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A farewell interview with Anna Silk on the end of “Lost Girl”

Anna Silk has been on an extended farewell—or should we say Faewell?—tour. Her series Lost Girl finished filming in October 2014. Then it aired its final episode in the show’s native Canada a year later in October 2015. Now, the final eight episodes of the supernatural drama are airing in America on Syfy.

Credit: Syfy

The long goodbye has been welcome to the actress who led the series for five seasons as bisexual succubus Bo Dennis. She said the waves of recognition that have come in for the series as it airs its last episodes in different countries has been an interesting experience.

Anna spoke with us last week, a few days after her Jan. 31st birthday, about saying goodbye to Bo, how she feels about the finale and what is next for her. What follows is a spoiler-free discussion of the end of the series with questions taken mostly from reader suggestions.

AfterEllen.com: So since this may be your last interview for AfterEllen about Lost Girl, I thought we’d have the readers and the fans send in what they wanted to ask you about the end of the season and these final few episodes. So almost all of these questions are from them, and a couple are from me because—of course—I am also a fan.

Anna Silk: OK, excellent.

AE: So how does it feel, now well more than a year after filming ended, to still be in a sense saying goodbye to this show and this character?

AS: Well, it’s interesting because we did finish filming over a year ago. And we finished the show in Canada, I can’t remember exactly when it finished airing—but it wasn’t too long ago. And that kind of felt like our final farewell. But then things started here [last] Monday with the final eight episodes. So it is interesting to see what is happening on social media with people talking about Bo again.

You know, Bo is a total dream role for me. So Bo will always be a part of my life and the show will always be a part of my life. So it’s kind of nice. It’s like having two going away parties.

AE: So then how hard was it for you to leave Bo behind?

AS: It’s definitely hard, but while we were filming Lost Girl—and particularly for me in the last season—we really knew how special the show was and we recognized it in the moment. Which is hard to do in life, for anybody, but we did. We were like this is really special and we have to enjoy this fully.

And as the last season went on, as we got closer to filming the last few episodes I feel like everyone just embraced that even more. I can just tell you from personal experience of doing that, if you embrace something so fully, when it is time to say goodbye it feels more natural and like a really special goodbye rather than a trying to hold on.

I feel like for us we all miss the show for sure, and I miss Bo, but I feel like I got to fully be her and fully connect with her and fully say goodbye to her. She is just always going to be a great memory that I have forever.

AE: Which of Bo’s traits do you think were her best qualities, and which traits do you wish you possessed more of?

AS: Well, she is fiercely loyal. That was a really great quality she had; she would do anything for her friends, which is amazing. One of the things I loved about her the most is she just pushed forward even though she was really scared a lot of the time, or really unsure. That’s a quality I’ve tried to take from Bo. It’s an important life skill. Her situation was way different than mine. But I feel those were her stronger ones.

AE: As an actor, playing a character like this for this length of time, five seasons, what is the most interesting part for you—developing the character initially or seeing where she goes in the end that you find most fulfilling?

AS: You know it was all challenging and it was all rewarding. You know that first season we were all trying to figure out what the show was. Trying to find the balance between the strength of Bo and the world she lives in and also the humorous aspect of the show. That first season we were all trying to find that balance.

And then we hit our stride, I feel like. Then, you know, could we have gone another season? Of course we could have, that would have been great. But I feel also like we got to complete the story we wanted. It was all definitely challenging, but there was a certain comfort level after a while. We kind of all fell into place. It was like the first day of school every season. Everyone just found each other and said, “OK, let’s do thiswe remember what to do.” But that being said there were always challenges within writing, within filming and within the relationships you saw on screen, so that kept it very, very interesting to us.

AE: So what did you think when you first read the script for the finale?

AS: Well because I was working pretty much every day I would have to stay focused on the episode I was in, otherwise my mind couldn’t handle it. So I would always read the new episode on the weekends. I remember the finale came to my trailer, and I was like, “OK, it’s here.” And the weekend was coming so I said I’d read it then. And I told the writers, I haven’t read it yet, I’m reading it this weekend.

So I locked myself away to read the script. But there was just a different feeling with this one. I had my pen ready to make notes. But I don’t think I picked up my pen once, certainly not the first time through. I felt like I’d finished the last chapter of the greatest book that I’d read. So I feel like it just fueled our story, our characters. It explored the world of the Fae and the world of Bo and the power behind Bo. But it also played out the relationships we’ve come to love about the show and see where they go. I feel like Bo and the gang live on in people’s minds, and you wonder what they are doing now. So that was kind of a perfect ending for me. So I know I am making every answer a perfect red bow, but that’s really how it felt for me.

AE: So was that where you expected the story to go, and was there always only one finale shot or were there alternative endings, folks want to know?

AS: There were no alternate endings shot. I know debates about the ending happened more behind the scenes than amongst the actors. So as for alternate endings I wasn’t privy to all of them. The one ending I know will get a lot of attention, and I am sure most people have seen it already. We pushed forward with that—and I don’t want to say what it is in case someone hasn’t seen it already—because Bo has always been about making bold choices. The show has always been about making bold choices. Bo would never choose between light and dark, and we played that for a while. But after a while, Bo started making decisions and saying this is what I want. I am glad we did that; it says a lot about the character and the show.

AE: Were there any stories or plots you weren’t able to tell or aspects of the Fae world you would love to have been able to get into more?

AS: I don’t think so. We really started to get into the lore behind her father, his roots, where he came from and his intentions and that’s where we took it. It was funny I was thinking recently about the first season and how episodic it was. We had a case of the week, there was a monster, we helped someone, we killed the monster. That is a simple way of saying that. But the show kind of evolved past that. By then the audience had seen that and was like we get that there are different types of Fae and different powers. So then it became more interesting to focus on the main characters and their powers. I don’t know what else we could have really explored. Maybe if we had one more season. [Laughs]

AE: Would you ever be interested in returning to the character in perhaps a movie?

AS: I think a movie would be a great idea. I think it would be so awesome. To have the time that you have in making a film and to see what we would come up with. I think it would be really fun. I would definitely return.

It’s funny, you ask me that now and I’m so hugely pregnant right now. [laughs] I’m about six and a half weeks away from having my baby. I can’t imagine putting on Bo clothes. But, I would get back there.

AE: Has there been any talk of that or is that like a wish?

AS: It’s more of a wish.

AE: So since the finale aired on Showcase already, what has fan reaction been like to you since it ended and feedback about the ending?

AS: I feel like it has been really positive. I know that one of the reasons I love the fanbase so much is because they’ve been so vocal about how they feel about the show and where it goes and the characters and the relationship. If there have been any people who have been unhappy I honestly haven’t really seen much of it. I’ve seen more of people who say it really touched them and resonated with them in a way that I hoped. It could be out there, I don’t know. I see the more positive stuff on social media and that sort of thing.

AE: Lost Girl broke ground as a show that revolved around a bisexual lead character and had lesbian, gay, bisexual characters throughout. How much responsibility did you feel throughout its run to represent an unrepresented community?

AS: Well, I don’t think I realized the responsibility until we really started working on the show and then it got that sort of response. We were like, “Wow, OK.” The responsibility that I felt really more than anything was just to portray something that was honest. Even though we were playing in a world that was completely supernatural and unreal, the relationships were truthful. And that was the important thing. So if something ever felt false, then we would be like, “Hey, this doesn’t feel right in terms of the relationship.” But for the most part, that is something the writers and producers were really cautious about. That was the responsibility I felt was to portray something that was honest.

AE: What personally do you miss most about Lost Girl, either shooting it, being on set, telling those stories?

AS: All of it, I’ll miss all of it. I’ll miss the cast, obviously. I mean we still all see each other and stay in touch, but of course not as much as we did before. I’ll miss the crew who were so incredible and behind the show. And I’ll miss reading a new story every week. It was a really rich, amazing experience. The only thing I won’t miss is like waking up at 4. But even that wasn’t so bad. Really, I have no complaints. So, yeah, I’ll miss all of it.

AE: Well that leads right into my next question. Is there anything you won’t miss about Bo? Right now maybe the Bo clothes.

AS: The Bo clothes right now for sure. Shooting, especially when you are leading a one-hour show, it’s very, very demanding in terms of time. It just is. I was on board for it from the very beginning. I knew what I was getting into. I actually learned a lot about self-care, how you have to really take care of yourself to be able to do the job well. You want to lead with energy and integrity and positivity. And to do that you have to really take care of yourself. And I feel I learned a big life lesson in doing that.

AE: So did you get to take any mementos from the set? One of Bo’s amazing leather jackets or that yellow muscle car?

AS: [laughs] That’s what my husband told me, like, “Get the car.” I was like “Where would we put that?” So I did not get the car. But I got a lot of Bo clothes, though. They were very generous with me. I kept pretty much—I’m not going to say everything—but I kept a lot of stuff. If you look at my closet everything is black, which is fine by me. I kept her dagger, which she wore around her leg. And a few of her kimonos that made appearances a few times [on screen]. I kept a lot of stuff.

AE: You mentioned this already, but it seems like it was a really close-knit set and you had a lot of fun on set. And you have remained really supportive of each other and each other’s new projects since the show ended. How much have you been able to see each other since filming wrapped, and any chances you’ll work together in the future—either on their projects or other things?

AS: We’re certainly staying in touch. I did a couple of sci-fi conventions last year, which was my first time doing them outside of the show. I did a few while we were filming. I think there was one that almost all of us where there for, but not quite all of us. But that was great to catch up. It was great to hear people moving onto other projects, seeing people grow as actors. As far as working together again, I don’t know. That would be amazing. We were like, let’s create another show and we can all be the characters. We can all work together forever. And we were like, hmm, that’s not going to happen. But we’re very much in touch. I probably am texting someone from Lost Girl on a weekly basis, if not more.

AE: So, obviously your next project is still in development and as you said about six and a half weeks away. Congratulations on that, it’s very exciting for your family. Is your son excited to be a big brother?

AS: Thank you. He is excited. I think he doesn’t quite get it. He’ll be almost three when his brother is born. We got him a little doll to practice. I posted a picture about that recently. One of his favorite jokes is to point to my belly and say, “Baby girl.” But it’s a boy and he knows it’s a boy. But he thinks it’s funny to say girl and he giggles. And we tell him, “It’s not a girl, it’s a boy.” He thinks it is the funniest joke. So he knows it is a baby in my belly. But I think his world is about to be rocked in a way that he is not quite prepared for. But he is going to do great, he is going to do really, really well.

On this #memorymonday I want to share a photo that is so special to me–I was pregnant with Sam and had just come back from a hike and started to snooze in the hallway:). #babylove

A photo posted by Anna Silk (@anna.silk) on Jan 4, 2016 at 4:06pm PST

AE: So, of course, everyone wants to know when they can next expect to see you on screen because they miss you. Are you looking at all at roles, or do you plan to take some more time off when you add to your family?

AS: Well, you know, it’s nice that people miss me. That’s really good to hear. I miss working, I really do. When Lost Girl wrapped I made a very conscious decision to take some time off. It was a great run, but I really wanted a break and I also really wanted to spend time with my son. And so that’s what I’ve done. And I wanted to have another baby, so that’s what I’ve been doing. And now I’ve reached the point where all my friends are doing pilot seasons and it’s really busy. I’m reading scripts and having meetings and starting to think about what the next move will be. I don’t know what that will be yet. I wish I could announce something. But I am hopeful that something as amazing as Lost Girl will come across my path again.

AE: Are you looking for any kind of role in particular? Would you be open to another sci-fi/fantasy role, or are you interested in trying something totally different?

AS: I think just a great role; it doesn’t really matter to me if it was in sci-fi again. I feel like the sci-fi world was incredibly good for me, first of all, but I think the roles for women tend to be really, really good. Really strong, really dynamic. And the fanbase is incredible. So I feel like I’d never say, “Oh, I need to try something different.” Sci-fi is such an interesting genre to be part of. So I’m not closing any doors at this point.

AE: So are there any existing shows right now you’d either love to join or guest star on?

AS: I don’t know. You know what I’ve been watching right now, which is actually really bad news because I can’t sleep because of it, is Making a Murderer. It’s really upsetting. So I certainly would not want to guest star on that show.

I don’t know. There’s so much great TV. There are so many great shows. I am always drawn to female-driven shows and I always have been. My husband, says, “Oh you’ve got to check out this new show.” And I am like, “Who is the lead female? What does she do?” That’s what I’m kind of interested in. But I really don’t know how to answer that because there are too many good options.

AE: So for the Syfy fans who may not have seen the final now seven episodes, what can they expect?

AS: Yes, well, I hope that they embrace what we did while filming this. It was really an incredible ending to the series and to all of the characters. I feel like people will love it. And I feel like it is a really satisfying and big ending. And so I feel like they should just buckle up and enjoy it.

AE: And just finally, a lot of people have been asking for a picture of you with your Fan Choice Award.

AS: Oh my gosh, you know what? I have never posted that. I have never posted a picture of me with my Fan Choice Award. And that was like the best award I could have ever gotten. So I will do that.

AE: Great, because many people tweeted me that, that and that they miss you. Well, thank you so much. You’ve always been wonderful with AfterEllen and the fans have really loved the show and how great you’ve been with them. I have seen the ending and really enjoyed it and thought it was a great way to go out. So thank you again.

AS: And I thank AfterEllen, too, because you guys have always been big supporters of the show and of me and have always been good to me.

Lost Girl airs at 10 p.m. Mondays on Syfy. Check out full episode recaps in our archives and fresh rewind mini-recaps each Tuesday through the end of the Syfy broadcast.

More by Ms. Snarker: @dorothysnarker or dorothysurrenders.com.

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