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Tribe Of Two
Whereits.at : March 2001 : By Nigel May
Interview with Meryl Cassie and Caleb Ross (The Tribe's Ebony and Lex).
TRIBE OF TWO
With more make-up than Lily Savage could shake a panstick at and more outrageous costumes than the Alexander McQueen catwalk collection, Channel 5's The Tribe is a must-see show. We met up with two of the show's stars, Caleb Ross and Meryl Cassie.
Caleb plays Lex, The Tribe's very own 'lion' - full of strength, beauty and pride. Meryl is known to millions as Ebony, the beautiful leader of the evil Locusts. Ebony knows how to fight for what she wants. Get her!
How would you describe The Tribe to anyone who's never watched it?
Caleb: It's Mad Max meets Lord Of The Flies. It's a teen drama which takes place after the apocalypse. It's a weird show, but it works.
Meryl: It has the wickedest costumes, the wickedest make-up and the wickedest storylines. It's a really good drama.
The show is made in New Zealand - how are you coping with coming to the UK?
Caleb: I love it here. I know it's really cold but I actually like that. I come from a place in New Zealand called Whangarei which only has 30,000 people so to come to London and see how huge it is, is awesome.
Meryl: I love the shops here. I've gone shopping crazy, especially in places like Top Shop. The architecture here is excellent as well - everything looks so beautiful. I could do without the snow though - it's freezing!
What's been the highlight of your trip so far?
Caleb: I went to my brother's wedding in Ireland. He's married an Irish girl. We had a real family celebration.
Meryl: Getting recognised has been a real thrill for me. I was out shopping in Oxford Street and I got recognised by heaps of people. I didn't expect it, so it was a real treat.
How similar are you both to the characters you play?
Caleb: Not at all. I could never be as bad and evil as Lex. People are actually scared to come up and talk to me because they think I'm going to be a nasty piece of work.
Meryl: Ebony is pure evil and I like to think that I'm not at all like her! She goes ape, she goes nuts, she's a complete loony. I'm much nicer than her - I hope!
What acting roles would you really like to have?
Caleb: I'd love to have had a part in the new Lord Of The Rings films. They were filmed in New Zealand so that would have been ideal. I would have loved to have been Gandalf.
Meryl: I'd like to be in anything with Brad Pitt - he is so hot! I would have liked the female lead in Meet Joe Black, but I'll take any film where I can have a love scene with Brad.
Sell New Zealand to me in 30 seconds…
Caleb: It has snow, mountains, beautiful forests and the best sandy beaches in the world. There are so many great places there, and the best thing about it is that there are no really big cities. And it does have lots of sheep, yes, it's true.
Meryl: It's beautiful. My favourite place is called Waiheke Island which is a great place to go and chill out. It's really warm and friendly. It's so green as well. We're three hours from Australia but it might as well be a different world.
You've both been involved in making the The Tribe soundtrack album - is music something you're interested in?
Meryl: I love singing. If I had to give up the acting tomorrow I'd become a singer. I sing with my sisters Megan and Monique. I sing on nearly all the songs on the album, except the ones that are boys-only. It was a great experience.
Caleb: Music is a real passion for me. I've done lots of musical theatre in things like Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita so singing on the album was a real pleasure. I'd like to release my own stuff eventually, but it won't be pop. I write my own tunes and love acoustic guitar.
What kind of fan-mail do you get?
Meryl: We get all sorts. I have one guy who writes to me telling me that he's going to dump his girlfriend so that we can go out together, but thankfully he hasn't done so as yet.
Caleb: There's a girl in Finland who writes to me with her body measurements. She also says that she'd like to eat me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've never been to Finland so I can hardly take her up on it, can I?
By Nigel May interview from whereits.at conducted during a promotional tour in the UK on March 2001.
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