The Tomorrow People aired its first episode last week, introducing its new version of the 1970s TV series about a group of superpowered human that has manifested among us. Playing one of the title characters is Peyton List, an actress who’s kept plenty busy in recent years with roles on 90210, FlashForward and Smallville, among other series – though she’s probably best known for her role as Jane Sterling on Mad Men

I sat down with List to talk about what it’s like playing a superhero on The Tomorrow People, the work that goes into those scenes where he character is showing off her teleportation and telekinetic skills and more. We also spoke about Mad Men, the standout episode “Far Away Places” (where Roger and Jane memorably took LSD) and the impending end of that series.I should note that since this interview was done, we have learned that the final season of Mad Men will be split over the next two years

Peyton List as Cara in The Tomorrow People.

We are, we are. We’re sort of learning this as we go along, but the producers and creators’ intentions are to give you the backstory of the Tomorrow People and also the other humans that you see, that you meet in the pilot. They’re going to tell that story. They’re going to flashback and catch you up on how everybody got to each place. So you’ll learn more about Cara and John and their journey in becoming Tomorrow People, the way that you see Stephen’s journey in the pilot.Yeah, when we meet her, she knows who she is. She believes in what she’s doing. It’s always great to play characters who are just deliberate. They believe in what they’re doing, and they make no apologies for it. That’s just it. You walk in and you’re like, “This is just how it’s going to be.” But she hasn’t always been that way. We’re going to see that other side. But in the pilot, it’s so fun because this girl has figured it all out, she can kick some ass, and she’s got control of her powers. This world, she sort of has status in this group of Tomorrow People living underground. So yeah, it’s kind of interesting starting at that level and then working your way backwards.

The Tomorrow People: See What's to Come in New Sizzle Reel

Luke Mitchell as John and Peyton List as Cara in The Tomorrow People.

The first day, we shot the special effects where you’re doing something with telekinetic power. It’s a bit odd, because you do green screen here and there or you do one little thing, but with this there is so much action and special effects, with the teleporting and that stuff. At first you’re like, “Do I look silly? Is this going to look normal?” But luckily when we were doing the pilot we had this incredible special effects guy, and he was showing us what he was creating. So as you’re doing it, being able to see it, you have so much confidence in it. You’re like, “I can do this!” And when you do it, once they put the special effects in, it looks amazing. So you’re a bit more secure in like, “Yes, I may look foolish while I’m doing this, but once they have the special effects, I look awesome.” So it’s cool, and it’s fun to do those things. You sort of get used to it, and you sort of start to think that way. You’re like, “I’m walking into this fight,” and I would throw a ball of energy at them. That was naturally what I would do, and you’re like, “You wouldn’t do that.” [Laughs] “You can’t do that in real life!” But no, we’re getting used to it, and you sort of think that way.It’s kind of amazing, yeah. The teleporting is something we use quite a bit in every episode. So it’s fun just opening a scene and closing a scene, like teleporting in and teleporting out. It’s such an entrance and an exit, you know? Ladies and gentlemen, teleport in!It’s funny, I don’t think I was ever so nervous about seeing a pilot because we were so invested, so invested in how it looked and how it felt and the world that we wanted people to invest in and believe. So I was kind of a nervous wreck the first time I saw it, but so proud of it as well. So it was very cool seeing everything put together from when you first read the script and you didn’t have the whole cast and crew together, to seeing the end product -- in such a short amount of time. You do a film, sometimes you don’t see it for a year, a year and a half. So being able to see your end product cut together within eight weeks or something is special, because you’re still sort of living in that place where it’s still fresh and real and at the front of your mind.I think she does think that it’s not worth it, that it’s not worth the risk, and that no good can really come of it. But she is in a weird way hopeful for him, that maybe she’s wrong, maybe he can juggle the two, maybe he can be a double agent or whatever he’s planning on doing. I think that comes with when you have a connection with somebody, like you actually feel a closeness with a friend, they’re doing something that maybe you’re like, “This is a terrible idea,” but you secretly hope it all works out well, because you’re like, “Just maybe, maybe it’ll be okay.” Where as John is just like, “This is suicide.” He just washes his hands of him. Where as Cara is still holding out hope that maybe it’ll all pan out okay -- or maybe he’ll come to his senses and get out. But it’s sort of one of those things where, if you’re playing with that sort of fire, the further in you are, the harder it is to get out.That is exactly where we pick back up, what exactly he is doing at Ultra and what sort of jeopardy that puts the Tomorrow People in, because they’re very, very serious about the secrecy. And the hiding is hiding from -- I mean, he’s going into the lion’s den. If they’re able to get information out of him, it could compromise all of the Tomorrow People that are working so hard to stay hidden.It’s amazing. I’ve been a fan of his since Lost. That was the first time that I really, really sat up and was like, “Who is that actor?” But working with him and seeing him on set is sort of like an entirely different experience. He’s phenomenal and has such a presence, just on set. It’s fun. It’s really fun!They don’t specify our ages. In theory, early twenties. Stephen is obviously 18, somewhere in there. But it’s interesting, I think, because they’re living in this other world; it’s one of those things where I think the age is not really a very big deal as it would be when someone’s like, “Oh, someone’s a freshman.” That’s very different from a junior in high school. There’s this hierarchy, right? I think with The Tomorrow People, there are so few of them and they’re so close that it just kind of blurs the whole age thing. I think it’s also a hierarchy of “who has the best control of their powers.” That’s how you have seniority. Who broke out first? Who’s strongest at each thing? In the pilot we see something with Stephen.

Peyton List discusses her role on Mad Men and her first time at Comic-Con on Page 2.