Izzy G. on Finding the Humanity in a Chilling Role in Under the Bridge

We caught up with Izzy G. for a conversation on her portrayal of “nice girl” Kelly Ellard in the Hulu series Under the Bridge.  As the series was based on true events, Izzy was careful not to play the end of the story too early, and looked to showrunners Quinn Shepherd and Samir Mehta to guide her to “humanize” the character.  Izzy found that Kelly’s ability to put on a facade as a good girl actually allows her to get away with more.  Her character’s long friendship with Josephine (played by Nicole Cook) was a key relationship in which she could drop that facade, which Izzy and Nicole rehearsed and studied extensively in order to get their connection “exactly right.”

Observing how methodical Kelly could be in fraught and even violent situations, Izzy chose her moments to let the character’s walls come down very sparily. The courtroom scene, filmed in front of hundreds of other actors, added a real-life pressure to Izzy’s performance, and she found it easy to release a bit of Kelly’s panic in that moment. Under the Bridge posed many high stakes emotional challenges to its young actors, and Izzy made sure to remain grounded: She was surrounded by a supportive cast through difficult takes, and importantly, allowed herself time to recenter once filming had wrapped. 

Watch the full conversation below.

Fourteen-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were accused of the savage murder.