From show creator Anna Fricke (Being Human), The CW series Walker follows widower and Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Jared Padalecki), who returns home to Austin, Texas after being undercover for nearly a year, only to have to find his footing again with his son August (Kale Culley) and daughter Stella (Violet Brinson). And it doesn’t just stop there. As he feels things out with his new partner, Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan), who’s fighting her own uphill battle as a Mexican-American woman in a profession where she has her prove herself on a daily basis.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Lindsey Morgan talked about following up her run as Raven on The CW series The 100 with her new role on Walker, her first meeting with Padalecki (also one of the show’s executive producers), why this felt like a project that she needed to do, how Micki has evolved, the experience of shooting a pilot for the first time, loving the action and stunts, her hope that she’ll get to direct an episode like she did on The 100, and keeping her character’s cowboy hat in pristine condition.

COLLIDER: How did this all came your way? Was this something that you were offered, since the network was already very familiar with you, or did you still have to do a chemistry test for the show?

LINDSEY MORGAN: Yes, and yes. The network offered me this role and I was interested in it, but I’d never met Jared [Padalecki] and the network didn’t know how well we’d work together. So, while I was offered it, they still wanted to do a chemistry test. It was a bit crazy. I had to fly down from Canada, and Jared was flying from Austin back up to Canada, so we met in L.A., in the middle. We had a quick coffee and we met at The CW, and then we were shuttled to CB, where we had our chemistry test together with our showrunner Anna Fricke and the rest of the CBS executives. Also, CBS hadn’t really known my work, whereas The CW had, so, it was a meeting of everyone.

Does it feel like a lot of pressure when you literally have a matter of hours to see whether or not you can work with someone?

MORGAN: Yes. It was insane. It was really funny too because I felt like my parents were setting me up on a blind date. I had The CW network being like, “Okay, you’re gonna meet Jared for coffee for an hour, and then you guys are gonna Uber together to the test.” Poor Jared flew in from Texas that morning, so he was on a 6am flight to get to L.A. and only had three hours before he had to get back on a plane to go to Vancouver. So, it was pretty crazy. But we really hit it off well, so much so that our note in the chemistry read was, can you guys have less chemistry? That’s a good sign. It was a pretty funny, pretty crazy day.

Having come off of a show that you spent a number of seasons on, did you also need to take a minute to seriously consider whether you wanted to go from a long-running series to what could be another long-running series?

MORGAN: I did not think about that, but yes. I love working. I just love this craft. I love getting better at it, and I love trying new things – new genres, new projects, new scripts. So, when the offer came, I really enjoyed the pilot. I hadn’t really read anything, in my opinion, that was that good or like it. I just didn’t wanna miss the opportunity. I didn’t think about the future. I didn’t really think about what it could entail. It just felt right for this moment and like it was something that I just need to do.

How much of this character, as we see her now, was on paper when you were told about her, and did any of what we see of her now evolve after you signed on?

MORGAN: That’s a very good question. I feel like she has evolved. We’re not in the initial place where we first discussed, with her origin. We’re in a bit of a different place, and I like it, In the beginning of the season, Micki is very guarded and playing a lot of things very close to her chest. The viewer doesn’t really get to know Micki for awhile, but I like that because I think that’s very true to who she’d be. She would be very guarded at work and she would feel like, because she’s the woman at work, she can’t be open, she can’t be vulnerable, and she can’t be emotional. She has to have that brave face on, all the time, and she has to wear that mask. And so, we really get to know her and her home life. As the season goes on, the audience learns more about her, as Walker does, and it evolves into a very complex person. I really liked how we held back a bit more for Micki, so we could go somewhere with her, versus laying all of the cards out on the table, in the beginning.

It’s also interesting how we learn that she has a boyfriend and we’re introduced to that relationship when she literally jumps into his arms and kisses him. As an actress on a new show, getting to know a new ensemble of actors, what’s it like to shoot a scene like that, where you’re suddenly literally thrown into the relationship?

MORGAN: Those are always the best ones and they’re always on the first day. This one was interesting because of the COVID protocols. I didn’t get to meet Jeff Pierre until the day of us shooting. We got to meet via Zoom, but we really didn’t get any in-person contact until the day of. And even then, it was very strict, as far as how we could interact. We really just got lucky through the casting, but we also started a cast text thread. I kid you not, I think I get 50 messages on it a day. Just through the thread alone, I’ve gotten to know these people and who they are and we’ve bonded through this weird messenger way, but it helps. I feel very comfortable with everybody. With Jeff, especially, Trey is such a rock for Micki, and also who he is, is just such a ball of sunshine who’s super supportive and always down to play. I can be a little neurotic sometimes, as an actor, and he’s just easy going and super stable. We have a little ritual before we start every scene, where we just take a moment and really like look into each other’s eyes and connect, and we create that history and that bond and the deep friendship that Micki and Trey have for each other. He’s a very important person in Micki’s life.

Because both you and Jared Padalecki are coming to this show after spending a long time on others TV shows [Editor's note: Padalecki starred on The CW's 'Supernatural' for 15 years], what was it like to go from one show where you knew the character in the world so well to a whole new environment? What was that first day, first week, and first episode like to shoot?

MORGAN: Well, I’ve never shot a pilot before, and I don’t think a lot of people know that about me. I didn’t know what to expect with pilots. And also, pilots are shot very differently than other episodes of TV. There are a lot of meetings and a lot of discussing if this is okay or this is right. It feels a bit unsettled. Personally, I felt the pressure, completely. I’ve never had a role where I spoke so much, so that was an interesting place for me to be in. But also, my character’s dynamic on the show and alongside Walker is very complex and interesting. We’re trying to find ways how to show two strangers meeting and having to trust each other, but not trusting each other and both having preconceived notions of the other, and also having to learn the person. There’s a lot of character development in the silences. It was a really interesting character portrait, in the first episode and as the season goes on. I’m trying a lot of new things with my acting. This is a completely new genre for me, that I’ve never really done before. So, it was a lot of firsts for me. I’m excited to hear what people think. Actually, I probably won’t read anything, and I hate watching myself. We have a premiere showing to do, and I don’t know if I wanna watch it.

Micki makes a point of saying that she’s a Ranger, not just because she wants to be, but because she needs to be. How much does that play into her decisions? How hard is it for someone like her to do her job while also having to constantly prove that she can do her job?

MORGAN: I think it’s incredibly frustrating, and it’s what we, as women, face all the time. I like the fact that she does it because that is the world we live in, and that is annoying and incredibly frustrating and unfair. I feel like the more we can speak on this narrative and make us all realize this is what’s happening, then hopefully we can change it and we won’t have to walk this tightrope. Micki always walks a tightrope, but at least she has the gusto to say it and call it out for what it is. She’s the kind of person that’s gonna tell you the truth, but she’s still gonna do her job the best and she’s still gonna come through in the end. Even if she may not like something, she’s still gonna honor her commitment and her duty, and do what needs to be done.

I love that you also get to be a badass and get to actually kick some ass in this. What are you enjoying about this type of action and getting to do these types of stunts and fight scenes?

MORGAN: I love it. Even as action-packed as The 100 was, I really didn’t get to do too many stunts because of my character. I was always really jealous of all my friends, getting to do all of these cool things. So, I’m really excited that I get to be a part of it. It’s been just a blast. The stunts days are always the best days on set. They write up some really amazing things for us to do, so it’s just been great.

You directed an episode of The 100. Are you hoping to direct an episode of Walker? Have you already thrown your hat into the ring for that?

MORGAN: I have great aspirations. I just have to convince Jared Padalecki. I’m kidding. I do have aspirations, but my plan is to maybe really throw my hat in the ring for Season 2, if we get one, God willing. For Season 1, I just really wanna focus on Micki and this world, and really establish the character, and feel really good and strong in my character and my work, before I add anything else onto the plate.

You get to wear a very defining hat in this. How do you keep the hat looking so clean and sharp?

MORGAN: The funny thing is, I didn’t even realize that I would be wearing a cowboy hat. And then, I got to one of the fittings and I was like, “Oh geez, I really hope I don’t like stupid in a cowboy hat.” We have a whole department of wardrobe that follows us around with these hat cases for our hats. They’re very well taken care of, groomed, and manicured. They should have names by now, but we’re gonna get to that soon enough. There are hat rules. There are certain cowboy hat rules, like you can’t lay it down flat with the brim touching the table. It needs to be the other way, or else it like flattens it. You have to respect the hat. It’s a whole thing.

Walker premieres January 21 at 8/7c on The CW. New episodes of Walker air every Thursday on The CW.