Warning: Spoilers for Season 2 of Firefly Lane ahead.
Acting is more than just a career for Ali Skovbye. Ever since the now 21-year-old was spotted for a national car commercial at the age of just four, portraying characters on screen has given her a crucial means of expression, a special bond with her sister, an unexpected best friend and a show doesn’t want herself say goodbye.
The Canadian actress landed her first major role as Beth in 2009 personal effectsand has appeared in popular films and television shows, including Kleinville, supernatural, and There was once. When asked what originally inspired her to step in front of a camera, Skovbye credited her older sister, Tierra, best known for her role as Riverdale’s Polly Cooper. “I started out as a younger sister who wanted to do everything her older sister did,” Skovbye explained in a phone interview. “It was just fun at first. And as I got older — like 13 or 14 — I realized that if I can, that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.” After notable roles in When the heart calls and breakthroughNetflix cast Skovbye as the teenage counterpart of Katherine Heigl’s Tully Hart in Firefly roadwaybased on the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah.
The series follows Tully and Kate’s inseparable friendship through the decades, with Roan Curtis and Sarah Chalke starring as teenage and adult Kate, respectively. In Season 2, which premieres today, Skovbye’s effortlessly cool, brave ’70s character continues her emotional journey of coming of age. But in addition to the typical teenage struggles, we see Tully searching for the father she never met, navigating a toxic relationship with her mother, and experiencing PTSD from her sexual assault in Season 1. Reflecting on her complex character, Skovbye revealed that she both relates to and envies Tully. But ultimately, she’s grateful that the fictional teen helped push her out of her comfort zone.
“I love her so much because she is so strong and powerful and willing to speak her mind without apologizing,” Skovbye shared. “I think I struggled a lot growing up with being comfortable in my own skin and not apologizing to myself. So it was really fun to be able to play someone who didn’t give a shit and said what they wanted and did what they felt. This is such an empowering, amazing experience.”
While Skovbye gushed about the catharsis of seeing teenage Tully stand up for herself and embrace her independence in season 2, she pointed to a scene where her character refuses to back down in an argument with the principal. “That’s the scene I always use as my reference point,” she said. “I would Cry on this chair. If I got into trouble at school I would be so scared. So it’s really fun playing someone who stands up for themselves, especially in this situation that they should 100% have… We’re definitely similar when it comes to hiding our feelings and hiding things under the rug sweep. We don’t talk about it and hope it goes away. But we are also very different.”
As our discussion shifted to her two main scene partners — Roan Curtis, who plays the teenage Kate, and Beau Garrett, who plays Tully’s mother, Cloud — Skovbye’s voice shone through the phone with all the warmth Firefly Lane‘s golden, sun-drenched ’70s flashbacks. “Beau is the best. Seeing them live is an incredible experience. I can’t think of anyone who could play Cloud. For real. She’s so good,” Skovbye gushed. “It all feels so natural when the two of us are together. We do the full gambit. We laugh, we cry, we do everything. But I think that’s what makes her so beautiful.” Though Skovbye is one of Garrett’s biggest fans, she’s the first to acknowledge that Tully and Cloud’s relationship can be unhealthy and tumultuous at times. In Part 1 of Season 2’s two-part release, we see Cloud getting arrested and upon her release, channeling her inner Carol Brady, only to turn her attention back to alcohol and drugs. It’s a heartbreaking cycle to behold, but Tully weathers it with the support of her best friend, Kate.
Little did Skovbye know when she signed on to play Tully, the strong on-screen friendship that takes center stage Firefly Lane would lead to a life-changing off-screen bond between her and Curtis.
“We’re just as close as we were on the show. We are so lucky,” said Skovbye. “Being so close and being best friends is honestly the best thing the show can take away. We talk every day. And we’re so different too, which is crazy. Just as Kate and Tully are such opposites of people, it’s really cool to be friends with someone so different and to explore their life and mindset. I think that’s why [Kate and Tully’s friendship] portrays so well. It’s just us We’re only a few years younger – and in our 70s.”
Despite all the fun and laughs Skovbye and her co-stars share on set, and all of Kate and Tully’s light-hearted teenage antics, Season 2 dealt with heavy topics like addiction, trauma, mental health and sexual assault. Looking back on the series’ final episodes, Skovbye has no doubt that Tully’s post-traumatic stress disorder and dealing with her sexual assault have been her biggest challenges as an actress. “It is dark [headspace] to be, and I talked about it a little bit, but your body doesn’t understand that what’s happening isn’t real life,” she explained. “So in your brain you’re like, ‘OK. we only play We’re just playing.” And you can repeat that to yourself, but your body doesn’t understand that the emotions and everything that’s going on isn’t actually happening in real life. So you keep some of it stored in your body. It’s weird – it’s a weird feeling.”
Although filming and reliving the scenes over the course of two seasons was emotionally draining, Skovbye is proud of the series’ commitment to difficult storylines and thoughtful storytelling. “I just want to be as truthful as possible because there are so many people going through this, so I want to do it justice as best I can,” she shared. “The main thing I hope people take away from you is that you are not alone. I think seeing things on TV is one of the best ways to recognize that they’re happening to other people… and it can make you feel less alone and maybe make you want to talk about it. I think we’re normalizing the fact that it’s okay to have these things on TV shows and it’s okay to talk about them… And I love that we’re not going to shy away from anything because it’s not a nice conversation. “
Netflix plans to release seven more episodes of Firefly Lane 2023, so the journey is not over yet. But Skovbye struggled with the thought of saying goodbye to the show, the cast and of course Tully. “I have seen everything. I think I cried almost every episode,” she said. “It was the first time I was really, really sad about not being able to play a character anymore. Maybe a month before we were done I sat alone on the couch one day and just started sobbing.”
After we bonded over our shared struggles with goodbyes and change, Skovbye attempted to unwrap her bottle Firefly Lane emotions. “It’s just such a weird feeling that I’m never going to play that girl again. For some reason, playing Tully is such a relief for me because it’s everything I’ve always wanted to be. I feel like in a way it’s my weird alter ego where I can just do and say whatever I want with no consequences,” she laughed. “So it’s kind of really sad that I can’t do that anymore and explore her and play with her, especially Roan… Playing with her was one of the best experiences ever.” When it comes to emotional things, we could literally look into each other’s eyes for 10 seconds and immediately start crying, or just hold hands and immediately feel each other’s energy.”
Skovbye may be done playing Tully on screen, but we can all take comfort in knowing she’s not done dressing like her just yet. “I love her clothes. Once we packed up, we just had to go through the closet of all of our clothes that we’d worn over the past three years and… sort of grab what we wanted. So I sure have some statement pieces from her that I still wear,” she revealed. And although Firefly Lane is coming to an end, Skovbye fully plans to act again. “There are endless reasons I want to do it, but the main reason is that I love it because it’s like my own personal form of therapy,” she mused. “One of the reasons it’s so good for me is because it’s a personal outlet to express my feelings and release all my stuff.”
When asked if she could tease Tully’s journey in the final seven episodes, Skovbye was quick to deliver one of the most iconic disappointments I’ve ever heard. “It’s hard because I can’t really share anything. I always want to be careful not to be Tom Holland and spoil it,” she said. “I just hope the fans like it. You’ve waited so long for it to come out. So I hope it lives up to people’s expectations.”
The first nine episodes of Firefly Lane Season 2 is available on Netflix on December 2nd. The final seven episodes will be released sometime in 2023.