Kristen Connolly Gets Ready to Turn the Volume Up on ‘The Whispers’

Meet the most desperate housewife of them all. On ABC’s supernatural thriller The Whispers, Kristen Connolly (House of Cards) plays Lena Lawrence, a homemaker whose problems extend way beyond her cul-de-sac. So far, Lena’s been struggling to save her marriage to a high-ranking government operative in the wake of his infidelity while simultaneously trying to figure out what’s going on between their young daughter, Minx (Kylie Rogers), and her new, not-so-imaginary friend “Drill.” (Pssst: It’s worse than you think, Mom—he’s an otherworldly creature who’s using children as pawns.) And according to Connolly, all that is child’s play compared to what’s ahead.

This week, does Lena realize how dangerous Drill is?
At first, communicating with Drill was exhilarating, but now she’s gone down a path she never would have anticipated to protect her daughter—and there will be consequences.

As the finale draws closer, will Lena channel her inner badass?
That’s really what attracted me to the role: Lena’s progression. She was a bit helpless at first; now she’s growing stronger. Not like she’s becoming Tomb Raider or anything, but she’s becoming more sure of herself.

The fate of Lena’s child—and possibly humankind—hinges on her working with her husband’s “other woman,” FBI agent Claire Bennigan (Lily Rabe). How’s that for complicated?
That’s been fun for us to play, because in another world these women would have a lot in common. As the events unfold, they’ll have to be in closer contact, because things are going to get worse before they get better!

You went straight from this to CBS’s new thriller Zoo, about a wave of animal attacks. Do you sleep with one eye open?
When you see how the sausages get made, it’s not quite as scary. But it would be nice to get to be clean and dry. With horror, there always seems to be a lot of rain or mud or blood!

The Whispers, Mondays, 10/9c, ABC