Keiynan Lonsdale began acting only three years ago in his native Australia, but has already landed a couple of high profile Hollywood gigs.
He plays fan-favorite Uriah in Lionsgate’s “Divergent” franchise opposite Shailene Woodley, and recently wrapped up filming on the YA adaptation’s two-part finale, “Allegiant.” He also recently landed the role of Wally West on The CW’s “The Flash.”
The character is a pivotal transfer from the pages of the DC comic books, and has been teased by producers since the very start of the show. Lonsdale will be a series regular when the show returns for its second season in October, joining Grant Gustin as Barry Allen aka The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West, Jesse L. Martin as Joe West and Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells, who is also the Reverse-Flash, The Flash’s ultimate nemesis.
The actor talked to TheWrap about the long audition process that landed him one of the most talked-about roles of the season, and how his new gig has already conflicted with his status as a “massive fan” of the CW superhero drama.
What was your audition process like for “The Flash”?
It was interesting. I auditioned for a different TV show that was still in the same universe, and then I got a call a couple weeks later and my team said I wasn’t going any further for that role, but the creators of “The Flash” wanted to see me for Wally West. And I was like, “Oh that’s crazy, I’ve just been watching the whole season,” so that was pretty cool. And then I went in and met Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and they seemed really cool and really excited about the potential for the character. I had a couple of auditions and it spanned over a couple of months. So I really didn’t know what was going to happen. I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to assume I have anything until it’s completely announced, so once it was announced I was like ok cool, I got it for sure.
So were you keeping this giant secret for a while before it was announced to all of us?
Yes and no. It’s the same with a lot of jobs. You kinda have a job, 90%, and that’s almost enough to celebrate, but not really. I’d been in situations where I had the job and thinking it was 100% and then a week before it’s fallen through, so you just never know. For me I don’t like to get too excited too quick. My team had told me some good things so I was like, okay, that’s cool, and I’m just gonna relax on it and not think about it. So I guess I had known it was a possibility for a while but I didn’t know for sure.
When do you start filming?
I start filming in October, but I don’t know the exact date yet.
So what can you tell us about Wally and how he’s connected to the “Flash” universe, particularly Iris?
Everything has been kept under wraps, even to me, which I think is really cool. Since watching the show I’ve become a massive fan, so when I found out I got the part, one part of me was like “oh but now I’m going to know all the spoilers and stuff, I don’t want to know that!” [laughs] But yeah, they haven’t even told me the exact details yet in terms of the relation to Iris or how exactly Wally is going to be connected into the storyline and how he’ll weave through the different storylines, so I’m not really sure. But I’m sure I’ll find out soon. It’s going to be a hard secret to keep!
Have you met your cast mates yet?
No, the only person I met was Candice. I got to meet her in my final auditions, which was really cool. It was awesome. She was great to read with, she had a great energy, so I’m super excited to work with her, and everyone.
“The Flash” returns for Season 2 on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. “Allegiant – Part 1” will be released in theaters on Mar. 18, 2016.