Credit: Brandon Showers
Kara Royster of Pretty Little Liars is set to appear in season 4B of The Fosters, premiering Jan. 31 on Freeform. With just one week left before The Fosters returns to our screens, Pop City Life spoke with Kara about her Fosters character Dawn, what to expect when PLL returns in April, her high-flying new year’s resolution, and more!
First up, you’ll be appearing on The Fosters when the show returns to Freeform for the second half of season 4, so congratulations on that!
Kara Royster: Thank you! It’s such an awesome show, and I’m friends with everybody over there, so it was a fun thing to do!
When Pop City Life spoke with you back in August, you mentioned that you’d been a huge fan of Pretty Little Liars long before you joined the cast. Is that also true of The Fosters, or did you have to get acquainted with the show as part of preparing for your role?
I had seen the show quite a few times, and I have a bunch of friends on it – Cierra Ramirez and Noah Centineo and all of them. I definitely wanted to rewatch because that’s one show, same as Pretty Little Liars, where one episode is packed with so many questions and crossover and all this craziness. You miss one, you miss a lot of information, so I definitely did my research! And I’m friends with Maia Mitchell, so I was able to talk to her a little bit about it and see what was going on. I had some people to ask questions to, which was nice!
Tell us about the character you play on The Fosters and the impact she has on the lives of the other characters on the show.
Dawn comes in and she is a flirtatious, very athletic girl who kind of stirs up some trouble for AJ and Callie. It was very different for me to play such an athletic role – she’s on the basketball team. She just kind of comes into their school orbit and sticks her nose in and says hello!
Speaking of Pretty Little Liars, you were part of one of the summer finale cliffhangers, when Yvonne and Toby were in a car accident that left fans wondering if you would make it out alive. What can we expect from the season 7B premiere in April?
Pretty early on, people have answers, and I think that’s pretty much all I can say! They definitely do a great job of giving you the answers to all the questions with Spencer and the other cliffhangers. At the very start, they catch you up so they can throw the rest of the crazy of the upcoming season at you! It’s going to be a lot, and it’s so great. As a fan, I’m just so excited for everyone to see some of these answers.
Credit: Kara Royster
So, there are only 10 episodes left before Pretty Little Liars ends forever…
Wah!
Looking back at your time on the show, are there any memorable moments that stick out for you?
This whole thing for me has been just so incredible. I always watched it and I never in a million years put myself in it, so it’s all been such a whirlwind. One of my favorite times was sitting at the table read for the season 7A finale. Everyone’s pretty much learning everything [while] sitting there, because they’re very secretive with the script. I was literally like two inches from the script with my mouth open! I was so into it, and it was so cool to see everyone so enthusiastic. Every single character had something going on, and everyone was excited to go out and tackle it.
As you mentioned, you’d been watching Pretty Little Liars for years before you actually appeared on it. As a dedicated viewer and fan, what will you miss most about it?
I think we’ve really grown up with these characters. From the first episode to the last is such a big transformation, including the five-year time jump and seeing them go from being kids in high school to drinking wine at the Radley! I think it’s been really cool to see them grow, and the different changes [they went through]. It’s just been such an influential show that talks about so many important issues, from my character having an abortion to Emily coming out as a lesbian. They talk about hot-button topics and they really push the envelope, and I think that’s going to be missed.
What do you think the legacy of Pretty Little Liars will be?
The fandom! There’s nothing to compare it to. The fans of PLL are committed, and they know all the little ins and outs. It’s incredible. I’m so impressed by their enthusiasm and their commitment to the show. There’s a revolving door of characters, so for them to know every person who’s ever spoken once and to know everything about everyone… it’s really amazing to be part of something like that.
Lastly, we’re a few weeks into January now – did you make any new year’s resolutions, and if so, how are those going?
Actually pretty good! I wanted to do something that was fitness-related but not just going to the gym. I like doing something with a little bit of fun to it. I was actually influenced by Troian Bellisario from PLL, who is amazing at silks. I saw her videos and was like, “I have to do this. That is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” I got a Groupon for my classes, and I’m not into it just yet but I will be taking some aerial acrobatics classes!
Watch out for Kara Royster on season 4B of The Fosters, premiering next Tuesday at 8/7c on Freeform, and the final episodes of Pretty Little Liars, debuting April 18. You can also keep up with Kara Royster via Twitter and Instagram.
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