Karla Souza and Charlie Weber Talk ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ at SCAD’s aTVFest

ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder is the latest hit show created by TV visionary Shonda Rhimes. The series debuted in 2014 to stellar ratings and as they continue to rise, the cast must continue to get used to all the attention they’re receiving.

Some of the stars of the series got a heavy dose of attention right here in Atlanta last weekend at SCAD’s aTV fest, and we had the pleasure of chatting with Karla Souza, who plays Laurel Castillo in the series and Charlie Weber, who portrays Frank Delfino.

Since a portion of the show’s plot is touched on in its title, it’s important for audiences to believe in a world where, although the characters are individuals, they bond on a level that allows them to be in on this murder-plot together. That being said, it’s no surprise that the cast had time to get to know one another before filming even began. “They brought us to Philadelphia a week before we started shooting, just so we could all hang out and kind of get to know each other. Certainly the students more so… but just to have us all in the same environment to hang out and socialize. I think we all took advantage of that time,” said Charlie. “Now it’s, you know, we’re all a family, but they did bring us in early so we could kind of hang out a bit and get to know each other.”

Being that the show’s biggest draw is the ongoing murder mystery, it makes sense that the cast wouldn’t receive their scripts too far in advance, as to cut back on the chances of spoilers leaking or learning too much too soon. The cast of How to Get Away with Murder usually receives their scripts the day before shooting, but being the pros that Karla and Charlie are, they have no issues tackling the material in such a short period of time. “I think you just have to be on your feet and [Peter Nowalk, the show’s EP] really trusts us with our character, to bring this fully developed character to the show that they can sort of plug-in to any situation and you can react to it,” revealed Charlie.

Karla chimed in stating, “I think I’d been used to, sort of, having scenes being re-written and thrown at me that same day, so I actually think a day of preparation is awesome. I feel like now we’ve had enough time and that’s what great about TV. On film, you don’t really have that time on-screen as you do on TV with your character so you’re able to go and explore things, and maybe sometimes make some mistakes and go ‘Ok, maybe not that way.’ It’s a constant sort of dialogue that you have with the public , with the writers, with the actors and that’s what makes it really special.”

A lot of times fans make the mistake of thinking actors ARE their characters, and while Charlie and Karla do share some similarities with Frank and Laurel, they’re still their own people.” I think me and Laurel are similar in the sense that we both have awesome jobs. I’m on this hit TV show and she works for a lawyer called Annalise Keating, no but seriously… I sometimes can be the observer, but I’m sort of also someone who can do the whole talking thing, which she’s not good about. She doesn’t get along with her family, and I love my family,” Karla detailed.

Charlie told us that while he’s comparable to Frank in certain ways, he’s still very different from his character as well. “Frank and I, I think our love of young women has probably gotten us both into a lot of trouble in our lives, but I like Frank a lot. He’s more direct than I – even though I’m a direct person – he is completely and utterly just 100% direct in everything that he does he’s always moving forward. The repercussions of things is not something Frank fears, and I think that’s interesting about him.”

As fans know, Frank and Laurel are involved in some semblance of a relationship, so we asked the pair that they can tease about what’s ahead for their characters, and the show in general. “We’re going to learn more about Frank,” revealed Karla, while Charlie gave a great tease offering, “We’re going to learn a lot about everybody. This second half of the season, I will say, Pete said it best in an interview that he did where the masks are coming off. We’re going to see everybody for who they are and you’re going to start peeling back layers of what everybody is and what they’re capable of.”

SCAD’s aTVFest Presents ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ Photo Gallery

If you want to read more about what the cast had to say at SCAD, stay tuned for our article where we chatted with Matt McGorry and Liza Weil and be sure you don’t miss How to Get Away with Murder when it airs Thursdays on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty Images for SCAD