Created by Sam Sheridan, executive produced by Patty Jenkins (who also directed some of the episodes) and inspired by true events, the TNT series I Am the Night tells the story of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), a naïve young girl growing up outside of Reno, Nevada with her co-dependent single mother (Golden Brooks), who she learns is hiding a big secret from her. Uncovering that life-changing secret sends teenaged Fauna on a desperate quest to Los Angeles to discover who she is, putting her right into the path of Jay Singletary (Chris Pine), a former Marine turned hack reporter who may have more information on her family than even she wants to know.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actress India Eisley talked about what it was like to play a young woman who grew up believing she was mixed race, only to learn that was not the case, feeling like you don’t belong anywhere in the world, getting to meet the real Fauna Hodel’s daughters, her experience working with Patty Jenkins, exploring the unusual dynamic between Fauna and Jay, the powerhouse that is Golden Brooks, whether audiences will feel a sense of closure, at the end of this story, and making the transition into the type of roles she wants to do now, as an adult.

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Image via TNT

Collider:  Really tremendous work in this. I can’t imagine how completely insane and exhausting playing this character must have been.

INDIA EISLEY:  Yeah, in the best possible way, but thank you so much for saying that.

While I was often terrified of what might happen to your character, every time she kept digging into things where she probably shouldn’t have, I was also completely heartbroken for her. Did you feel the same way, when you read this?

EISLEY:  Well, yeah, just from the synopsis, alone, of her really not belonging anywhere and the fact that this was a real woman. When it’s a true life event for someone, it adds to the weight of it, really. When I auditioned for it, it was only a few scenes, from the very, very beginning of the show, and I hadn’t read any of the other scripts because I think they were still being written. But yeah, it immediately resonated because, on a human level, I think anyone would feel for her, especially being such a young age, too.

Her life was very much something out of a horror story.

EISLEY:  Oh, yeah. And the fact that she ended up being such a light, coming out of it. She’s not here now, but I would just commend her for that because that’s no easy feat. If I were in her position, I probably would have gone completely bonkers.

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Image via TNT

The real Fauna Hodel was also a producer on this, so what was it like to know that she was a part of having her story told?

EISLEY:  I did not get to meet her because she passed away shortly before I was cast, but her daughters, Rasha and Yvette, were there on set a lot of the time, and they are just such special souls and such lights of human beings. They walk in the room and they literally light up the room. I know that sounds hokey, but it’s true. They’re just such special souls, who are, through and through, just good people. I can’t even imagine the warmth and soulfulness that Fauna must have had. So, knowing that she trusted (executive producer/director) Patty [Jenkins], wholeheartedly, and (executive producer/writer) Sam [Sheridan], and then her daughters being there, was so encouraging. Obviously, there is a level of responsibility that’s just unavoidable, especially for a perfectionist. You’re hard on yourself and like, “I’ve gotta do the best job that I can possibly do.” But it does take a definite load off and lighten it a bit, to know that it had Fauna’s blessing, but also her daughters’ blessings.

When they were on set, did you just have to mentally block that out?

EISLEY:  Not really, no. They were so encouraging. If I had any questions, worries or concerns about being accurate, they were always right there. And then, I was texting them when they weren’t there. They’ve become really dear friends. So, it was helpful, but also just wonderful to have them around.

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Image via TNT

I can’t imagine what it would have been like for someone to grow up believing that they’re a mixed young woman being raised by a single mother in the ‘60s, only to find out that they never were mixed race, at all. How do you get into the headspace of someone who is so sheltered, in that way, only to have her world turned completely upside down?

EISLEY:  Obviously, just on a surface level, I would not be able to relate to that. I don’t think many people would. When you’re portraying someone, whether they’re real or fictional, you have to find some kind of hook where it feels real to you because if you don’t believe it yourself, then no one else is going to believe it. The hook that I could find and definitely relate to was the feeling of being outside of everything and feeling like there is nowhere that you belong. That’s a feeling that I’ve had since I was quite young, since I can remember, so I could really tap into that, and then just take it from there.

What was it like to get to work with Patty Jenkins and collaborate with her on this? How closely did you guys work together on these episodes?

EISLEY:  It was an absolute blast. After this experience, if Patty asks me to play a lampshade in anything, I will be right there, and I’m not joking, at all. She’s just such a one-of-a-kind soul, which in turn makes her a one-of-a-kind director. She’s very, very thorough with watching people and seeing what makes people tick. I think she genuinely enjoys it. She’s very inquisitive. At first, you feel a bit on the spot, but not in a bad way because she just watches you very closely, with every single mannerism and how you speak. She’s one of the most lovely human beings I’ve ever met, and just an incredible person. She creates such a warm environment on set, and she really trusts her actors. She hires exactly who she wants to hire for the roles, so you feel very freed up when you’re performing for her and working with her. It feels like a collaboration. There’s never any feeling of, “I’m auditioning for a director, right now.” It’s never like that, at all. You feel like you’re part of the machine.

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Image via TNT

You worked quite a bit with Chris Pine in this, who was also a producer on it and is someone that has worked with Patty Jenkins before this. What did you learn from working with him and exploring the interesting relationship dynamic between these two people who are brought together under the oddest circumstances?

EISLEY:  To put it mildly. He was an absolutely wonderful person to work with. He makes me laugh, as a side note. There’s much more to Chris than I think most people realize. It’s very easy to be like, “Oh, my god, he’s a movie star!” I’ve never really had that whole starstruck part to me. But there are a lot of layers to him, as a human being. He’s a very special person.

What did you most enjoy about playing that rather odd relationship?

EISLEY:  It was a very trippy chemistry. For a while, none of us could put our finger on it because it didn’t feel like brother/sister, and it didn’t feel like older person/younger person. It felt very equal. And to have two characters where they are so completely different and in completely different worlds, but also equal, and also male and female, set in the ‘60s, is very rare. But it was a very interesting chemistry. It was good fun to play with.

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Image via TNT

We get to learn so much through that dynamic, as well as the dynamic she has with the woman that she thinks is her mother, Jimmy Lee. What was it like to work with Golden Brooks on that, and what do you feel she brought to your scenes together?

EISLEY:  Golden is just awesome. She’s a powerhouse. All of my scenes with her were favorite scenes to shoot because the moment we locked into each other, it couldn’t have felt more alive. It just had this momentum that you rarely get working with people. She’s become a dear friend, but she’s also just a powerhouse. That’s the perfect word to describe her. I can’t wait for people to see her in this.

By the time that we get to the end of the season, will we feel a sense of closure, and will Fauna feel a sense of closure?

EISLEY:  I think so. I really don’t want to give anything away, but Episode 6 is my favorite episode. It’s very hard when people are like, “What was your favorite scene to shoot?” But there is a definite sense of closure, in a very satisfying way for viewers, but also for everyone involved.

The first time that I remember seeing you was in the TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and it’s been 10 years since that show debuted.

EISLEY:  It has, indeed.

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Image via TNT

You’ve been acting since you were pretty young. At what point did you feel like the roles that you were playing were really transitioning into the types of roles that you want to do now, as an adult?

EISLEY: When I was very small, I was obsessed with Sybil, and Sally Field’s performance in Sybil. I was like, “Oh, my god, I want to do that!” And then, I got into Pulp Fiction and was re-enacting the overdose scene in my room. I’ve always been drawn towards manic, crazy roles, but there isn’t much call for an 11 or 12-year-old to play a heroin addict, so I had to taper off a little bit. I’m grateful for the show, as my first big job and my foot in the door, but it was never a creative outlet for me. It was just my first big job. When I started transitioning around 18 and 19, and I got to work with Samuel L. Jackson on this really odd film, called Kite, it was my first time playing a drug addict. It was something dark, and I just immediately latched onto it. And then, after that, I kept getting cast as crazy people. This is actually the first role, in a long time, where I’m playing a normal person, who’s not mentally ill.

Do you have any idea what you’re going to do next, or are you looking for that next thing now?

EISLEY:  I just finished a film in Louisiana, with Emory Cohen and Sam Strike, called The Dougherty Gang. It’s based on these three siblings and it’s an incredible true story again. Working with Emory was an absolute blast, as was working with Sam. I just wrapped that. And then, I’ve just been reading scripts. I’m open to anything, really. I love work.

Are you thinking of off-setting all of the dark roles with a light comedy?

EISLEY:  Yeah, maybe. I’d totally be terrified because I’ve never done comedy before.

I Am the Night premieres on TNT on January 28th.