A Sneak Peek

Dylan Aguilar, a Buzz intern and resident who graduated from University of North Texas studying film and creative writing, attended the local HBO-series screening of Big Little Lies, where he interviewed actress Kathryn Newton.

Kathryn Newton walked into the theater wearing a black strapless dress and platforms – a little dressier than most moviegoers. But this was no regular movie-goer. We were at Studio Movie Grill on I-10 for a screening of her new HBO series, Big Little Lies, which premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19.

The show’s cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Zoe Kravitz. I got to meet Newton, a 19-year-old actress from Miami, who was introducing the first two episodes. Newton, who has been acting since early childhood, has appeared in, among others, Gary Unmarried and Supernatural.

How did it feel to play Reese Witherspoon’s daughter?

“Reese reminds me of my own mom,” she said. “You never felt like you were acting. She would ask about things like my Instagram, Snapchat and Coachella.”

What’s your character, Abigail Carlson, like?

“She’s a rebel... She’s a lot to handle and kind of mean to her mom. She’s a teenage daughter growing up. I really felt like I was Abigail. I can relate to her so much.”

In her introduction, Kathryn told the audience that director Jean-Marc Vallée always shoots with natural light and uses digital cameras that shoot 360 degrees.

Big Little Lies centers on a murder that keeps the audience looking for clues. But the clues that fascinated me the most as a viewer have less to do with the crime and more to do with the characters’ relationships.

Witherspoon plays a divorced mom whose resentment toward her ex-husband is all-consuming. Kidman is her close friend, who has a terrible secret. Kravitz is Witherspoon’s nemesis, her ex’s new bohemian wife – and daughter Abigail’s role model.

From the beginning the show had me hooked. I found the alliances and divisions between the parents, which carry over to the kids, intriguing. Like the veteran actresses in the cast, Newton comes across as a pro, believable and somebody to watch.