‘All American’ Star Samantha Logan on Olivia’s Secret & ‘Steamy’ Love Triangle
Q&A
We’re only a few episodes into All American, the new drama about a teen athlete from the rough streets of Los Angeles who moves to play football in Beverly Hills. But this is also The CW, and while Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) is acclimating himself to this new world, there is plenty of drama going on around him, too.
Case in point: Olivia Baker (Samantha Logan), the beautiful daughter of Spencer’s coach (Taye Diggs), who has more than a bit of a spark with Spencer — who’s now living under her roof — but also has a past that’s haunting her.
In this week’s episode, Olivia ends up spending time with (former?) BFF Layla (Greta Onieogou), from whom she has been keeping some distance. Apparently, during her druggie days, Olivia hooked up with Layla’s boyfriend, Asher (Cody Christian).
TV Insider talked with Logan about what’s going on in Olivia’s head these days, why she’s keeping the secret about Asher and, of course, when that love triangle between herself, Spencer, and Layla is going to really heat up.
Olivia’s past drug use is still part of her present, in terms of her guilt. Do you think she needs to forgive herself?
Samantha Logan: Addiction definitely isn’t something that just goes away overnight. It’s an ongoing battle and Olivia is in the process of healing. I think she feels most guilty for what she put her friends and family through but it’s a personal battle that time will heal and I think she definitely will forgive herself in the end.
Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker (Art Streiber/The CW)
Olivia and Layla spend some time together in the episode. What brings them together?
Without giving too much away… a school project brings them together and Olivia isn’t all that happy about it at first.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how much has Olivia actually missed Layla in the time she’s kept her distance?
Ten out of 10. Best friends are like sisters. No matter what happens their bond is stronger and they’ll always find their way back to each other.
Why is Olivia keeping the secret of her hookup with Asher? Is she protecting Asher or herself?
Olivia thinks she’s protecting Layla by keeping this secret but it’s only going to hurt her more. The truth always reveals itself and Olivia is afraid of what will happen. So I guess she is also protecting herself.
Hasn’t Layla wondered why they haven’t been spending much time together before now?
I honestly can’t answer that right now because that part of their relationship hasn’t be established yet. My guess is it has to do with when Olivia went away to rehab.
We’ve seen them together but would you say Olivia is closer to her father or her mother? Why? Is there a storyline coming that explores her parental relationships?
Yes! You’ll see in this week’s episode that Olivia is coming around and starts to slowly open up to her family again, mostly with her dad at first. I think the whole family is a little sensitive post-rehab and it’ll just take time to regain trust.
Cody Christian as Asher Adams, Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating, Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker, Taye Diggs as Billy Baker, Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker, Monet Mazur as Laura Baker, Karimah Westbrook as Grace James, Jalyn Hall as Dillon James and Bre – Z as Coop(Art Streiber/The CW)
The show’s pilot played up a potential love triangle with Olivia, Layla and Spencer — any chance of that heating up soon?
Oh yeah… it’s going to get steamy. [Winks]
What do you, Samantha, connect with the most in playing Olivia?
Olivia is, for the most part, very selfless. She is compassionate, intuitive, and grounded. I’d say I relate to her the most because of how she cares for her loved ones and the people around her.
What have you been hearing from fans most now that the show is actually airing?
The response has been awesome! We have an amazing fan base already and we’re so thankful for all the love we’ve received! Right now, people really want to see Olivia and Spencer together, which is funny because he could potentially be her brother — ew! But I think fans are attracted to All American because we’re telling stories that you don’t usually see on network TV, addressing socially conscious issues such as race, sexual identity, and class that I think people can relate to.
Watch a trailer for Wednesday’s all-new episode below:
All American, Wednesdays, 9/8c, The CW
