From The 100 to Prison Break to Supernatural, Tasya Teles resume is wide-ranging – and lengthy. A Canadian from Toronto, Tasya is most well known as Echo from The 100. She has also appeared in iZombie, Witches of East End and Continuum.
You’ve been on The 100 for the past three seasons; how has the show changed, and how has it stayed the same?
The show has remained consistent in that it’s continually pushing the boundaries and never give their characters an ‘easy out,’ or solution to the problems they face. The show gets progressively lethal, and maybe even barbaric, as the circumstances become increasingly desperate for the inhabitants. What has changed is the quality, complexity and style of the shots. It’s always been amazing, but each year we can afford to push the boundaries even further. So it’s always fun to see how everything pans out when the show airs.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories to share?
There are always funny little things happening on set, like when we would all start calling Lindsay Morgan ‘Raisin’ instead of ‘Raven’ to get her to crack a laugh. Or when Zach McGowan and I decided we wanted to do a Vanilla Ice ‘Dubsmash’ video with the hundreds of extras in warrior regalia marching behind us. Or when we suddenly see this bear poke its head out from the rocks and start walking into the shot towards Eliza, who’s back was turned to the bear. I remember thinking, “The director isn’t calling cut, do we keep going or is someone going to tell her?” Nobody knew what to do so we all kept acting because the director kept it rolling until finally, someone told her to slowly start walking towards us and not make any sudden movements. Wow! Never a dull moment on The 100!
What can you tell us about your appearance on Prison Break?
I play Tricia, a tight-collared, high-level NSA agent who gets taken by an ex-girlfriend of hers. Tricia has the security clearance to access live drone footage in the Middle East where we believe our main character is breaking out of prison. I get an impromptu visit at work from my ex-lover, who puts me into a situation that totally backfires. Sigh. Love at the workplace, never a good mix.
Photo: Liz RosaYou’ve been in a wide range of shows – from Untold Stories of the ER to Witches of East End; do you have a favorite genre to work in?
Right now I’m loving sci-fi. These worlds are so imaginative and elaborate; it’s amazing how the writers weave in so much meaning and symbolism into every storyline. It’s incredibly complex, requires the actor to abandon the safety net of the everyday world and leap into extraordinary circumstances your characters live in.
Tell us about working on Supernatural. Do you have any funny stories to share from the set, and what was the overall atmosphere like?
I had such a blast working on that set. Jensen Ackles was directing the episode, and he was an absolute joy to work with. There were always people waiting outside the gates to see if they could catch a glimpse of him, which was super cute. Until then, I never really knew much about him, but after a few days on set, I quickly started developing a little crush myself. He’s just such a nice guy and was so positive on set. Supernatural has been around for so long, there’s a small worry that you’ll be the kid at the cafeteria with no one to sit with when you show up for work. But Jensen was so inclusive and fun to work with, I had such a great time!