Roswell Reboot Actress Lily Cowles Reveals Whether or Not She Believes in Aliens
The latest '90s TV reboot is out of this world-literally. Roswell, New Mexico, on the CW, takes place in the desert community made famous by an alleged UFO crash. When Liz Ortecho (played by Jeanine Mason) returns to her hometown ten years after graduating high school, she finds out that her former flame and his siblings are actually aliens-and that darker forces threaten to upend the town.
The original show, Roswell, aired for three seasons from 1999-2002, but a couple of changes put the new iteration squarely in 2019: the lead character, Liz Ortecho, the daughter of undocumented immigrants, is stopped at an ICE checkpoint; there are LGBT characters; and the border-state political tension is high.
Lily Cowles-who plays Isobel, an alien-masquerading-as-human, and the sister of Liz Ortecho's love interest, Max-tells T&C about the world of Roswell, learning from her actress mother Christine Baranksi, and whether she believes in extraterrestrial life.
The UFO incident happened in 1947. Why are we still so captivated by Roswell?
The idea of extraterrestrial life is so compelling because it speaks of places that exist outside of Earth and worlds that might offer totally different standards. I also think there is a yearning in the human spirit for mystery, there is a real part of our psyche that's interested in not having answers and things we can't explain. I think that's why a show like Roswell keeps coming back
Can you talk about the political aspects of the show that make it feel relevant?
We have multiple levels of "alienness" in the show, whether it's undocumented immigrants, gay men in the military, or actual aliens. The show looks at this human need to fit in and the pressure that we all feel to be part of society-that we'll go to extreme lengths to cover up the truth about ourselves. I think this show is going to inspire people to say "what would it mean to step outside of that?" and we get to watch the characters go through it.
What interested you about your character, Isobel? She seems to be the one looking out for her two brothers, Max and Michael.
Isobel is full of contradictions. She is very tough and appears to have everything together, and yet it's a hollow facade. What was fascinating to me about Isobel is she knows what she is not, but she doesn't know what she is. That has to be such a crazy psychological position to be in where all that she knows is that she's not human, and she's doing her best impression of what a human is.
You've watched your mother [Christine Baranksi, star of Mamma Mia!, Chicago, and The Good Wife] navigate show business for decades. What have you learned about being a woman in this industry?
Growing up watching her, she didn't really break into TV and film until she was much older. She had a very successful theater career all through her 20s and 30s but it wasn't until she was like 40 that she started booking television and film. Since then, I've watched her career become bigger and bigger. My mother has always been so professional and always kept her nose to grindstone. She taught me it takes a lot to gain a reputation, and it can also be ruined very quickly.
So after working on Roswell, do you believe in the supernatural?
I was raised in the realm of magical realism. There is so much more than we know, and I think we'd be really arrogant to assume that we have a handle on everything going on. For certain, I think there are extraterrestrials. I really would love to see them in my lifetime! I totally believe.
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