Photo Credit: Bjoern Kommerel
THE STAR SCOOP:
Your episode of Lost is airing again tonight.
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
It is. It aired last week under the original time slot, and then it’s again tonight at 8 o’clock. Tonight is another opportunity for all of the fans to catch up if they missed it.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Can you tell us about your role in the show?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
I think that Lost is one of the most intricate TV shows you could ever watch. It has so many layers to it. I can’t really watch the show because it’s a real definite commitment. You really have to sit there [laughs] and know it. It’s as big as Star Trek. My character is in the flash backs of Richard Alpert, who is one of the series regulars. No one knows anything about Richard up until this episode. This episode actually answers a lot of questions that have been just kind of out there waiting to be answered. I’m his wife.
I don’t know how much of the story line I can give you, but what happened in the episode is he tries to save my life from, I believe, a yellow fever, and doesn’t have the money to. We’re peasants, so I end up dying and as you know, Lost, it doesn’t matter if you die or not, you just keep coming back [laughs]. I come back in Hell, and then I come back as a ghost. It keeps revolving around that. Everybody’s been asking questions about [Richard]. So this episode answers everything you need to know about him.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Was this a one time appearance or is there a chance you’ll be back?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
Lost is just one of those shows that will keep you on your toes, including if you are one of the characters that is important to the story line. You don’t know when you are coming back. I actually didn’t get the script until I got on set. Even my audition was completely different from what we did on set. They’re so secretive, they’re so hush-hush. It makes it a lot of fun.
THE STAR SCOOP:
How would you describe the overall experience compared to other work you’ve done?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
This show is probably one of the highlights in my career. Not only did I get to work with an amazing crew, the writing is just so wonderful that you really don’t have to do a lot. I feel like I’ve been praised for a performance that really was just written by these incredible writers, and that’s just me being honest…it isn’t anything other than the level of respect I have for these people that work behind the scenes on this show who don’t get any of the recognition. It’s been an amazing, amazing ride, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be here, and I can’t wait to see what else is going to happen. I’m a fan now.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Have you been recognized since your episode aired?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
I’m being recognized all over the place, and I don’t look like my character. I sort of do, but she’s a ghost, and she’s sickly looking, and she’s got long wavy curly hair like from the romance novels, which is so fairy tale-y and beautiful. But I have had a lot of people recognize me. My Facebook page went berserk. My Myspace went berserk. People are in love with the show, and if you even have like one line, people know who you are. I have gotten emails from Germany. I’m getting emails from Panama…it’s amazing. It really is so much fun!
THE STAR SCOOP:
What’s next for you? What other projects are there going to be for these fans to follow you in?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
An actor’s life is always interesting. Right now, I’m doing a show in San Diego called Terriors, and it’s going to be starting on FX I think in September. I’ll be the Assistant DA. That’s a lot of fun. It’s a completely different character than the character I got on Lost. Usually I don’t get to play the business roles. My mom always wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, so finally I became a lawyer [laugh] on television. I’m also working on a web series that we’re going to start shooting in early June. I’m writing, and I’m also a singer, so there’s always some fun stuff happening. I’m an artist all around.
THE STAR SCOOP:
There has been a lot of buzz about web shows in general. What’s the appeal to being involved in a web show over other projects?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
The biggest plus sign to a web series is that it reaches a worldwide audience immediately. It’s also a lot less expensive to shoot. As far as the unions are concerned, it doesn’t have as many regulations just yet because it’s the Internet. It can get around censors. It’s just freedom of whatever you want to throw up online, you can. Usually you’re constrained by rules and regulations. Online you can do anything you want.
There’s a lot of pros and cons to it, but I think it’s it a really big deal to reach the masses. It’s why Ashton Kutcher got so into Twitter and Facebook and Myspace and he’s so involved in it. It really filters out anyone in the middle, and it’s just you and your audience. I don’t know how much more powerful it can get from that. That’s why I have a website [www.mirellytaylor.com].
THE STAR SCOOP:
To all of the fans, what do you want to say?
Mirelly Taylor:
It really makes me feel good to connect with people that have seen my work. I’m eternally grateful to anyone that ever writes me, anyone that ever connects with me. I remember when I first started. I’d get letters in the mail from people who watched a show of mine or a film, and wanted a headshot. Those really are the moments that make you feel so proud and to keep going and do what it is you love to do, especially when you do good work, and somebody recognizes it.
I encourage anyone to ever connect to me. I love meeting people and talking to them. I’m a big people person. I’m just very grateful that anyone takes the time to know how hard we all work behind the scenes. To be recognized, who really gets that opportunity? I feel very, very, very blessed.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Is there anything else you want to talk about with us?
MIRELLY TAYLOR:
What’s really important to me is really making sure that we not forget where we are and be grateful for where we are but also [not forget] where be come from. I was born in Mexico, and I was born to a single mother, and we didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t know anybody in the industry. I always watched people on television and in movies, and was in awe of how they did it. I never thought that that was something that I could ever come close to doing.
I’ve been blessed enough that people asked me to come and talk to their high schools, or to come out and meet and volunteer and just talk to at risk youth. It really makes such a difference when they know they that you’re not just a special person. I’m not a special person that this happened to. I really am somebody that I’m not going to let my circumstance dictate my life or where I am. I’m going to persevere, and I know my power. And I know that everybody’s got that inside of them. It’s really important to me to connect to the people that were there when I was very, very young and to thank them, and to also tell them that it’s not something that they cannot do. Anybody can do this. They just have to have the drive and the confidence. You really just have to know that this is something that you want, and you just go after it.
I had people reaching out to me when I was younger, and I know that if it weren’t for them…I was part of a group called Upward Bound. If it weren’t for Upward Bound, I don’t think I would be where I am right now. They helped me get into college. They always told me I could do it, I could do better. I had such positive role models in my life, and I think part of being that in the media…part of your job is to also give back. Because if you were able to get someplace, you didn’t do it on your own, somebody helped you, and I’m very grateful to the people that did help me.
Posted in 
