Riley Voelkel Talks The Originals, Freya and Family Above All!
Miranda Wicker
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Things are getting a little tense in New Orleans now that Aurora has weapons which can kill the originals. Witchy sister Freya Mikaelson finds herself in the middle of the danger on The Originals Season 3 Episode 13.
We recently got the chance to chat with Riley Voelkel, the talented actor charged with bringing the long-dead sister back to life about what it's like to be a part of the Mikaelson family and the lengths to which Freya will go to protect her family.
(Can you believe it was our FIRST interview with Riley!? Thanks again for the chat!)
Read on to find out what you can expect from tonight's episode of The Originals, "Heart Shaped Box," as well as Riley's thoughts on Freya's big, dysfunctional family. (And if you're behind, don't forget to watch The Originals online to catch up!)
TV Fanatic: This is the first time we’ve been able to chat with you at TV Fanatic! Thanks so much for being with us today! This is pretty awesome.
Riley Voelkel: It IS pretty awesome! Thanks!
TVF: What’s it been like joining The Originals as the sister everyone thought was dead?
RV: It’s really a dream character. I initially auditioned for the show and didn’t know it was for this character, so to step into this role who is part of this Mikaelson family and to have these amazing actors and storylines that were already set, it was definitely big shoes to fill. But I immediately fell in love with the role and my co-workers. I had a few scenes with Klaus and Elijah at the beginning and we all just fit so well. We were friends and we were siblings, and it was just a really great experience and it has been since.
TVF: I think the fans have really enjoyed you. One of your fan-favorite scenes so far was when you rescued Alexis in the pink wig.
RV: Oh yes! The “knight in hot pink armor”!
TVF: Yes! That line got some chuckles!
RV: The girl who played Alexis is actually one of my good friends. So it was really fun to work with her in that scene.
TVF: You are getting some fun lines and fun moments though. The show can get so heavy, but Freya, she comes into this world and she’s bar hopping and taking shots and making out with strangers. Everyone else is like “come on, Freya. We have a family to save” and you’re just like “I have a thousand years of fun to catch up on.”
RV: Totally. You know, she’s been asleep for so long and hasn’t experienced this world. All of last season she was just stressed out 24/7 with Dahlia and the death of her father and there was just no chance to have any fun. Now that she’s found her place in this world and the family, she’s kind of just letting loose and bringing a little sarcasm to the group. Any time things get a little too serious she brings a little fun to it.
TVF: Well, sarcasm runs in the Mikaelsson family DNA and it’s beautiful.
RV: Definitely.
TVF: What is Freya most afraid of?
RV: Now she has the family she’s always wanted. That’s always been her goal since she was introduced. She just wants to be part of this family and have them accept her. That’s her dream and her biggest fear is having that torn away and taken from her again, be it from a death or them not trusting or accepting her or something happening to one of them. The separation of the family is her biggest fear.
TVF: How does that fear play into where we find her on tonight’s episode?
RV: Actually, there’s a really great moment she has with Klaus and Elijah where, you know, in the beginning you can see that she’s still struggling a bit to have them trust her and they go through a really intense situation and there’s this really nice moment between her and her brothers where she, for once, feels accepted and one of them. It’s one of my favorite moments with them.
TVF: What can you tell us about Aurora’s plan and how she’s going to use Freya?
RV: That sneaky little thing! She uses me as bait, basically, to get the boys to come to her, and she doesn’t care if I live or die. She will go to all kinds of levels of torture and I’m really in a life or death situation in this episode and really need my brothers’ help. It’s a situation where I can’t really save myself and Aurora’s put me in extreme danger.
TVF: That is quite the hook!
RV: Yeah, it’s pretty intense.
TVF: Switching gears just a little bit, shouldn’t Freya, Vincent, and Davina team up and become a trio of super witches everybody?
RV: I think Davina, you’ll see a shift. I don’t want to give away too much, but you’ll see that Davina’s purpose right now is Kol and not so much the Mikaelsons. She’s in love and she goes to all kinds of places to be with Kol and we don’t necessarily see those things coming. Freya’s really on her own when she’s taken by Aurora. The witches all kind of have their own drama going on. There’s a lot of stuff going on and everyone has to figure out, like who do we save, what do we do, and how do we do it.
TVF: We know Davina is trying to bring Kol back. Is there a chance Freya would ever want to resurrect Finn?
RV: She definitely…that is definitely something I think she wants to do and thinks about using at certain times. He’s there in her pendant and kind of there for her for a reason.
TVF: Where does Freya stand on Cami’s transformation? She was one of the only people to tell Cami that it was okay to decide not to transition.
RV: I think she doesn’t have a strong stance on it either way, but she could definitely relate to Cami going through this experience where she just wanted to end it. Freya has been through that too. She didn’t want to be there anymore and she tried to kill herself, ultimately, and realized that she couldn’t even have death as a release. She’s in an indifferent place of being like “whatever you want to do, you should have the choice to do it.” As far as Cami being a vampire, Freya’s only stance is “don’t mess with my family.” That’s always her MO. As long as you stand with us, great, but if you decide not to do that, then you’ll deal with me.
TVF: Speaking of family, will we see Freya and Hayley together this Friday night? Or is this more of Hayley dealing with grief on her own and Freya dealing with everything else?
RV: You will see them working together. They have the same goal, which is saving their family. They’re bonded through Klaus and Hope and they’re all one big family, so Freya and Hayley, all of them, will work together for the same thing. So yes, you will see a bit of a bond there as well.
Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.
