Lucy Hale is known for her roles in bubblegum-y shows like Pretty Little Liars and Katy Keene, but the actress is introducing herself to new audiences in the AMC+ show Ragdoll.
The 32-year-old star takes on the role of Lake Edmunds in the British investigative drama which is darker than dark. Case in point: The first episode shows a Frankenstein-esque monstrosity that is composed of different peoples' body parts.
It's an entirely new genre to Lucy, but one that she is embracing with arms wide open, exclusively telling E! News in a recent interview that she feels like she's "entering a new chapter of, not only my career, but my life."
"I just feel older, and the roles that speak to me are just a little more grown up and elevated," she continued. "So, I knew that when I decided to do something else in the TV space, it would have to feel like something I had never done before and I needed a new creative outlet."
And the right opportunity presented itself, with Lucy sharing that she "immediately" knew she wanted to play Lake, especially since Ragdoll's producers made Killing Eve.
"The scripts were just really, really, really interesting because there's obviously the dark or gruesome whodunnit, psychological thriller element, Lucy added, "but I think that what makes this show different from other shows in the genre is this dark humor that the characters use to sort of navigate through everything, because humans, that's just that's our coping mechanism. And I think that in this line of work, I don't know how you get through it, because otherwise it would kind of eat away at you."
Moreover, Lake stood out to Lucy because the character "leads with her feelings," unlike the typical brooding detective.
So, when it came time to actually portray the "smart and intuitive" Edmunds, Lucy said she decided "to push that a little bit and play her a little more sensitive."
It also helped that Lucy related to Lake's journey as a rookie cop in a new country. The actress recalled feeling like a "fish out of water" when she started filming, as she was unfamiliar with London and the rest of the cast. According to Lucy, it made her feel the "need to prove" herself as an actress.
However, she later realized that her unfamiliarity wasn't a disadvantage, saying, "Everyone was so easygoing and welcoming and I don't even think half of them knew like anything I'd done in my career. Up until that point, they just viewed me as the girl who got cast as Edmunds, and I kind of appreciated that."
Lucy said that even her co-star, Henry Lloyd Hughes, didn't know about her past work: "I don't think he knew anything about me, which was really nice actually."
Another exciting aspect about filming Ragdoll? Hair and makeup was nowhere near as extensive as it was on past projects.
"It was nice just from a physical aspect of like, not having to get dressed up, not going through hair and makeup," she admitted. "I love that she was just a little rough around the edges. I loved that she had all of her tattoos."
Lucy hopes viewers love the show too, even if it's "different on every level" from her previous roles.
And if viewers don't love it, that's fine too. Lucy said this was the project that reminded her why she started acting. As she put it, "Personally, I needed a show like this to sort of make me fall in love with what I do. And that's kind of what the experience did for me. I had so much fun. I learned so much. I grew so much."
Ragdoll premieres on AMC+ Thursday, Nov. 11.