Rose McIver Explores New Twists To A Classic Genre In ‘iZombie’
Rose McIver stars in Rob Thomas’ iZombie, the latest show to hit the CW network. Mr. Thomas brings iZombie to television, giving a fresh and unique spin to a favorite subgenre of horror fans, while also bringing with him fans of his previous hit, Veronica Mars, reports Fast Co-Create.
Nearly as important as distancing iZombie from Veronica Mars is Mr. Thomas’ ability to create something infinitely diverse from AMC’s hit, The Walking Dead. iZombie helped Rob meld the idea of a strong female heroine together with a story about zombies, so it seemed like the perfect idea at the right time, but he also knew that finding just the right actress to portray iZombie‘s lead, Olivia “Liv” Moore, was essential to bringing CW a success.
Enter Rose McIver.
Ms. McIver seemed like the perfect casting choice, but what drew Rose to the role in the first place? McIver admits that it was the comedic aspect of the show and her own character’s bright sarcasm that attracts her most to Liv Moore, but Rose also confesses that, had she known what the character’s development entailed, she might have felt more intimidated about taking on the role. After all, Rose’s character learns entirely new skill sets in each episode.
In a recent interview, IGN asked Ms. McIver how she sees her iZombie character’s development and just how well Liv Moore has transitioned from being human to becoming one of the walking dead.
“I would say it’s not acceptance but self-awareness, definitely… She’s not self-indulgent and wallowing anymore. She’s initially in a very dark place about her situation and through her relationship with Ravi and various revelations in the first few episodes, she starts to see that there could be a positive side. So while she doesn’t want to be a zombie, by any stretch, she does acknowledge the good things about it and where she can and can’t go.”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Ms. McIver has been surrounded by four attractive male characters and, as is usually the case with the CW formula, could there be a romance brewing? Or possibly a rekindled love with Robert Buckley’s character, Major Lilywhite?
Although Ms. McIver recognizes the possibilities with each of the other characters, there are just two that draw her attention most within the iZombie storyline.
“There’s a zombie suitor. A zombie gentleman caller. That’s a very exciting prospect for Liv… the conflict that she has to struggle with with Major and her residual feelings for him and their predicament. They are two of those individual relationships that coexist – Well, not at the same time. There’s nothing happening at the same time. But it’s very hard to let go of somebody,so her juggling those feelings is an interesting part of the show, I think. It’s nice for her to potentially find love again.”
Finally, Rose opened up about the horror aspects of iZombie, which is as big of a draw as the comedy and mystery of each episode’s plot. Ms. McIver says that iZombie‘s special effects team does an excellent job of creating a realistic corpse for Rose to feast upon each week. Rose finds the experience surreal to see the corpse fully exposed on the set of iZombie and talks about how the cast gives one another a reality check to remind themselves it’s only a prop.
Eating those brains is an entirely different story for Ms. McIver and not as unsettling as fans of iZombie might expect.
“The brain eating is the part that the gore novelty has worn off. I would rather just have a sandwich at this point. But I’m very intrigued by the way we do them each time. They’ve made it fresh and original, every episode I consume them in a different way. I just had a brain shake last week, which was like the gelatin stuff with chocolate milk and corn syrup. It’s funny. That keeps it funny and interesting. We’ve got a great set decorating team and props and special effects.”
Catch Rose McIver in iZombie on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on the CW network.
[Photo courtesy of iZombie/CW]
