An Interview with Liv Hill from ‘The Serpent Queen’

Liv Hill is a rising star in Hollywood, who is quickly racking up credits of note and currently… she plays a younger version of future Queen Catherine de’ Medici in The Serpent Queen on STARZ, and we here at NTG were lucky enough to sit down with Liv to discuss her new role as the once and future queen.
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John Betancourt: What was it that attracted you to this role?

Liv Hill: Well, reading it, I thought what a gift of a character to play. She is totally multi-dimensional. She's very conflicting, which is what I think all of us are. She's both good and bad. She--she's vulnerable, and yet also detached from emotion. She's strong and weak, at times, very intelligent, but also very emotionally immature in other ways. So, the idea to play her, felt like a great challenge, and also to work with, you know, people at the top of their game in every department, I would have been really stupid to say no to something like that.

John Betancourt: Now you just mentioned how she is a bit all over the place in life, because of that… what do you think she is searching for?

Liv Hill: Well, that's a good question. I think what her main objective in her life, is survival. She from a young age, she has been emotionally, physically abused, belittled, degraded. And yet, she's still retained to that sort of self-esteem, which is quite remarkable, really, but it's what keeps her alive. And she's always alert and watchful. When we meet Catherine, her objective is to secure herself in French court by producing an heir and that proves difficult. But I also think just from a less, less adult, objective, she also as a teenager is falling in love for the first time, and being rejected romantically for the first time. And I think the perils of you know, the intense highs and lows of love is also what she's trying to figure out and in this very adult world in which we find her.

John Betancourt: So, to backtrack for a moment. You mentioned working with folks at the “top of their game” and the complexities of this character. Was there any kind of pressure that you ran into as an actor when it comes that kind of situation as a whole and in playing someone so iconic and complex?

Liv Hill: Yes. Yes, definitely. Because I think because she's notoriously known as, you know, the serpent queen, manipulation, corruption, evil. What the show debunks and explores is how she got there. And we see her very vulnerable, but also very detached, devoid of emotion at times in order to make some ruthless decisions. And I think having that balance, knowing when to play her vulnerable, and when to play her like… Samantha Morton, the older Catherine, I definitely took a lot of guidance from Stacie, our director, and I think in the show, you see her slowly, slowly and certainly ascend into obtaining this, this reputation that she has of being notoriously evil.

John Betancourt: Now, how did you get into the mindset of playing someone that is just surrounded by chaos?

Liv Hill: Yes, I mean, to put it in simple terms, survival, survival, survival, that was my main mindset going into every single scene, and I kind of just dialed it up and down, depending on what the scene required. And I think what I remember most is using my eyes, just in terms of like, she was very sort of reserved, but also very watchful, very alert, always in a state of, watchful alertness, reading into people's body language into their facial expressions, “Can I trust them? Can they trust me?” And that's really interesting, as an actor to play. Also, I relate to that so much. I think most of us relate into reading into people, but that is what I think made her more intelligent than all the rest of them. And she was able to outsmart everyone because she was actually aware of other people's feelings, which a lot of the men weren't.

John Betancourt: What kind of research did you conduct to prepare to play someone this iconic?

Liv Hill: Yeah, I mean, it's quite hard, I guess. Not hard, but I mean, it's… I always find it a little bit “oh” because it's a real person. She's dead, which makes it easier because you're not playing someone who's still alive. But also, when you refer to history, I always refer to it from what I read in school. And it's very factual. And it's not much, you don't really empathize with those people, or I didn't… you're just doing it for a test. So, I wanted to play her not as a typical period, drama, would present themselves to be, you know, like very reserved and sort of like, devoid of emotion. Not that all drama shows are like that at all. But it's very easy to play her multifaceted because of Justin's writing. And so, I read Leonie Frieda’s book, which helped me, but I think Samantha and I both just sort of discovered the intentions and motivations were the same with each other and, and then trusted in the rest.

John Betancourt: What are you hoping audiences take away from your portrayal of Catherine?

Liv Hill: I hope that they take away some compassion and empathy. I think not based on my portrayal but based on the story, it’s quite easy to do that. Decisions, you know, she sometimes made were quite ruthless and brutal, but they're from a place of survival and instinct. And I think, if we were placed in that unforgiving and brutal world in which we find her, we might not do anything too differently. So, I hope people take away some empathy and also some inspiration of her resilience and maybe bring it into their own lives. She was totally the underdog, and yet she still managed to outwit everyone.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what are most proud of when it comes to your time on this show?

Liv Hill: What I take away is the friendships from it. But having watched it now, I'm so proud of everyone's work in each department. I think it was quite marvelous being on set surrounded by that much talent and passion. And I think that's translated on screen through costumes, through the direction, through… everything, the acting, so I'm proud to just be amongst these great talents.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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