Exclusive Interview: Tammy Gillis talks Siren Season 2

Tammy Gillis, who plays Marissa Staub on Freeform’s Siren, recently took the time to talk to us about soon-to-premiere Siren Season 2.

Tammy Gillis plays deputy Marissa Staub on the award-winning Siren on Freeform. She recently gave us the inside scoop on Siren Season 2.

Fans of the show have been patiently waiting for its return, and the time is almost here. Siren Season 2 is set for premiere on Jan. 24.

Season 1 left us on a cliffhanger, as the surface world began to gain knowledge of the underwater universe. Ben is slowly losing his senses, Xander is trying to recover from the loss of his father by the hands of a merman, Ryn is trying to adjust to life on the land, and Marissa (Tammy Gillis) is trying to make sense of all the strange happenings that have riveted her town.

Here’s what Tammy Gillis had to say about playing Marissa Staub in Siren.

Hidden Remote: What’s it been like filming for Siren Season 2? 

Tammy Gillis: It’s been good! It’s been really good! We’ve actually been luckier this year because last year when we were filming, there was a lot colder weather. And a couple of days it even snowed. So everybody’s been pretty appreciative of the fact that the weather’s been really unseasonably warm in Vancouver, so that’s a big bonus.

HR: Do you guys have any fun when you’re not filming? 

Gillis: Oh yeah! We’re a big family. It’s one of the things I absolutely love about everybody on Siren; all of the cast and crew are just incredible. We’re so lucky. And I don’t know if you have seen any of the Instagram stories from some of the other cast, but we get together quite frequently to celebrate people’s birthdays and Thanksgiving and stuff like that. So yeah.

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HR: Where do you guys primarily film for Siren? 

Gillis: We film in B.C. It’s in Vancouver and sort of the surrounding area.

HR: It’s kind of mind-blowing that you film in all these different locations, yet in the show, it looks like a perfectly uniform little town. 

Gillis: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a bunch of different locations. And also, there’s a whole bunch of new locations that I think everybody will be really excited to see because they’re just absolutely incredible. B.C. is just such a beautiful place.

HR: Can you tell me any of your most memorable experiences from filming for Siren Season 1? 

Gillis: Well, one of the moments I loved the most was when I caught Ryn in Season 1 and I brought her in. And I thought it was really interesting how she came sort of quietly with me, but when the other deputies and the male deputies soon showed up, she then got kind of out of control. But that was really fun, especially because we were shooting on these docks in Steepsten.

But it was really late at night. So it was cold. It was late. I think it may have been a Friday, but it was just such an epic and such a cool moment the way that they shot it and how much tension there was surrounding it. And then the final scene — her, visually, what she was doing — was really really cool.

HR: It was a really cool moment. And it was also like… Aw man… she got her…Dangit. (laughs)

Gillis: (laughs) I know. I was just fingers crossed hoping that all the fans didn’t turn on me.

HR: Yeah, so actually, I was gonna ask about that because you’re the one clean cop [that the show focuses on]. But you’re sort of like the villain in a way. An antagonist. 

Gillis: Right. 

HR: What’s going through your character’s head as she’s trying to figure out everything? She caught Ryn; Bishop let her go — what is Marissa thinking right now? 

Gillis: It’s sort of interesting because I had to really make sure, before we started filming Season 2, about what my character actually knows and what I, Tammy, know because Marissa doesn’t know anything about the mermaids. And she doesn’t suspect that this girl is a mermaid. She just thinks she’s a little unusual and maybe has a couple of problems. (laughs)

So it’s interesting; I had to be very very conscious of what I know and what I didn’t know so that it wouldn’t change my performance.

HR: That’s a really cool perspective. I would have never thought about that. 

Gillis: I actually ran through and I re-watched the entire first season and I made sort of a little reference book of notes for each episode about what occurred and what Marissa was aware of so that I could go back and refer to it while we were shooting Season 2. And I’m so happy that I did that because it gave me some interesting insights and also just kept me on track, which was great.

HR: That’s really cool. So I was wondering if you could share a little bit about how you created your character, Marissa Staub? 

Gillis: I feel like she grew up in this town and she knows a lot of the people, just because I’m from a small town and this is like a sleepy fishing town that generally not a lot goes on in. And so being from a small town, I know that everybody knows everybody’s business, everybody knows everybody else, everybody knows a lot of secrets, and they also are protective of the people in that town.

They’re very loyal, I find. Either they’re loyal or they’ll turn on you. So I feel like I grew up with all these people. I went to school with them, so I know who they are.

But also, I believe that Marissa really really loves her job. And so some interesting things happen in Season 2 because of that.

HR: So you pulled from your own hometown experience to create her. That’s awesome. So there have been some rumors — we’ll see if you can confirm or deny these. No worries if not.

Gillis: (laughs) Go for it.

HR: There have been rumors that we’re going to see more of the underwater world this season. Is there anything that you can say about that?  

Gillis: What I can say, based on the trailers that have come out and everything, is that there are more merpeople coming to the surface, which is really exciting. Merpeople in terms of mermen and mermaids. And you can see that in the trailers.

In addition to Siren, catch Tammy Gillis in A Dog’s Way Home, in theaters now!

Siren Season 2 comes out Thursday, Jan. 24, on Freeform.