Castle

Of course we’re all dying to see Molly Quinn return as Alexis Castle when the Castle Season 4 premiere “Rise” airs on September 19, but you can get even more Molly after that by checking out her lead role as Esmee Johnson in teen runaway drama film Finding Hope, with Boardwalk Empire’s Chris Mulkey and Grounded for Life’s Richard Riehle.

Molly and director Diane Namm have been working on the project for four years, starting with the short film The Sacrifice, in which Esmee tries to escape from a polygamist cult. In our exclusive Wetpaint Entertainment interview, Molly tells us why Finding Hope is so close to her heart, and how Alexis will be “at her wit’s end” this season!

Wetpaint Entertainment: What can you tell us about Finding Hope?

Molly Quinn: Finding Hope is the story of a girl in a very bad situation. Her only hope us that she is generally representing all of the one to three million teen runaways and homeless that are on the streets every day. It shows what they go through and what they have to deal with, and how you can’t trust people because they can seem like they want to help you but it turns out they were just trying to manipulate you.

It’s about survival and how these kids really aren’t equipped to survive. And people really aren’t aware enough to get them to the right places that can help them.

Is this a sequel to The Sacrifice?

This is the progression of The Sacrifice because The Sacrifice ends where she’s been taken away into the polygamist cult and in Finding Hope we know that she’s inside that lifestyle now and she’s been plotting for over a year to run away and get out. And not just for herself, but to be able to come back and get the other kids out as well.

But then she finds herself on the street and everyone’s a predator, essentially. It’s hard to find a safe haven. I mean, she can’t go back and she’s not safe where she is. So what she’s in is the plight, like I said, of these real-life runaways.

Where can we see it?

You can see it at Tribeca Cinema on September 21 at 9:15 or September 23rd at 7:30 at the New York Television Festival. And the tickets are free, so I think people should definitely get down there. It was one of only three dramas chosen to be in the New York TV Festival Pilot Competition [Ed. note: Winners can score guaranteed development deals with IFC, FX, and MTV].

We’re all really excited about that, not because it gives me any exposure or anything like that, but because Finding Hope is Diane and I and everyone that was involved from as far away as Germany, it’s our way of bringing awareness to this very real problem.

[Reserve your FREE tickets here!]

You’ve been involved with these projects for four years now. What have you learned about the struggles these kids face?

Well, I’m working with Covenant House and when I went down there to show them the film, I was very nervous because I wanted to make sure that I was really portraying what these girls and boys had gone through and to make sure it was OK with them and to know if I was giving an honest portrayal of them.

And they responded very well, which was an extreme relief. And they were really thankful that their story was getting out because they know it’s not only dealing with them but all over the U.S.

I mean, a lot of people think that it’s just  something that happens in third world countries but in all 50 states in America, it’s happening. And people have to be aware of it and not turn such a blind eye toward it.

As far as Castle goes, Tamala Jones (Lanie Parish) was telling us that Alexis is going through “growing pains” this season. Can you relate?

Well, yeah, I can relate to that. I guess “growing pains” is a way you could put it, but she’s been forced into a situation and it’s something she never thought she would have to deal with in her entire life.

It’s like with any terrifying situation, you see people’s true colors. And what we see for Alexis, you know she’s at her wit’s end. So we’ll she if she’s back or if she holds it together. I mean, and then she has other teen issues, like what does she want to do with her life? You know, sometimes the more potential you have the more pressure there is to make the right choice.

And then we have the whole Ashley [Ken Baumann] issue and everything else, and on top of all that, she’s having to protect her dad [Nathan Fillion] when her dad is not helping her protect him.

Has Nathan started up with the pranks yet?

Oh, Nathan never stops goofing around but he’s always extremely professional. It’s always fun working with him, it’s a breath of fresh air.

And we’re all super excited about the next season. We’re going to really get everyone out of their comfort zones and the writers have really been amping up each character in exploring the relationships between each other.

So it’s very exciting and I hope you like it. I’m really excited that we’re going this way.