‘13 Reasons Why’ Season 2 Characters: Chelsea Alden Introduces Misfit Mackenzie

“13 Reasons Why” fans will meet more Liberty High students in Season 2, and Chelsea Alden plays one who catches the eye of a certain photographer. Her character Mackenzie is an outcast who is introduced in the third episode of the season, and Alden told International Business Times what it was like filming the hit Netflix series.

International Business Times: So tell me a little about your “13 Reasons Why” Season 2 character.

Alden: I play Mackenzie. I’m a Liberty High student, and she’s a great character. She comes in as sort of this breath of fresh air. It’s such a heavy show, and there are so many topics and heavy situations that all of our characters are dealing with, and when we meet Mackenzie, she’s just sort of this witty, bright, nonjudgmental, opinionated girl, which is really fun to play.

IBT: She has a brother, Cyrus. What’s their relationship like? Are they close?

Alden: I think Mackenzie adores her brother. He, as you’ve seen in some of the pictures that they’ve released, he’s a very sort of edgy, misfit, punk kind of kid. I think they’re very protective of each other, and there’s a lot of love between them. She sometimes toes the line of do I want to be exactly like my brother? Or do I want to figure out who I am but by maybe following in some of his footsteps?

IBT: Tell me a little about what she thinks about Tyler when she meets him.

Alden: I think she’s immediately interested in Tyler. He’s passionate about photography. He’s clearly not someone who fits in with your general cliques or crowds in the school. And I think Mackenzie just doesn’t really acknowledge any of that and just sort of looks at him and sees this cute kid in a bowtie with a camera and is like ‘I think I want to know more.’ And it sort of just grows from there.

IBT: Did you watch the show before you got the job?

Alden: I had definitely binge-watched it before I even auditioned, many months before. Pretty much when the first season came out, I kind of let some of the hype of it die down a little bit because I didn’t want to like have everybody else’s opinions of it. And then I went, I watched the first episode and I was hooked. I think it took me like three or four days to watch the entire season and I loved it. So then when I came into Season 2, I was over the moon excited to join. I already had so much admiration for the whole cast and the show itself that I was just really excited to have the opportunity to join this world.

IBT: There’s obviously a lot of controversy surrounding the show’s subject matter. Did that make you nervous about joining the show?

Alden: Definitely. I think by nature I like to be a people pleaser, so there is always some hesitation in doing something that you know has some controversy attached to it. But at the same time, I had to step back and go, well, as an audience member I loved the show, and I really appreciated these stories that they’re telling. So I can be happy and thrilled to continue that point of view because I agree with it, and I’m just excited to expand this story. Sure I was a little hesitant, or a little like “Oh no, what are people going to think?”

And then also, the fans of the show, of Season 1, are so kind and sweet, and the outpouring of love has been crazy. So all of that sort of went out the window once the ball got rolling.

IBT: Have you heard from a lot of fans already?

Alden: Yes, it’s crazy actually! I was not expecting it. It’s just been a whirlwind. I was like, “Oh wow, O.K., I knew it was a big show, but wow.”

IBT: What have fans been saying to you?

Alden: They’re just super excited knowing that I’m attached to the project. You know a lot of times with different fandoms people just want to be involved and they want to get the leg up or know before everybody else.

So I think back in August of last year when Variety released an article that there would be new cast members, I think that was all some of the fans needed to know. They were like, “Great, count us in.” And now that we’re getting closer and they’re releasing more photos and pieces from the series coming out, I think the fans are just getting more excited and they’re starting to get a better idea of who Mackenzie might be.

IBT: So let’s talk a little bit about your other project that’s coming out this month, The Tale. What’s your character in that like?

Alden: I play Samantha. I play a student of Laura Dern, who is the lead, and takes us through the whole movie. And she’s incredible to work with, by the way. Just a dream of a human being and an actor. It was kind of surreal that I even had that opportunity. But again, also touching on a very controversial subject. The film follows Laura Dern as she examines her past and her first sexual experience and is coming to terms with it. And I sort of end up in the crossfire as one of her students, but I sort of help her come to realize what her past is meaning to her and what it has meant to her through her sort of mock interrogation of me.

IBT: Did you learn anything from working with Laura Dern?

Alden: I think the biggest thing I learned just from being able to watch her is she is so confident in herself and what she does and her choices as an actor. But the second that the director is like “Oh let’s try it this way,” she can turn on a dime. She’s so directable and so watchable. One of the things that I loved most is she would walk around just like everyone else and treat everyone like everyone else, despite the fact that she’s Laura Dern. She was genuinely so kind and she was very kind to me and it was just a little mental note I made. It doesn’t matter who you are or how big you get, everyone deserves your kindness and respect and she’s a shining example of that.

IBT: Both of these projects are really dark and have heavy material and deal with sexual assault. Have you been seeking out those kinds of projects or have you just happened to end up in a lot of projects like that?

Alden: It just sort of happens that way. I’m happy to be able to contribute to the voice of this sort of movement. Even with shows like “Handmaid’s Tale” coming out, and there are quite a few artistic endeavors that really tackling these subjects right now. It wasn’t something where I was like, “Yes! This is the direction I want to take my career in,” but I’m very grateful for the opportunities that they have brought me.

IBT: Does tackling dark themes affect the set at all? Do people make an effort to keep it upbeat when the cameras aren’t rolling?

Alden: I’m sure it depends on the set, but everyone on “13 Reasons” is really fun and lighthearted. A lot of these dark characters are completely the opposite of that in real life. They’re larger than life or really upbeat. So I think, at least per my experience, you play music or you laugh you joke around. And after you’re done for the day, you go out for dinner. You just try to leave it on the screen and when you come home, you get to be you again. They’re two separate things.

It didn’t really carry over too much that I noticed, and if it did for any one actor or other in particular, I think it’s such a cohesive group and they’re all so supportive of each other that they would pull anybody out a funk if they needed to.

“13 Reasons Why” Season 2 releases Friday on Netflix.