Locke & Key's Darby Stanchfield Explains The Changes She Made To Her Character

Season 2 of "Locke & Key" has arrived, giving fans a chance to dive deeper into Keyhouse and uncover more of the mysterious properties of the keys, their corresponding doors, and the dangers that lie behind them. Now that viewers know more about the direction that "Locke & Key" is headed, some of the cast has begun to share more about their experiences on the show, including Darby Stanchfield, who spoke about the changes she made to her character, Nina Locke.

Nina is a central figure in the "Locke & Key" narrative, and it is through her actions that the family ends up at Keyhouse, where they find the magical items and enemies encountered on the show. Despite her primary role in both the series and its source material, Nina underwent several significant changes on her way to Netflix. These range from physical, such as her strawberry blonde hair that contrasts with her jet black hair in the comics, to temperamental, like her relationship to alcohol, which is far more well-managed on the show.

Stanchfield explained that many of those alterations resulted from a collaborative process between her, the studio, and her co-stars. Here is what Darby Stanchfield had to say about the changes she made to Nina Locke.

Speaking with TheWrap, Darby Stanchfield explained that portraying Nina Locke was a process that involved the other actors, studying the graphic novel, and working with the producers.

Nina explained, "For me, building Nina Locke and finding this character primarily has to do with my connection to the other actors, specifically the actors that play my kids and husband." Creating the character with her co-stars was instinctual, Nina continued, because of the "great natural chemistry" the cast enjoyed.

However, other factors were written into Netflix's portrayal of Nina that needed to be accounted for. Stanchfield listed some of the fundamental physical characteristics Nina had in the comics, such as hair color, physical stature, and the presence of a leg brace, that separated her from the character observing, "She couldn't be more different than me physically-looking as well."

She also noted that while Nina struggles with alcohol on the show, the comic book portrayal of Nina has a much more evident addiction. While Nina's relapse is an important and devastating part of the first season, these differences necessitated distance from the source material. Nina remembers that the producers "advised me to enjoy the comics and to use the comics as a reference to this world of 'Locke and Key,' but not necessarily as to ground Nina in that comic book character."

Thankfully, the audition tapes that Stanchfield sent in satisfied what the producers were looking for, giving the character, and the actress, plenty of room to grow.