EXCLUSIVE: Veronica St. Clair & Jack Martin Say Goodbye to ‘La Brea’
La Brea returns for its final season tonight, January 9. In honor of its final chapter, BB had the amazing opportunity to chat with stars of the series Veronica St. Clair and Jack Martin ahead of the premiere.
What can fans expect from your characters in season three:
Veronica St. Clair: “I play Riley Velez. And in season three there’s actually very little that I think that Jack and I can reveal about our storyline in season three. But what I can say is that this season is generally, just by virtue of it being our final season, way more sentimental and emotional. Obviously, Riley’s relationship with her dad deepens in this season. But yeah, that’s all I can really say.”
Jack Martin: “I play Josh Harris. Veronica hit the nail on the head. There’s a lot that happens that we can’t really get into obviously. It’s the final season, so there’s some crazy twists. But what I can say is it’s the culmination of our storylines. And I don’t want to speak for Veronica’s character but I know for Josh, he’s been going through a lot, to say the least, the past couple seasons. And this season is everything coming to a head in this climactic period for the character.”
What would you say surprised you the most about your character over the past three seasons:
Jack Martin: “It was seeing how the relationships changed through all the circumstances, because it’s funny, in the pilot we’re a normal family in LA, sitting in the back of a car, and by the end of season two I’m talking to my grandparents from the future, who traveled back in time. There’s a pretty crazy series of events there, in terms of who I’m interacting with. As we came to see last season, the Harris family is this very extended group that has much greater significance than we originally imagined. I think it surprised me to see all the ties and broader significance Josh had in that way, and how he had to respond to it.”
Veronica St. Clair: “I don’t really have much more to say than what Jack said. Obviously, these two teenagers are thrown into primeval Los Angeles and so much happens across these three seasons. It’s been so fun to watch and to read these scripts as they come on to see what happens with these characters, and getting to play these characters and getting to be in these sets and among these other great actors and set pieces has been such a joy. But yeah, these are two characters that are coming into their adulthood and we’ve been able to play that, which has been really fun. I think mostly everything that Jack said, I ditto that.”
Did the cast ever discuss who of the cast would survive the events of La Brea, if they were happening in real life:
Jack Martin: “I would die immediately. I would die so quickly. What I did always say is that if I could bring anything, I would bring a gun. I do stand by that. But I don’t own a gun in real life, so that wouldn’t really work out for me. There’s a lot of vicious animals and dinosaurs. I don’t know how equipped I am to fight those off. I don’t know, maybe I should have more confidence than that. I feel like I would last about 30 seconds, in all honesty.”
Veronica St. Clair: “I’ve got the confidence. I’ve got the confidence. I’m going to square up to these dinos, these big dinos. I’m ready. As we see in season three, Riley does get to square up to a big dino, so tune in.”
What do you hope fans take away from this final season:
Veronica St. Clair: “Closure. It’s our final season, so I hope that everybody feels like we knitted up in a neat way and that they’re happy with it and it feels all tied up with a pretty bow. I hope that that’s what the fans get from this.”
Jack Martin: “I totally agree, and excitement. I think with any final season, any ending, you get to push boundaries in a way that you’re not able to when you know that there’s still more to come. You get to see this crazy conclusion that I know shocked us when we read the scripts. I think people will be really excited by that.”
La Brea season 3 premieres tonight, January 9 at 9pm ET on NBC!
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Photos by: Jasin Boland/NBC