The Gifted: Grace Byers Introduces Reeva Payge

Meet Reeva Payge. In The Gifted Season 2, this Hellfire Club alum aims to start a revolution with powerful mutants like Polaris, the Frost sisters and Andy Strucker at her side. Equipped with a ruthless attitude and a sonic scream, Reeva will do whatever it takes to establish a mutant homeland, a sanctuary away from human violence and prejudice. After all, if her past experiences are any indication, this is the only way to keep herself and her loved ones safe.

Speaking to CBR, Reeva Payge actor Grace Byers offered some insight into her character. She discussed Reeva's goal to create a mutant state and the experiences that led her to this decision. She also teased Reeva's view of the Mutant Underground, her "careful" position within the Inner Circle and more.

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CBR: Tell me, in your own words, who Reeva Payge is.

Byers: Reeva Payge is my hero. Honestly. She is a woman/mutant who totally believes in a vision and believes in creating something that, yes, we've heard before in the X-Men world, but she is rising up and she's deciding that if someone is going to do it, it's going to be her. And so, knowing all the odds that are stacked against her, knowing what she has to face, knowing what she may have to sacrifice, she is willing to do it, she will show you that she does it and she won't stop until her vision -- which is hopefully the vision for all the mutants in her world -- will come to fruition. With that said, she is -- I would like to the use the word "unstoppable" for her. She is completely indomitable, she's powerful, she's loyal, she's determined, a bit insurmountable, honestly. And she's unapologetic while doing it. Go Reeva!

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What can you tell me about this vision she has?

So the vision that she has is that -- and I mean, it's no secret -- she fully believes that it is impossible for humans and mutants to live peacefully in the same world. Her experience has told her that. The present has told her that. She has lost lots of people and lots of things due to that. So it has been proven to her time and time again that it's just not possible, and so she is working for a world and a nation where the mutants can live unharmed and at peace and free.

Will we get to see those past experiences that led her to this?

Absolutely. Absolutely, and I think that that's probably what makes her a super interesting character. Sometimes, when you see antagonists being played, it's hard because you only see that cold, resolute, unattached side of them. But you don't really understand why they're doing what they're doing. You don't get a chance to see how these things have affected them and how they helped them to become the people that they are today. So I feel like, with Reeva, you get that. At first, she may strike you as like, "Whoa! That girl is cold!" But after a while, as you get a chance to know her, you know that there's so much more to her story and you see glimpses of that and then you go, "This is why she is the way she is." And I can't hate her for it. I get it.

How has Reeva's lack of comics continuity affected the way you approach playing the character?

That has actually been the most fun for me. You know, to know there wasn't that much out there on her just gave me more freedom to be like, "Alright! Well, I'm going to find her in the script. I'm going to find her with the characters. I'm going to find her with the showrunner, with the writers." And so I kind of approached her energy first. And so I'm like, "Alright. With what's happening, with what her vision is, with what her goal is, how do I want to lead this energy with her?" And so it took a couple of scenes to try to kind of sculpt and craft that, but -- once we were in the pocket and we found her -- it was just… I mean, we've just been having a ball. And so that has probably been the most exciting thing for me as an actor.

How does Reeva view the Mutant Underground?

I mean, there are words that she would use to describe the Mutant Underground, but -- instead of kind of coming against them and saying, "Well, you're cowards and you have a mindset that clearly has been proven wrong over and over again" -- I think that she's not coming from that angle, and I think the reason why is that she may see, hey, the Morlocks and the Mutant Underground, they may see things differently than I do and I don't agree with them, but my dream would be that you join us. You know what I mean? So I feel like she wouldn't really use language like I just did because of the fact it would be more divisive and I feel like she's more along the lines of, like, "Guys, clearly that's not the right way, but our doors are still open if you want to join us. But these are the things you have to do."

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How would you describe the Inner Circle's team dynamic?

I think what Reeva understands and what she's trying to work through each and every day is that she's working with other very alpha characters, right? So other alpha females. Andy is less of an alpha but he's becoming a young man and so she also has to negotiate what that looks like as well. And also, P.S., very powerful, so just like Polaris and the Frost sisters. But I feel like she's moving along the lines of like, "Alright. Very strong personality. Very strong personality. If this goes wrong and I don't paint this very well with them, then this is going to blow up in the worst way." So I think that she treads very wisely with them, because she knows that she needs each and every one of them to make her plan work. Is she scared of other mutants? I wouldn't say so. I don't think that she has the balls to be less scared of others, but yeah, I think she works carefully with them.

What is your favorite part of playing Reeva?

My favorite part of playing Reeva is that she is -- and again, I described this earlier -- she's a very different energy than I am, you know what I mean? She is just a dropped down, kind of cold, resolute kind of gal that just is willing to pummel through her vulnerability in order to get the job done. For me, I lead with vulnerability, so I will just be like, "Please? No? Okay. That's fine. We'll work on it." Reeva's like, "No? Pfft! You die!" So I think I love that about her. [laughs]

The Gifted Season 2 will premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The series’ showrunner is Matt Nix, and the cast includes Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker, Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker, Sean Teale as Eclipse/Marcos Diaz, Jamie Chung as Blink/Clarice Fong, Coby Bell as Jace Turner, Emma Dumont as Polaris/Lorna Dane, Blair Redford as Thunderbird/John Proudstar, Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker, Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker and Skyler Samuels as the Frost Sisters.