Ashley Sutton Is Not Going to Take Things Lying Down

This story contains extensive spoilers for Yellowjackets season 3, episode 7, “Croak.” Many mysteries have been presented in Yellowjackets, but a crucial one still remains: What really happened in the wilderness? While the Showtime hit has uncovered some of the horrors the teenage girls endured, from bear attacks and fires to, um, cannibalism, season 3 unveils the most surprising twist to date: the Yellowjackets weren’t always alone out there.

Actress Ashley Sutton has been one of the few who’s known that for months.

This season she joined the cast as Hannah, a scientist researching the mating patterns of a frog species native to the Canadian woods. We first see her in episode 6, “Thanksgiving,” as she, her research partner Edwin (Nelson Franklin), and their guide Kodiak (Joel McHale) come across the Yellowjackets as they feast on the body of Coach Ben (Steven Krueger). But in episode 7 we finally get clarity around how their campsites crossed paths—and the chaos that ensues as the Yellowjackets hunt them down in hopes that they could be their way home.

But years before Hannah came her way, the 37-year-old auditioned for a different role in the Yellowjackets pilot and even went to the producers to land it. (She wouldn’t reveal which part.) Despite not getting the role at the time, she became a devout fan of the show’s thrills and dark sense of humor. She calls coming back to audition for Hannah and her eventual casting a “full circle” moment. (The show’s co-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson recently confirmed that Hannah and the rest of her crew were always a part of the show’s arc.)

A week before the episode hit streaming, Sutton spoke with Marie Claire on her filming experience, how Hannah might be connected to the present-day timeline, and what she envisioned about her character’s life before she encountered the Yellowjackets.

Marie Claire: Your role comes with spoilers about what happens in the wilderness. How much did you know going into the audition process?

Ashley Sutton: I made assumptions based on the sides [ed. note: sides are script excerpts for auditions] that were given from casting. I knew she was a scientist. I knew we were researching frogs, so I obviously knew there was a wilderness component in that aspect, but I didn't know anything else. I just focused on that. We get the scripts one by one, and I read this episode and was shocked. I'm so impressed with how they introduced all of these new characters. It was like a pinch-me moment to read this script and be like, Oh my gosh, the show is changing in such a cool way and people are going to freak out.

MC: Hannah, Edwin, and Kodiak are shocked when they come across the Yellowjackets. What was your reaction when you first walked onto the set?

AS: That was our first day. It was actually them doing all of the screaming around the fire at nighttime. It was quite terrifying. I love spooky stuff, that is so up my alley, but it was really scary. Nelson Franklin, who plays Edwin, was like, ‘Oh no, what have we gotten ourselves into?’

MC: What was it like shooting the moment when Lottie kills Nelson Franklin’s character with an axe? How many takes did they have to shoot of that?

AS: It was a lot of prep to get the prosthetics on to make the action happen. I don't think it was done in too many takes—maybe two or three. It's not what we expected at all to walk into, and it happens and there's a lot of blood and he falls. There's no processing of what's happening at that moment. It's all happening so quickly.

That was very creepy to see in person, but Courtney [Eaton]’s so talented, so it was fun to watch her work through all of that. [Out of character], she’s a joy—truly the kindest and sweetest person. So, it's fun to watch her as Lottie and see the switch and see what Lottie does because Lottie just does what Lottie does.

MC: And then you run and hide and find shelter under the log. How long were you lying in there?

AS: My first day in the wilderness was the log scene, which is one of my favorite moments from that episode. It was a torrential downpour—like ankle-deep in mud—so I felt like I was really getting initiated into Vancouver and the wilderness. The crew is amazing and so kind, so everyone was trying to have the best time possible, even though the situation was a little bit dramatic.

I didn't lay there very long. Actually, in the log, I was very protected. That was made by the art department, so it was really nice being underneath and covered [from the rain]. It looked so real like it was an actual tree.

MC: Yellowjackets explores the lengths women go to find their strengths. In that log scene, Hannah finds the strength to record a tape for her daughter Alex. How would you characterize her in that moment?

AS: So much has happened—the Edwin incident, what she's assuming has happened to Kodiak, and she's assuming her demise is next. There's no way that she's going to be able to save herself, which is why she leaves that message for Alex—to get it off her chest, to say it out loud, and be able to make peace with that within her own heart. Whether or not someone finds the tape, she needs to release these feelings because everything is happening so fast, and she's in fight or flight.

When the Yellowjackets walk in and she sees her mistake and that they're onto her, there's this moment of like, ‘Okay, well, I can either show myself and face what's going to happen or stay here and hide.’ And she just chooses to face it.

She's so complex and there's so much going on specifically in this episode, and I feel like that moment where she faces the Yellowjackets is one of the first moments where she does stand up for herself and starts to fight for herself. Even if it's just, ‘I'm not going to go laying down. I'm going to try my best to be like, Hey, I'm not going to harm you for her.’ I feel like it's a moment in her life where it's the first time she's really done that.

MC: Was that a note from the writers or director or was that your interpretation?

AS: That's my interpretation. [Director] Jennifer Morrison was so lovely to work with, specifically on this episode and really building Hannah fully. After we did the tape recording to Alex, Jennifer and I were talking about her children and my imaginary child, and we were both getting emotional about kids and the love that you have for your child, and what that would feel like to say goodbye to your child and not think that you're ever going to go back and see them again. Jennifer was like, ‘This right here, what you're feeling, these emotions, this is who Hannah is all the way through. She loves her daughter so much, and she's willing to put herself in any situation to fight as much fight as she can muster up.’ I feel like Jennifer gave me this ownership over Hannah in that moment. That really helped me throughout the rest of the process.

MC: As you said, Hannah does step forward and we can only imagine what’s going to happen, considering you have at least a four-episode arc. How do you think you, Ashley, would feel if you were in the situation that Hannah ends up in?

AS: My favorite part about Hannah is she is almost the perspective of all the viewers watching the show. Reading that script, I was like, ‘This is so cool. It's like all of us fans are walking into the camp, into the wilderness with the Yellowjackets, through these three people's eyes,’ which is so rare. So, I do feel like a lot of the moments that Hannah has of my reaction and fan reactions, too, it's kind of how we would all react because the situation is so extreme.

MC: We don’t know much about Hannah besides what we learn in the wilderness. Did you do any prep work envisioning her life before this moment?

AS: I wrote a lot of journals. I journal myself. I wanted to bring that to her where each day that they were on this research trip—before they meet up with the Yellowjackets—she's journaling about her experience and what's happening scientifically for the project, but also with Kodiak and Edwin, and what's happening in their dynamic. I did that actively throughout, too.

And I did a research paper that would be the thing that she would've submitted to get the research project off the ground because I felt like I needed to understand the scientist part of it. Because, spoiler alert: I am not even close to a scientist. But I needed to know how much she wanted this and how important this job was for her, and working with her and Edwin's relationship, how long they had been together, how they met, and how they had formulated this plan to do this research project.

Then I worked on Alex too. It was always important to work on her story before—being a teenage mom and overcoming all of that to then become someone who is successful in their field of study and excelling. I wanted to make sure that I knew who she was then and how she got to this place because, once I knew all of that, I knew where she was going from that point.

MC: Was the research paper about frogs?

AS: Yeah, I did know they were frogs. I knew we were looking for frogs, but I didn't know what we were necessarily looking for frogs for. I made up some random frog we were trying to find in the woods to get video footage of that no one had ever [gotten].

MC: Hannah’s tape has become a mystery in the present timeline, and now we understand that means someone brought it back from the wilderness. Do you think fans will be surprised by who that is?

AS: It was so shocking for me to read. You're just like, ‘What?’ over and over again. I am so excited for everybody else to see, because, yeah, it's good.

MC: Hillary Swank has been announced in a guest role and fans predict her character is tied to yours. Did you know during the casting process that your role might be connected to hers?

AS: I had no idea there would be any connection to the present or anything, because, again, I just got the sides about the scientists. That's all I knew. I went in with very little information until I got the first script, and then I was like, ‘Okay, puzzle pieces are starting to come together.’

MC: What was it like working with fellow newcomers, Nelson Franklin and Joel McHale?

AS: They're funny and both very, very tall, so I'm very little compared to them, which is funny when we're all talking and standing next to each other. But we had such a great time doing all of the tent stuff. We did that first, so we got to spend a lot of time just the three of us before we were introduced to anybody else. They were always making us laugh—like everybody. I really love them. I still hang out with them and get dinner with them.

MC: Were you interacting with real frogs?

AS: Oh, my gosh, we were! When the one is in the jar, he’s a real frog. We named him Kermit. He was the star of the show. He hung out with us a lot. He was very cute.

There's a moment in the opening of the episode where we're watching the frog in the pond, and Nelson and I are with the headphones listening to the sounds. And—they didn't end up using this—there was one take where the little frog just grabbed my finger and Nelson and I were like, ‘What is happening? This is the cutest thing ever.’ I think there were two or three of them that switched out, but they hung out with us for a while.

MC: Fans and everyone involved with the show seem to have opinions about whether Yellowjackets has a supernatural element or if it’s based in reality. Both as a fan and having been a part of the series, do you have theories?

AS: I was lucky enough to audition for the pilot, and so I've been deeply obsessed with the writing and the storytelling. I don't know the answer to the supernatural question, but I think it is interesting what the human mind can create—what we can create that's maybe not real—which is fun to see on screen. I think when we're in really traumatic situations, our minds can create things that don't exist. I like that it's up in the air right now for people to debate about because it helps people ask some really interesting questions of, When you're going through hard times, what is real? What is going to live with you for the next five years or live with you for the next 20-plus years? What are you going to forget and let go of? I think viewers ask those questions within themselves, which is what good art does.

While the show is creepy and fun, I do think it deals a lot with the human psyche and the human condition. I love shows that do that because I think it makes us a better person. We are learning things through art that we don't even know we're learning.

MC: What was it like returning to the show and landing a role after auditioning for the pilot?

AS: This [role] came out and my team got me in front of casting, which was exciting and I was really grateful for. After working on it and diving into Hannah and her scientist life, what she does, how intelligent and smart she is, and how she fights for what she wants—which is why they're going on this research trip because she really wants to do this thing for herself—showing up on set and getting to meet everybody and experience the wilderness, it just felt like it was right. This role felt like it was right.

It's all about timing and what's really meant to be as actors. We bring parts of ourselves. It's part of our energy and temperament, and there's a lot of Hannah—maybe her innocence and her sweetness—that I carry myself. It was so easy for me to create her life and fall into her at every moment because I felt like it was in alignment. Her and I made sense.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.