MTV’s breakout hit, FAKING IT returns tonight for a second season. We left off last season with Amy confessing her love to Karma (Katie Stevens) and Karma admitting she loves Amy too, but only as a friend. Tonight’s episode starts off with a bang (literally) and will keep us hooked for the entire season. I spoke with Rita Volk, one of the shows stars about tonight’s premiere, Laverne Cox’s guest role, and what’s in store for Amy this season on the show.
We left off with things a bit crazy in the finale. We really saw a vulnerable side to Amy. Do you think she can recover from that?
Rita Volk: I think it’s going to take a lot of effort; it’s going to be a very big ongoing hurdle for her. She’s finally at that point where Karma understands that she needs to pay attention to her friend and be a better best friend, and now Amy is harboring this secret that could potentially jeopardize all of that. That’s going to be a really big struggle for her. Hopefully she can recover from it but eventually the truth is going to have to come out. It’s going to be a huge weight on her shoulders.
In the promos we saw that Amy slept with Liam (Gregg Sulkin), will we see more of that in the premiere? How will that affect Amy?
We will, we’ll see the aftermath and the next morning. This isn’t going to change her feelings for anybody or make her attracted to Liam, it’s only going to make her life harder because she made a mistake.
I know there has been a huge reaction from the fans about whether or not this would confuse Amy. When we spoke a few months ago I remember you saying that Amy is definitely gay. Will this confuse her?
I don’t think it will confuse her at all because she just realizes that she made a huge mistake. It’s not going to define her sexuality; she’s not going to say “oh I like boys now.” This is just the aftermath of her and Liam bonding over their mutual hurt over what happened with Karma. It’s not going to define her; it’s just going to put this huge struggle on her shoulders.
Laverne Cox was recently announced as a guest this season. Can you tell us anything about her character?
She plays a Hester High drama teacher. There are a few characters on the show that are auditioning for the drama club because one of the former drama club members moved out to LA for pilot season. There is one spot that they are trying to fill and she comes in and sort of puts them through the ringer and trains them how to be actors. She’s a very dramatic very funny character. She’s very great, we were very excited when we found out she was going to be on the show.
Are you a fan of OITNB?
I’m a huge fan! I texted all of my friends “oh my God, I can’t believe it!” My best friend watches it all of the time. It’s a great show; it was very surreal watching her on the show and then her being on set was very cool.
Your fans sent me a lot of questions and a ton of them were asking if you read their fan fiction. Have you read it? Does it ever seem too overwhelming?
I don’t read the fanfiction, I do see a lot of the fanart. I think they all know that I am incompetent on twitter, when I’m actually on it. But once in a while I do go on it and I see when fans send me letters and fanart. There is so much out there, it’s definitely overwhelming. Now we are a little more accustomed to it. This massive loyalty that the fans have, it’s just amazing.
What would you like to see happen this season with Amy? How would you like to see her grow?
I would like her to come to terms with her identity more and her sexuality more, not so much come to terms with it but explore it and find out who she is. I think in the first season it was a lot about her feelings for Karma and it wasn’t about whether she was gay or straight or lesbian, just “Oh I love my best friend in more than just a platonic way.” I want her to explore those feelings. Do I like girls? Do I like boys? What am I comfortable with? That’s why we didn’t want to label her so quickly; I wanted her to have that natural process.
Do you see her relationship with her mother changing at all this season?
There are going to be moments where they are still going to bicker, they are still going to fight, but at the end of the day Amy is out of place in her family. She is kind of everything her Mom isn’t and vice versa. There is going to be a moment when she is going to try and be supportive, but at the end of the day I think she just wants her to conform to what a typical high school girl should be, and that’s not going to happen.
What can we look forward to in the premiere?
The premiere is amplified in all ways it’s funnier, it’s deeper, and everyone’s characters are going to be explored. We have a very funny scene with all six of us in a garage with Erick (Lopex) who plays Tommy. I think that was the very first scene we had where we were all together interacting. It was a lot of fun and that is going to continue in the season. It’s more of an ensemble season; the fans are really going to love that. We all have such a good time off set and we all get along so well, I’m so excited to all be together.
You can watch Rita tonight on the season premiere of FAKING IT at 10:30 on MTV. Also you can follow Rita on twitter at @therealritavolk