‘Aftermath’ Star Taylor Hickson On Syfy Stunt Gone Wrong, Cast Bonding And Her ‘Deadpool’ Scene With Ryan Reynolds

The end of the world is near. At least it is for Brianna Copeland, the character Taylor Hickson plays on “Aftermath.” The 18-year-old stars in Syfy’s new apocalyptic family drama as a rebellious teenager. When the world starts coming to an end, the Copelands have to start fighting vicious supernatural creatures and disasters. Described by Hickson as “very emotionally driven,” Brianna isn’t exactly equipped to handle the end of days, and her portrayer might not be either. In a phone interview with International Business Times, Hickson dished about her experiences with stunts.

Hickson, who calls herself “the most uncoordinated,” says she has the most stunts in the early episodes. In the “Aftermath” trailer, audiences see Brianna being pulled away by a creature, and Hickson had to hang from a crane to film it.

“As soon as I was up in the air, I thought I was going to throw up all over Anne [Heche],” Hickson revealed to IBT. “She was standing like right underneath me. In between takes, she had my butt in one hand and my back in the other, trying to hold me up so that I wouldn’t throw up on her. It was crazy.”

The actress also ended up with a concussion when she decided to add a fall into a scene. “I was like, ‘That’ll make it more realistic,’ in this one scene, and I had my elbows cut and my hips, my back, my knees, everything,” she explained.

Though she’s not used to stunts, the 18-year-old has worked in sci-fi projects before. Audiences may recognize her as Meghan Orlovsky from “Deadpool.” The small part was the Canadian’s first speaking role, and she said star Ryan Reynolds helped her relax.

“So in the scene I hug him, and I had to start from hugging him already. I started teasing him like, ‘Oh man, I have to hug you again?’ kind of thing. And he pulled me into a hug and was like, ‘Shh, listen to the sound of my heartbeat.’ He was just being like a total, total weirdo. He was just making everything very comfortable.”

It sounds like she’s feeling pretty at home on the set of “Aftermath,” too. “We built our own family behind the camera, and I think that’s beautiful,” Hickson said of her co-stars. “You could definitely make an entirely separate show based off the bloopers.”

However, their characters, the Copelands, don’t start off with a super close relationship. Before the family goes into survival mode, viewers will see that the Copeland siblings are very different people. “I’d say [Brianna] has her mother’s attitude and her brother’s temper, which might be the only proof of relation besides her birth certificate,” Hickson laughed. “She’s definitely the black sheep of the family which is something she embraces, but I think it’s also her biggest struggle.”

Brianna succeeds socially while her twin sister Dana (Julia Sarah Stone) is more of a bookworm. Meanwhile, their brother Matt (Levi Meaden) is a bit envious of the sisters’ relationship. However, along with their parents Karen (Anne Heche) and Joshua (James Tupper), their relationship will quickly improve as the apocalypse progresses. “As the show moves forward, many events I think help the Copelands understand how imperative family is and that their support and protection of each other is vital,” Hickson added. “You’ll see the family go through extremes to keep each other alive.”

Though “Aftermath” is definitely going to have its fair share of action scenes and special effects, Hickson said audiences should tune into the show for the emotional elements too. “If you like being on the edge of your seat, anything to do with action, dystopian,” Hickson said. “It has love; it has anger; it has sadness. Every aspect you could think of is put into the show, and it’s such a beautiful show in every way. That’s what I love about it.”

“Aftermath” Season 1 premieres on Syfy Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 10 p.m. EDT.