Lounge Talk: Mia Healey

2018 was a big year as you graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and landed the role of Shelby Goodkind. In what ways did your performing arts background help shape you for what to expect from playing Shelby in The Wilds? What things were a surprise?

I think the biggest takeaway from studying performing arts was how working on the craft dissolved my ego. While I was a student at NIDA, I found myself able to truly see outside of myself and into a character’s mental and emotional state. It brought so much truth into my life and forced me to confront corners of my mind that I had been hiding in.

Talk me through what you were feeling when you first learned you got the role of Shelby.

I remember experiencing this overwhelming feeling of joy. I was completely ecstatic and excited. That’s a feeling that I now understand actors chase. It was wonderful. Most of all, I felt so grateful to be given an opportunity to do what I love.

Through the two seasons of The Wilds, we see Shelby’s optimistic and cheerful personality start to falter as the audience learns more about her past and her insecurities. What was it like preparing to tackle this complex character and watching her progression from Season 1 to Season 2?

Trying to match Shelby’s desperate and anxious energy on the day, physically, was how I sometimes was able to connect with her. I would sometimes crawl into a ball or stare into the distance and let my mind race like hers, so that I could feel the pain she was in. Once I was able to tap into that, I would smack a smile on my face. That’s how I can find her in certain scenes. I realized how important it was for me at the end of the day to reconnect with Mia by putting my personal jewelry back on with intention or physically shaking her energy out of me. It’s an important balance to create because even though your mind may know you’re not going through the same things as your character sometimes it’s hard for your body to forget.

The audience really got to see your acting skills shine through the many action-packed, emotionally charged, and mysterious scenes. What scene did you have the most fun/found most difficult to shoot?

The most fun scenes were definitely the ones where Toni and Shelby were joyful together. That’s an emotion that Erana and I share often so it felt natural and the furthest thing from work. And the toughest would have to be the breakup between Shelby and Toni when Toni can’t even look at her. It was heart breaking.

Season 2 ends with a pretty big cliffhanger. If there is another season on the way, what do you hope to see next for Shelby in her relationship with Toni and with the entry of the boys?

Fingers crossed there’s a third season! I would love to see how Shelby tries to control her new environment to keep herself feeling safe whilst also dealing with men. It’s a completely new world for her and everyone else that’s trapped, so it would be a whirl wind for sure. I would love to see how Shelby and Toni evolve together and if they can work things out. Here’s hoping!