Don’t ask Alyvia Alyn Lind why she keeps getting cast as a drug addict in TV shows and movies like her new Netflix series, Wayward. She doesn’t know.

For the young actress, who started her career more than a decade ago on The Young and the Restless, she might attract characters like Leila — the struggling but dedicated Canadian teen who secretly crosses the border into the U.S. to rescue her best friend from a troubled teen institute in the show — simply because it’s so not her.

“I wish I knew,” Lind said, laughing, during a recent chat with DECIDER about the series. “I think it’s really funny. And this is my third role as a drug addict, third character. I don’t know why, I think I get really, really excited when I get an audition for something like this, because it’s my favorite type of role to play, something that’s not like myself, and something that I can really sink my teeth into… I’m so grateful that I get to play these kinds of roles because it’s an exercise for the mind and the body.”

The series, which comes from the mind of comedian Mae Martin, who also stars alongside Hereditary actress Toni Collette in this twisty psychological thriller, follows Martin’s character, who moves to sleepy Tall Pines, Vermont, with their wife (Sarah Gadon), only to discover that the town may have some dark secrets. At the center of the mystery is Tall Pines Academy, run by the unnervingly bubbly Evelyn (Collette), who takes kids like Leila and turns them into upstanding citizens. How though? Well, that’s what the show wants you to find out.

Lind — whose mother, Barbara Alyn Woods, is best known for her work on One Tree Hill and her sister, Emily, starred in Prime Video’s We Were Liars earlier this year — said that working with Collette and Martin taught her so many things about an industry she’s been in since childhood. Specifically, she took away a lesson from Collette, who she says makes an effort to identify with her characters and shield them from backlash fans might send their way.

“I’m so protective over specifically Leila, maybe more than any other character I’ve ever played, because she has such a tough exterior, she has such a wall that she puts up for everybody, and it feels impenetrable,” the young actress explained, adding of Collette, “She is so protective of her characters. I think that that’s what makes every single one of her characters that she’s ever played so memorable and powerful and incredible.”

Check out DECIDER’s full interview with the actress below.

DECIDER: I want to start at the beginning and ask what it was that initially drew you into the script. Was it the tone? Was it the character? Just give me the backstory on how it came to you.

ALIVIA ALYN LIND: Initially, when I got the audition, I was immediately hooked. I mean, Mae’s writing, and the depth of the characters, and the story that is about the troubled teen industry that’s so not talked about, and is such a massive industry, but is so overlooked. And just all of that coming together, and just on top of it being such incredible writing, I was like, “If I’m not in this project, this is gonna be something that I’m going to be binging.” And when I feel that way about a script that I read, I know that it’s really good.

Did you end up looking into troubled teen institutes as a result? I think this is going to be a project where people walk away and are shocked by what they discover.

Yeah, I did a lot of research, I was glued to my computer. I knew they existed, obviously, but I did not know to what extent. As soon as I got the job, I… I looked up anything I could possibly find, survivor blogs, documentaries — there’s an amazing documentary on Netflix, plug Netflix, called The Program, that I feel got me into the headspace the best.

I know you’ve said previously that this is like your third time playing a teenage drug addict. What is it about these roles that keep beckoning you?

I wish I knew [laughs]. I think it’s really funny. And this is my third role as a drug addict, third character. I don’t know why, I think I get really, really excited when I get an audition for something like this, because it’s my favorite type of role to play, something that’s not like myself, and something that I can really sink my teeth into. [It’s] something that scares me a little bit. And so maybe when I get those auditions, I just, like, do them way better. I’m so grateful that I get to play these kinds of roles because it’s an exercise for the mind and the body.

You’ve been in this industry for quite some time now. In fact, one of my favorite movies is Blended — my sisters and I quote it to each other all the time. It makes me wonder: how has your approach to this profession changed as you’ve gotten older?

Oh my gosh, that’s so cute! Obviously, I’ve grown up in the industry. And I think my view on just the craft in general has changed so much over the years. When I was a kid, I was just like, no fear showing up, just loved to be there, I didn’t even realize that I was getting paid for doing this, I just loved it so much. I think over the years, it’s developed into a deeper love and want to understand the craft and stepping behind the camera. And I love writing. So writing my own things and creating on my end has been a major shift that I’ve been loving to navigate over the last few years. But if anything, my love for it has just gotten stronger.

Back to Wayward, you get to work intimately with Toni Collette here. I know actors are all about being sponges, talk to me about learning with her and the rest of your cast?

I mean, this is such a dream cast. It’s so incredible, I’m such a fan of Toni, and I fangirled like crazy when I found out that she was gonna be Evelyn. I mean, she just is the warmest and kindest and sweetest person ever. She’s so powerful and she is so protective of her characters. I think that that’s what makes every single one of her characters that she’s ever played so memorable and powerful and incredible, because I think that she really cares about how they come across, and all the layers, and in every single scene in this show, you just never know what she’s thinking deep down, or what her plan is, or what her angle is. And I think that’s something that’s so exciting to watch as just a viewer of the series, because it’s like, you’re always on the edge of your seat just because of her acting. It’s just always slightly unsettling. And Mae is obviously a genius, and I just could never ask her a better showrunner slash co-star.

It’s so interesting that you mentioned her being protective of the character, because I just had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with Olivia Cooke and Robin Wright for their show, The Girlfriend, and they said something similar. Do you feel that protectiveness now, too?

I’m so protective over specifically Leila, maybe more than any other character I’ve ever played, because she has such a tough exterior, she has such a wall that she puts up for everybody, and it feels impenetrable. It was interesting, when I was starting off the show, to develop that, when we kind of get to see the cracks of that wall break, when we get to see through to the girl behind the wall. As soon as she gets to Tall Pines and all of the stuff starts going down, I was like, “I just want to give her a hug, I want to protect her, I want her to be happy, I want her to feel safe.” But also protective in the way that I just knew where I wanted the story to go for her. That’s why it’s so amazing to work with Mae, because Mae is so collaborative, and just wanted us to make these characters our own, and wanted us to bring our teenage girl selves to these characters.

In the spirit of that collaborative nature, were there any things that you came to Mae and you said, “I really feel like Leila should have, you know, this little tick or that?”

I remember the first time I talked to Mae, it was about hair.

I was going to say, the hair feels very intentional.

Yeah, my hair — I had just cut it for another project called Spiderwick Chronicles. And my hair was here [points to shoulder] and it was kind of like a nice length, a nice cut. And I was like, “No, she cannot have a nice cut. She needs to look like she just did this, in her bedroom at night.” It needs to be, like, so messy girl.

Just to wrap, we’re living in an era where shows conceived as limited series are coming back for second seasons? Would you be down and what would you hope to see for Leila?

Oh my gosh, I would do it anytime, anywhere. Call me up, I’m there. I had the most incredible time ever working on this project; it was such a blessing, and I would love to come back. Netflix, come on, whenever you want us, we’re here, we’re ready. And Season 2 ideas, I’m gonna leave that up to Mae, the genius behind the operation. But maybe if I had any two cents to put in, it would just be, like, maybe one storyline where Leila’s happy.

All eight episodes of Wayward Season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.

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