Interview with Victoria Park

TV Interview!

Interview with Victoria Park of “The Flash” on The CW by Suzanne 4/23/21

Victoria was lovely to chat with. I’m such a huge fan of the show. I was a bit nervous and fan-girling. She was sweet and didn’t seem to notice my geekiness. I’m enjoying the show and can’t wait to see the rest of this season!  I hope you enjoy our interview.

Here’s the video version of it.

Suzanne:   We haven’t seen that much of your character since she came back from the Mirrorverse. Do we get to see more of you soon?

Victoria:   Yes. Camilla will be returning very soon, and I think there’s been like a little bit of explanation where she’s been, but she’s kind of been assessing her life and coming down from the the craziness that was the Mirrorverse and focusing a lot on her art. So, that’s what she’s been doing, but she will be. She will be back very soon.

Suzanne:   Okay, good. And what was it like doing that mirror reality those, sequences?

Victoria:   Yeah, it was super fun, and it was fun to play another version of myself and to play someone who isn’t necessarily evil, but is just like a little different from Camilla. And wardrobe was really fun. We got to go into some different wardrobe than Camilla usually wears. She wears a lot more like black and a lot more like edgy hardcore stuff. So, it was fun to explore.

Suzanne:   Oh, cool. And was there a lot of green screen in those segments?

Victoria:   No, not really. I didn’t ever have to play with like both versions at the same time. So, yeah, so I got to just play both parts at different scenes.

Suzanne:   Okay, great. And it seems like almost everyone in Team Flash gets a superpower at some point. Do you think that Camilla might get one?

Victoria:   I would love for Camilla to get a superpower at some point. Yeah, I think she’s the only person who hasn’t, because Iris doesn’t have powers, but she gets them at some point and then loses them. So yeah, I would love for that to happen. But who’s to say?

Suzanne:   What would you like your superpower to be if you could choose?

Victoria:   I think it would be really cool too. There was a there was a villain last – I mean, I wouldn’t want her to be a villain, but there was a villain last season that had like light power so she could become invisible whenever there was light, or she could choose to be visible or invisible whenever there was light. So, I think that’d be really cool.

Suzanne:   All right, I had posted on Facebook, to see if anybody – There are a million Flash fan groups there, and I posted there and on Twitter to ask if people had questions. So, that one came from someone named Isabella. So, she’s be [happy] that you answered her question. So, you came in at season five. Were you nervous joining a group of people that already worked together for so long?

Victoria:   Yeah, for sure. It’s always kind of like when you’re joining a show that’s been together for so long, like the first day of school and you’re the new kid and everyone else already knows each other. So, I was a little nervous for sure, but everyone was so kind and made me feel so welcome. Carlos [Valdes], especially, made sure. He was like, “Is everyone being nice to you? Do you feel comfortable?” So, it was a really good first day, and I felt comfortable just from the very beginning.

Suzanne:   Oh, that’s good. He seems like he’d be a nice guy.

Victoria:   Yeah, he’s the best.

Suzanne:   Good. They seem like a really fun group. Who would you say is the funniest of all of them?

Victoria:   Oh, my goodness, everyone is so funny in their own way. I mean, I would say like most outrageous would definitely be Tom [Cavanagh], but Grant [Gustin]’s actually really funny, and he’s really fun to work with. It’s funny when you have a super serious, emotional scene, and then he switches right back into when the cameras are not rolling, like fun dancing and cracking jokes and stuff. So, it’s really fun to work with everybody, but the boys are definitely the funniest.

Suzanne:   And many of the cast are good singers as well as actors. Can you sing?

Victoria:   I can sing a little bit, not good enough to be on Broadway, but, yeah, I grew up singing and it was always my first love.

Suzanne:   Okay, well, maybe they’ll do another musical episode and you can join it.

Victoria:   I would love that.

Suzanne:   Yeah, that sounds fun. Is there anything you can tell us about what else we’ll be seeing in season seven? Anything at all?

Victoria:   I mean, I obviously can’t give any spoilers, but I will say that every season I get the scripts, and I read them, and we get [them] ahead of time, so it’s really exciting, and I would say that this season, I was surprised more times than I’ve ever been. So, I would just keep looking forward to more twists and turns and surprises that The Flash always gives, but this year I was the most surprised I’ve been.

Suzanne:   Okay. And what did you do during the pandemic, before The Flash started filming again?

Victoria:   March to September when we couldn’t be filming, yeah, it was hard. It was really hard to not be working and to be away from people, but it was a good time to – I got a lot of time to like work on myself. I feel like, for this show, especially, we go for nine months, sometimes ten months of the year, and it’s just, we’re constantly working, and we’re in a city that we don’t live in. So, to have time to kind of step back and breathe and be with my family and my husband and my dog was was super, super nice. You know, obviously, [I’m] very excited to come back to work, but it was a nice vacation that I normally would not get. So, yeah, I try to see the bright side.

Suzanne:   Right, right. I understand completely. And was it difficult to get used to filming with the new COVID rules?

Victoria:   Yeah, it was. I mean, we got used to it, and there were, obviously, a lot of hiccups where we’re like, “Okay, this is working, and this is not working.” I think the biggest thing that I would miss is just, I’m a very friendly, warm person, so when I get to set, I get to set early every day, and I hug everybody. So, I really miss being able to hug people and just be standing right next to someone and talking to them instead of ten feet apart or whatever. So, it’s definitely taken some gotten used to, but I’m really grateful that we’re able to work at all and that we got to put the show out there.

Suzanne:   Right, we all seem headed in the right direction for change.

Victoria:   Yeah.

Suzanne:   Yeah, I didn’t grow up in a huggy family either. I can get used to hugging, but it’s not my natural thing. So I’m like, “Yeah, I’m fine with that.” Yeah, I need a t-shirt that says that.

Victoria:   Yeah, “Please as before hugging.”

Suzanne:   I’m still social distancing for like, ever. So, have you ever heard anything about plans for season eight, such as more crossover episodes?

Victoria:   Oh, I haven’t really heard anything about season eight. We’ve just been really focusing on season seven. I’m sure the writers and Eric [Wallace] already know where they’re going with season eight, but I’m not privy to that kind of information, so I will not be able to give any spoilers.

Suzanne:   Right. Is there anything else that you can tell us about what’s coming up on this season that’s not like a big spoiler or anything?

Victoria:   I mean, there’s a lot of – I feel like this has kind of been happening since the crossovers kind of changed all of the universes into one universe, but there’re a lot of people who come back, and they’re not who they were before, or there’re storylines that are mixed up, so you’ll get to see more of that, which I really love. If you’re a fan of the show, and you are a fan of the comics and you know who people are, and then they come back as different people, it’s just really exciting to watch.

Suzanne:   Oh, that’s good. Yeah, I love the show. I’ve watched it since the beginning. I love superhero shows anyway, but I grew up reading The Flash comics.

Victoria:   Oh, awesome.

Suzanne:   I know you can’t say, but I hope Tom Cavanagh gets to come back, because he’s one of my favorites.

Victoria:   I feel like with The Flash it’s like anybody who leaves, they’re never really fully gone. You know, there’s always an opportunity for them to come back.

Suzanne:   Well, I think that’s one of the best things about having such a large ensemble cast is that people come and go all the time.

Victoria:   Yeah, for sure.

Suzanne:   Did you have any time to work on other acting projects while you were filming or during the pandemic?

Victoria:   Yeah, not during the pandemic; kind of everything really shut down. So, we weren’t even really auditioning or anything like that. That’s why it was so crazy, because, normally when we’re working, when we have downtime, we’re auditioning for other projects or working on other projects. This time, it was like, we couldn’t work on anything. So, yeah, that was that was a big change, for sure. Then, other projects that I’ve been working on, I haven’t really gotten the chance; The Flash keeps me pretty busy. I’ve been trying to kind of supplement it with projects that I’m working on myself, like directing, but the pandemic really put a stop to everything. So, I’m hoping now that everything’s kind of going again, we’ll be able to work on some other things.

Suzanne:   Okay, great. So, have you directed before?

Victoria:   I actually went to school for cinematography, and I picked up directing again right before the pandemic; we filmed something. It premiered at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival early this year. And I’m currently working on a project that is in early, early pre production, a documentary that hopefully we’ll be able to film in the fall. So, hopefully, I’ll be able to say more then.

Suzanne:   I think everybody’s thinking the fall things will be back to normal.

Victoria:   I know. It’s already April; it’s almost May, and I’m like, “Ooh, fall’s gonna be here pretty soon. We got to ramp it up.”

Suzanne:   So, you don’t have anything else coming out right now, but you might have [something then].

Victoria:   No I don’t.

Suzanne:   Yeah, that’s fine. That’s good enough, right.

Victoria:   Yeah. I mean, it’s great. Yeah.

Suzanne:   I love how they’ve taken your character – When you first started, you were just working in a coffee shop, and they gave given her so many different things to do.

Victoria:   Yeah.

Suzanne:   She’s been involved in the team, and you said she’s an artist. She’s got so many things going on.

Victoria:   I know; she does. She wears a lot of hats, but it’s great. I love that they just keep bringing her into different situations in different teams. It’s really fun.

Suzanne:   Yeah, and she’s working at [The Citizen], so that’s great. Aside from your Flash cast, do you have any actors or actresses that you would love to work with If you could choose?

Victoria:   Oh, yes. I mean, so many. It’s like, “How much time do you have?” I mean, I would love to work with Steven Yeun. My husband and I have been watching The Walking Dead, we loved Minari. So, I mean, he’s probably number one on my list right now. And there’s a bunch of directors I’d love to work with; I thought Nomadland was fantastic. To have such a prolific director be a Chinese woman, an Asian woman, that’s, super exciting to me, so I’d love to work with Chloé [Zhao]. I mean, I’ve got a long list of people that I would love to work with.

Suzanne:   Have you seen Invincible? That also stars Steven Yeun.

Victoria:   No, I haven’t.

Suzanne:   It good, and it’s a comic book show; it animated. It’s on Amazon.

Victoria:   Yeah, several people have recommended it to me.

Suzanne:   Yeah, it’s good. I don’t know if you saw The Boys; it’s similar.

Victoria:   I did, yeah.

Suzanne:   It’s similar to that.

Victoria:   I loved The Boys. Yeah, I loved it.

Suzanne:   It’s a cartoon, so it’s not as as in your face, but it’s just as violent.

Victoria:   Okay, well, I love The Boys.

Suzanne:   Expect that. I was a little shocked at first. I’m like, “Whoa.”

Victoria:   Yeah, I was warned beforehand, so I think I was prepared for it, but, yeah, it is very violent.

Suzanne:   Yeah. So, were you a comic book fan at all before joining The Flash?

Victoria:   You know, I actually wasn’t. I mean, I grew up with all boys. My brother, my husband, they’re all very much into comics, so I was kind of like peripherally into it, but then after The Flash, I feel like I’ve definitely delved in a little more, and when all of the Marvel movie started coming out, like being interested in, “Okay, like, what were the comics that started this all?” So, I feel like I’ve slowly become more into it, but before The Flash, I wasn’t really into comics at all. So, this has opened my eyes to the [unintelligible] world.

Suzanne:   That’s good. Well, you were lucky, because you got to be a normal person growing up. You didn’t grow up with geeks. Like, I have three older brothers, and they were all really into comic so I had no chance whatsoever.

Victoria:   Yeah, yeah. But it’s a great world and a great community. So, I’m happy to [be] now.

Suzanne:   Actually, my three older brothers were on the original San Diego Comic-Con committee when they started. My mom typed up the first program.

Victoria:   That’s very cool. That’s very impressive.

Suzanne:   I was like eight or nine. It’s impressive for [them].

Victoria:   Cool. I love it. It’s cool.

Suzanne:   Oh, it’s fun; it’s something notable, you know?

Victoria:   Yeah.

Suzanne:   So, I had two more questions from fans, one from Victor, who asks, “Who your favorite comic book character is?” He did not specify Flash or not Flash. So, I’ll leave that up to you.

Victoria:   Okay. I’ll keep it to my show, I guess, but I think, I don’t know if it’s because my character is paired with Cisco, but I love Vibe. I think Vibe is so cool. His powers are awesome. He’s super smart. Yeah, I think Vibe is probably my favorite character.

Suzanne:   And somebody named Keats wonders how you got the role? I think they mean, tell us about your audition process.

Victoria:   Yeah, I mean, I got the audition from my agent, just like just like any other, and went to the audition, and I just felt like even from reading the original script or audition sides that I got, I just [was] like, “Man, I just feel like I’m really this character.” Like I felt really confident about it, which I don’t always feel. I went to the audition, got a call back, I think within an hour, and went back for the call back. Then, it was like days later I was already on a plane to Vancouver, so it moved very quickly. So, I didn’t really have time to sit with it or process just how great it was that I got this role until after I was already on set. And after I finished shooting my first episode, I was on a plane back to LA, and then I was like, “Man, I’m on this awesome show, what a blessing.” So, it was a whirlwind, but I’m super grateful.

Suzanne:   And is your family based now in LA for the most part when you’re not shooting?

Victoria:   Yeah, most of my family’s in LA. We’re originally from Chicago, but my whole family has slowly made the migration to warmer weather, and we all live in LA now.

Interview Transcribed by Jamie of http://www.scifivision.com

MORE INFO:

Victoria Park Co-Stars in CW’s “The Flash”

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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