the time because I miss her. But it’s a little frustrating when other people aren’t taking it as seriously. It seems to prolong all of this when in reality, it’s relatively simple if you focus. ZW: I do miss work and I know you do as well. Looking back, is there one role that feels like this defining era for you? There’s like everything that was before this role and then everything that’s come after. KM: I feel like Shadowhunters would be that one for me — not only because of where I was in my career before and after, but also where I was as a human being. I had been working in and out of television and movies for years. Shadowhunters was really the first time that I was at the helm of something. I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders — not only to the book fans, but the on-set responsibilities of being in that position. I was also 19 years old when I came into the show and I finished it when I was 23. So it really shaped a lot of who I was as an adult, and there was even a period of time as the show was ending that I had to go, ‘‘What is Katherine like as an adult after this show? How do I frame my life now?’’ Because everything in my adult life has been framed around this job.

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ZW: Was there a break between when you ended up going to Arrow? Because then you’re coming into a show that has been established for many years. That must have been a very different experience. KM: It was a hugely different experience, but sort of the biggest gift because there was really no break — maybe a month or two. And I was doing Comic-Cons between the two jobs. But when you come off the job [that has] become such a huge part of your life, there’s a mourning period that happens afterward when you realize that you don’t get to be a part of the story that you’ve been telling anymore. But at the time, I watched six seasons of Arrow in order to figure out how to be the child of these two characters and all of that. It really gave me something to focus on constructively, and not just sit there and look back at Shadowhunters photos. ZW: With the Arrow universe and the Shadowhunters universe, you obviously played two badasses. I suppose I wouldn’t call Shadowhunters dystopic, but you were certainly dystopic in Arrow. Do you think that’s something that’s going to continue with you? Because it certainly continued with The Stand. KM: It’s interesting you bring that up because right before Shadowhunters, I had done The Maze Runner, which is another iteration of a dystopian world destroyed by a disease. It’s never something I even considered before. When I started Shadowhunters, I didn’t know how to throw a punch, how to hold a sword. I was really fortunate to have amazing stunt coordinators that trained me five times a week. The folks on Shadowhunters taught me everything I know and I owe them so much because I never thought I could have any modicum of physical strength that was significant given my size. They showed me that no matter what size or shape you are, if you train for your body type and you learn how to do things the proper way, you actually can. It was oddly the moment in the industry as well [of] this resurgence of the strong, developed badass female character. I feel really fortunate to have been a part of that. But moving forward, my favorite part of my job is that I get to be a chameleon and I hope to continue to diversify.

ZW: You don’t want to be a butt-kicker into the infinity and beyond? [Laughs] KM: I’d be happy to be, but ultimately, I’d love to do other things. On The Stand, I always felt like there was something missing because I had gone from wearing combat boots, jeans, and kicking butt every day to wearing heels, sequins, and not kicking butt every day. I had one day where I had a stunt on set and I went, ‘‘This is what’s been missing. Now, I feel normal.’’ [Laughs] But it’s interesting how different things develop and change. ZW: Speaking of butt-kicking — you do a lot of your own stunts and certainly as many as they’ll allow you to do safely. Explain this to me [because] I’ve never had the opportunity to do this. Especially because I know you and I now am going to constantly worry for your safety if I’m watching the show. KM: This is the classic dichotomy of a dancer — I grew up as a ballet dancer. We are the most coordinated people if you give us a specific set of movements. But if we are in charge of how our own bodies are moving, we can’t walk in a straight line. Train me to do a specific thing and I’m good. I’ll go get the muscle memory and I’ll do it over time. But I owe quite a bit of that to Darren McGuire and his team on Shadowhunters — they took the time, they saw this willingness and this dedication, I guess. And equally, something I loved about Darren’s choreography is that he didn’t have any character do one specific martial art. Every fight scene had a story of its own that was based around what the two characters were going through. It gave me a skill set that I never thought was possible for me. When I’m creating a character, I also want to be a part of everything I can, because that’s what creates this human. A lot of that came from my stunt double as well, who is a world champion martial artist. So the way that Clary moves and fights is very much a combination of both of us working together to figure out what that would be. It’s a lot to learn, but it was an exciting challenge. ZW: In the middle of situations like that, is it meditative for you or adrenaline rush? KM: It depends on the situation. With fight scenes, in particular, it tends to go back and forth. There’s a certain level of focus

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that you have to have — you have to know exactly what you’re doing and where to put your body parts and weapons so that you don’t get hurt or hurt someone else. But you also can’t help that adrenaline rush. I spent eight hours one day at the bottom of a pool pretending to drown and see swords fly at me. All I wanted at the end of the day was a hot shower and a Scotch. But at the end of the day, I left knowing that they were going to turn it into something great. Those are always my favorite days. It’s the same when it comes to an emotional day — if you have a day of 10 pages of intense dialogue, it’s a different level of intensity and excitement simultaneously. ZW: What’s a part you would be so excited to play if it fell in your lap? Even if it’s already been played before, even if it already exists, whether it was played by a man or woman... For me, it was always Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. KM: There’s a few. It’s funny you bring up Hannibal Lecter because I’ve always said I want to play a serial killer — just because if someone looks at me, they’re not going to think serial killer off the bat. At least, I hope not. ZW: A lot of women want to play serial killers [laughs]. I feel like we’re all in that headspace. KM: We never really get that chance. But if you play Hannibal Lecter, I’ll play your Clarice. How’s that? [Laughs] Also, Batgirl has always been a character that I’ve wanted to play because she had red hair and she rode a motorcycle. But equally, I’ve always been dying to jump into a heavily period world. Give me a corset in a hoop skirt and throw me into an environment that’s completely different and entirely foreign. There’s a Tom Stoppard play called Arcadia — it’s my favorite play of all time that takes place in that era. I’m probably a little too old for the character now, but that’s something that’s always been on my bucket list as well. ZW: What is it about that era that you like? KM: I feel as though The Favorite highlighted that for me, because you have this era in which there were very clearly defined gender

roles. And yet, I always find it interesting to subvert that. There were women throughout History that did subvert those gender roles and did find ways to make their mark on history, despite how much society tried to silence them or push them aside. Those are the kind of stories that I always find the most interesting. I don’t know if that’s something that I relate to personally or that I just find to be interesting as a character exploration. ZW: So you’re saying you want to be an emotional butt-kicker as well? KM: Yes, I do. I’d like to kick butt in all aspects of humanity. ZW: Hold on — is Julie your first villain as well? KM: No, it’s my first villain in a while. Before Shadowhunters, I did nothing but mean girls and villains. And for the last probably seven years, I’ve been playing heroes. ZW: Teenage villains are a different thing too. I find that especially teenage female villains are very specific creatures, because I mainly play villains. [Julie] is like your first adult womanly. Is there anything that was different about being on set? KM: I wouldn’t say the dynamic with the cast and crew was different. Maybe it was because I was playing such a different character as well. It felt like creative soul food because it was stretching a different set of muscles for the first time in a long time. But equally, I had several moments where I was massively uncomfortable and it took me a while to figure out why. It’s because as opposed to making choices that felt good as a human, heroic, and right, I was making choices that every human instinct of Katherine was saying, ‘‘This is wrong, don’t do this. You’re a horrible human being.’’ I was almost fighting myself a lot of times in these choices. ZW: I feel like villains feel different for everyone. For me, it’s entirely different than who I am. I know people are going to be like, ‘‘She’s terrifying.’’ But the things that we do are at their core fake. We’ve talked about this because we got to work together

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‘‘I feel like Shadowhunters would be that [defining era]

for me — not only because of where I was in my career before and after, but also where I was as a human being. [...] I was 19 years old when I came into the show and I finished it when I was 23. So it really shaped a lot of who I was as an adult ’’

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on Kappa Kappa Die, and you did that [horror movie] in quarantine with Luke [Baines] too. KM: Yes! ZW: So you’ve seen this a couple of times over — there’s a certain kind of funny nerdy glee on horror sets because most horror people are big sweet nerds that get really excited about things like blood cannons. But on set, I find that sometimes the things that we’re supposed to do are the most horrible. This also might have to do with the seriousness of the genre. [In] The Stand, it genuinely looks like you guys had a blast in the evil Pink Palace. That must have been almost like Halloween for a while. KM: There’s very much two sides to that with Julie. There’s a side [where] we’re walking through the Pink Palace while they’re playing ‘‘Welcome to the Jungle’’ over the speakers. I don’t know if they’re using that in the show, but that’s what we were playing on set on the day. Or I’m drinking champagne and dancing to whatever music while we’re all pseudo worshipping Alexander Skarsgård — those moments [are] just that weird, silly, fun. But then, there’s the other side to Julie — there’s certain people that she treats with the utmost degradation and disrespect. Those are the moments that were hard for me because I don’t ever want people to think that I’m condoning that or I’m aligning myself with that. In fact, it’s the same way we teach books like To Kill a Mockingbird in school. We have to tell these stories about abominable people so that we show how far things can go when we are not accountable for ourselves and for other people. And the stigmas in our society need to be kept in check. I hope that’s what people take away from that. Don’t be like Julie. ZW: [Laughs] I am one of those people who rooted for Hannibal. I think a lot of people did buy The Silence of the Lambs because they hated that therapist so much. It is an interesting dynamic because you do realize you’re rooting for a cannibal, but not really because he doesn’t exist. So for the people that are going to watch [The Stand], is there anything you want people to learn from her? [With] Julie not existing and her being more of an idea that you don’t want people to follow.

KM: There’s several things to be learned from her. But in reference to that, there are certain things in our society that for whatever reason, as wrong as it is, can become colloquial, common, and desensitized. And it’s very important as our society progresses, becomes more diverse, and we’re more aware of different parts of our humanity, that we realize that those things can really hurt people and that labels are not ok. We are constantly in a learning process of how to treat people and how to better be thoughtful, caring, and respectful to every part of society. Julie definitely does not do that in several instances and she learns from it, although she apologizes immediately in certain situations and moves on from it, hopefully. Just making the mistake in the first place is really something that can be avoided if you have the proper resources and if you do the due diligence as a human in 2020. ZW: I haven’t got to see her episode yet. I wish I could ask you more about her, but I’m looking forward to meeting her. KM: She’s an interesting one. I always think back to when I was in Girl Scouts as a kid and we did this exercise — we had this picture of an outline of a girl and they had us say mean things to it. Every time somebody said something mean, they would rip the picture [again and again]. Then, we said something nice and they taped it all back together. Even though this picture had been taped back together, you could still see where all the tears were. That was so indicative to me of how things can still be hurtful, even if you apologize and move on. It’s better to be kind in the first place. That kind of reminds me of Julie and what she goes through. ZW: I can’t wait to see you with pink hair. It’s wild to me that I haven’t gotten to meet [Julie] yet, but I’m excited to support her. KM: I forgot to say this earlier, but I always think of her as the intersection of Erin Brockovich, Harley Quinn, Elle Woods, and Villanelle because she’s such a loose cannon with extraordinary taste for extravagance. And yet, she’s a little bit insane. We never really find out if it’s who she was or a product of her environment. But it’s an interesting journey and she’s very unpredictable. She’s

the erratic Tinkerbelle of the apocalypse, and I’m very ok with that.

ZW: And then I could murder you... KM: Of course, I was going to say yes when you called me and you said, ‘‘Can I murder you with a Jello shot?’’

ZW: Did you say erratic or erotic? KM: Mmh... Both! ZW: [Laughs] When the world is a bit safer again, and when you feel safer being out in it, what would you like to do first? KM: I want to travel. That’s what I miss most. My favorite thing in the world is getting on a plane, wandering a city with a camera and friends, and just finding adventures — because that’s how you learn about the world and about other people. I grew up in the Midwest with a more limited perspective on the world. And the more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve come to appreciate and respect human beings in general. I miss putting myself out of my comfort zone and learning about other people. ZW: Traveling is such a huge thing for both of us, I miss it so much. But also work-wise, what are you looking forward to? Is there anything that is waiting? KM: There are several things — [I’ve got] four or five projects that have gotten pushed and put on hold. I’m just hoping and praying that they don’t all go at once, so I could still do them all. I feel like all of us had so much momentum at the beginning of this year. There were so many diverse things that we were all excited to do — I’ve got a project that’s a musical and a project that I’m playing a very specific kind of character. I was booked for about half the year, and now it’s been a year since those projects were supposed to shoot. But at least, I had something that felt like progress this year with Kappa Kappa Die [laughs]. Untitled Horror Movie and a film I did with one of my Shadowhunters co-stars Matthew Daddario that was based on a play — called Push — should be coming out next year. ZW: [Kappa Kappa Die] was filmed so long ago too, the world was so different when we shot that. KM: I remember I was shooting Arrow in Vancouver and flew to LA literally for a day to shoot Kappa Kappa with you.

ZW: Do you know those color charts? If there were three things where you’re the middle color — all three of those things can be other actors that you look up to, their careers or whatever — what would those be? KM: If there’s anything I’ve learned this year about myself, it’s that those three things are creativity, activity, and human interaction. I found this meme the other day that personifies that for me: I’m basically a puppy — if you socialize me, if you pet me, if you exercise me, if you feed me, give me a cuddle, I’m happy [laughs]. It seems so simple, but I’m a workaholic and I love being busy, I love my job and being able to have the freedom to run around the world. It’s been a very interesting year to have to find other ways to fulfill those aspects of my life. ZW: I found it to be a very introspective year. Especially this year, is there anything in particular that’s not new? KM: Because I’m used to filling my free time with other proactive things, [I learned] to go, ‘‘I have to make a schedule for myself, but also schedule times to not do anything.’’ And we’ve talked a lot about this this year — you really learn that relationships are just based on proximity. It has brought certain people like yourself a lot closer in my life, and I’ve been so grateful to have friends that are such a great influence. I feel like you’re my big sister after all this year. It’s not easy to find people that you can really trust and that’s something that this year we’ve all needed. You’ve been that for me, so I’m so grateful. ZW: Thanks, honey. I love you, you make me very happy. I’m grateful to have spent these strange, bizarre months of 2020 together. KM: Ultimately, I think about this year and for having felt as though we haven’t done a lot, I feel like we have! We’ve thought up so many ideas of crazy things to do. We’ve painted a half of your house. We’ve

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‘‘ We

have to tell these stories about abominable people so that we show how far things can go when we are not accountable for ourselves and for other people ’’ explored Los Angeles, cooked. You’ve shown me so many movies and we’ve had innumerable conversations that have been so invaluable to me.

say a very small question and answer as quickly as you can. Try not to think about it too much. Favorite movie you saw this year. KM: Moulin Rouge.

ZW: I can’t believe how many movies we actually watched, now that I think about it. KM: It’s true. You’ve given me a good chunk of the movie education I needed over this quarantine. So if nothing else, we’ve accomplished that.

ZW: Favorite book you read this year. KM: The Alchemist, I finally finished it. ZW: Favorite color. KM: Yellow.

ZW: We succeeded in showing you some of the other butt kickers that came before you, and there will be butt kickers that come after you that get to watch you in order to be inspired by it.

ZW: Favorite song. KM: ‘‘Non-Stop’’ from Hamilton — because I rented it the other day and it was great.

KM: Well, you inspire me every day, so thank you.

ZW: Favorite piece of clothing you’ve spent this year in.

ZW: By kicking no butt [laughs].

KM: My favorite pair of unicorn socks.

KM: You kicked my butt in several ways and I’ve appreciated it.

ZW: So cute [laughs]. I am running out of questions. Maybe that’s a sign that there’s nothing left to say. Happy New Year to all!

ZW: We should end on a lightning round because I always enjoy these. I’m going to

KM: Happy New Year!

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