What initially drew Fiona Rene to the Amazon Original series?
First and foremost, I want to talk to you about the show.
What initially attracted you to the project?
Like I said, it’s such a dynamic story.
It’s such a dynamic cast.
What about it kind of grabbed your attention from the onset?
I mean, come on, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”!
I’m a horror buff through and through.
I used to direct and work in a haunted houses for like 15 years.
I’m all about it.
So yeah, I’m super blessed and excited to be a part of such an iconic franchise.
Give me blood and gore and murder all day long.
What was that like to prepare for that role or take on such a dynamic character?
You know, to be honest, yeah, it’s a heavy one.
I’ve played detectives before, but this was something a little bit different.
I am Hapa, but I am not from Hawaii.
I spent a lot of my first month there really just getting amalgamated in that.
And then I found myself at a couple of Honolulu police departments kind of knocking on doors.
Oh, I was so lucky I had my own.
I won’t name names, but I had my own police liaison.
She’s a retired police chief.
Fifteen, I would have more stars, right.
I still tried to do my part.
What’s that dynamic going to be like?
How dare he (laughing).
I mean, it just seems like source material from so many different directions.
Doesn’t that sound kind of like a regular woman’s life, to be honest with you?
So I just really tapped into my own personal history.
And so they had to change it to police chief.
So I also had to kind of learn those differences.
So yeah, to answer your question, I think we are women.
Now that I’ve only seen the first four episodes, I have to know what happens.
I have to know about this relationship.
I have to know about the murders and who’s behind it all.
Who’s sending the anonymous, very ominous text messages.
There’s just so much to uncover.
There was so many questions onset in regards to who the killer was.
And for my character, it was perfect because I’m supposed to be looking and finding out.
So I think she fights and battles with that a lot.
But she was fun.
Is Fiona Rene satisfied with Lyla’s character arc in I Know What You Did Last Summer?
I think I’m just hungry for more, to be honest.
Come on, give it to us.
Give it to me.
Who wouldn’t want to shoot another season in Hawaii?
I want to know what happens.
Yeah, I think that too.
I felt the same way.
So in that similar vein, what did a day on set look like for you?
Are there any behind-the-scenes stories it’s possible for you to share?
COVID made it hard.
Yeah, I can imagine.
You know, just like COVID made life hard for anybody anywhere, right?
But we had to stay far apart.
We were masked the whole time unless we were actually on set, ready to act.
Even during rehearsals, we were, most of the time, masked.
A lot of the behind-the-scenes and off-camera stuff.
And COVID officers are like, “What do you mean?
you’ve got the option to’t all be in there.”
And there was definitely kind of this separation.
I love all the cast members by the way.
I text every single one of them every week but because we’re on set in such delegated hours.
So I would have my scenes [with] Bruce or Courtney or Clara.
They would all have their scenes separately unless we were scheduled that day together.
And the kids were always together.
The adults hang out by themselves.
The loaner characters hang out by themselves.
And I’ll tell you one thing that’s going on in Hollywood right now.
I did notice that from the show.
There were nights where I got called in at 9 p.m.
I didn’t shoot until 1 a.m.
Didn’t wrap until 5 a.m. And that’s just one, a couple of nights for me.
Imagine these crew members that are there five, six, seven days a week.
We wouldn’t be nowhere without them.
Hawaii culture is fun, bruh.
Obviously it’s coming out in a couple of days.
I think, first and foremost, the show is fun.
There’s an element to nostalgia for people of my age.
There’s an element to fun and newness for people that are Gen Z or younger.
I think that the show is fun.
I think it’s thrilling.
We’ve got to be speaking on something larger.
What’s the point of using this kind of platform, right?
Although I didn’t write it.
Horror plays in fear, and fear is literally what runs the world.
It’s either fear or love, right?
And I think that’s what this show is about.
The show is about … the murderer and the murders that happen.
Every single character in this whole dang show has got secrets.
What am I hiding?
What am I scared of?
What am I guilty of?
And is that something is there something I can do here before someone comes to get me, right?
I think that’s a big moral takeaway.
I think that there’s something really cool about you redefining like the police officer trope.
Well for me, Chinese American women have in some way been comedic relief or a subtle submission.
I could be a little comedic relief.
I think at times I’ll take a little bit of that.
I would absolutely be honored if people can take that away.
And I can be messy and powerful and masculine.
I think that’s the key too.
I think that’s the key here.
And I just hope that I can show that’s just certainly not the case.
You know, I’ll spit out a couple of things.
I just did a guest star on “NCIS: Hawaii,” which was kind of fun.
I will be in the new season of “Lincoln Lawyer” coming out.
So some of the viewers of this might like that, to keep an eye out for that.
I came out with a podcast with my best friend, Samar Poorlakani.
Yeah, she’s a sex therapist, and we’ve known each other for like 18 years.
