Interview with Claire Holt

Rebekah is back! What’s she going to be like now that she’s undaggered?
Rebekah is going to come back with a vengeance! She’s going to be angry and looking to take some people down. I think that every time she’s burned, she gets a little more stone cold and she definitely wants to enact revenge on — in particular — Stefan, Elena, and Caroline, who she questions at the high school in "After School Special". It was a really fun episode to shoot. There’s a lot of torture and manipulation going on — it’s going to be a big episode for sure!

What about Klaus? He’s the one who orchestrated Rebekah’s daggering. Will she be making him a prime target as well?
Rebekah, in this specific episode, is going to focus on retrieving answers from Stefan, Elena and Caroline. She’s going to question them about the hunter tattoo, the cure, and definitely Elena’s relationships — and she really wants to find out what they know about it.

There have been rumors floating around that Rebekah and Stefan might grow closer throughout the season. Does their relationship shift at any point and how so?
I think that’s a spoiler and I can’t really give away too much. [Laughs.] However, I think that the dynamic between them will definitely change – at least after all the torturing. In "After School Special" Rebekah questions Elena and Stefan and this will bring some uncomfortable truths to light.

We love how casual that mention of torture was. Just another day in the life of Rebekah Mikaelson!
[laughs] It’s just what Bex does, right? This time around though, her torturing has more of a psychological twist. She has some fun little ‘Truth or Dare’ games planned for them.

Rebekah recently gave Matt a new truck as a way of saying sorry. Do you think that her sentiments are sincere?
She doesn’t like to be vulnerable so that’s her way of extending the olive branch. All this time, Rebekah has just wanted to be loved and feel loved by someone — and she has feelings for Matt so I think that’s her way of trying to express that. But I personally wouldn’t give someone a truck. [Laughs]

We wouldn’t classify Bex as evil but she’s definitely misunderstood. She just wants to find her place in the world. Will we see a significant change in her growth as a person this Season?
I think so. In her quest for the cure, I think she definitely learns how to relate to people a little better. You’re going to see her grow as a character — especially as she realizes that it’s not all about manipulating or torturing others to get what she wants. It’s not just about being the bad girl anymore so that was a nice change for me to explore.

We’re very excited about The Originals spin-off. Can we expect to find Bex living it up with Klaus in New Orleans at any point?
[laughs] That is probably something that Julie Plec will have to answer for you. You never know what might happen though! However, I think that it is going to be such a great show and any extension of The Vampire Diaries, with its incredible fanbase and a showrunner like Julie. It was exciting for me to see Phoebe Tonkin cast in the show as well. We’ve been best friends since we were 16-years-old and working on H20: Just Add Water in Australia, so that was wonderful news.

Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline recently had a girl’s night. What would an ideal night out for Rebekah and her new BFF April be like?
 [Laughs] I don’t know if Rebekah and April are going to have a chance to hang out in that capacity. She’s not really that good at maintaining friendships. However, if she were to have a fun time, it would involve dancing and a party and maybe some blood drinking. She does put herself on the outs with the girls in Mystic Falls so I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

Poor Rebekah! Will she at least get to live out her simple dream of attending ONE school dance?
She definitely would like to get dressed up and attend a school dance and that is definitely brought up. However, I can’t reveal whether she actually makes it to one or not. You’ll have to watch. [Laughs]

We love seeing tweets and pics from the cast and crew throughout the day. Is there any particular moment in filming Season 4 that was especially fun for everyone? 
We always have a wonderful time but, recently, while embarking on a journey for the vampire cure, we filmed scenes on the island of Nova Scotia. It was a really exciting experience. A lot of the times, the cast is not filming scenes together — so whenever there are a lot of us in one location, there’s always a riot.

You were also on another one of our shows, Pretty Little Liars. What was that experience like compared to working on TVD’s set?
Well, I played completely opposite characters. On Pretty Little Liars I played a lesbian and, on Vampire Diaries, I portray an badass vampire. But you know what? On both shows, the cast, the crew, the writers, and the producers — they all work so hard and are so lovely. I came on later in the Seasons and I never felt like I crashing the party. Everyone was so welcoming and pleasant. I’ve been very blessed. Both series are amazing and, obviously, I’ve stuck around on The Vampire Diaries a little longer and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

You’re always posting amazing pictures from your trips. What’s your favorite personal adventure story from all your recent travels?
I just went to Colorado with my whole family. They came out from Australia for Christmas. I think that’s been my favorite adventure this year. We had no snow so skiing was terrible and we were skiing over rocks and ice…[Laughs]. But still – any time I get together with my family, it’s always a riot.

Have you and Phoebe had any adventures yet in Atlanta?
You know what, we haven’t yet because we haven’t had any scenes together. We’re always filming at different times, but you never know. I’m really hoping that it might happen in 2013. We’ll see.

What’s your favorite attraction in Atlanta that fans should definitely visit if they plan a trip down there?
Hmm…. Oh I know! It has the largest aquarium in the world! I recently went to it about two weeks ago and it was so much fun! They have huge sharks.

We recently spotted you at the 2013 Golden Globes and you look gorgeous! That being said, that Oscars are coming up and we were wondering if you had any top picks for Best Picture?
My favorite is Silver Linings Playbook hands down. It was so incredibly good. And I loved Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence’s performance so I’m rooting for them as well. I know everyone says Lincoln because it’s a true American story and Daniel Day Lewis was incredible in it but Silver Linings Playbook was just amazing so I’m going to go with that!