Lauren Lee Smith, who plays Emma deLauro in the upcoming Mutant X television series, told The Continuum her character is not a member of the team when the series starts.
"In the first episode, Victor (Webster, who plays Brennan Mulwray) and I are not even part of the team yet," Smith told The Continuum. "Him and I are out on our own. We don't really want to accept that we have these abilities. We're sort of telling everyone, 'Bug off.' Then we realize what a great place this is to be, to help us with our abilities."
Smith's character is a "telempath," who can transmit and receive feelings telepathically and direct the behavior of others.
"I get into people's heads," Smith said. "For example, I've made people think they're being strangled by a rope. So they temporarily think they're dying, and then Shalimar will come in and kick their butt. So I can make them think they can't breathe or that they're falling.
"That's how we've been using it so far. I really like playing around with it because, man, if you really had that power, you could do some damage."
Smith previously appeared in the Sylvester Stallone movie Get Carter, the pilot episode of Fox's Dark Angel, MTV's boy band parody 2Gether and then in PAX TV's Christy: Choices of the Heart.
"I was never really into sci-fi. This is a whole new thing for me," she said. "I'm enjoying it, actually. It's really a lot of fun."
After auditioning for Smallville for both the Lana Lang and Chloe Sullivan parts, Smith, a native of Vancouver, was one of last members cast in Mutant X.
"When I found out I was going to Toronto to test, the first thing I did was look up everyone on the Internet," Smith said of the Mutant X cast. "And I was like, 'Ok, everyone's really good looking and really buff.'"
Because her powers are mental, Smith hasn't done any wire work like her cast mates, who have more of a stunt background than she does.
"I'm sure my character is going to develop physically," she said. "I think the plan is for my character, and me, to progress."
Emma doesn't wear a costume per se, but she does have specific wardrobes.
"If we know we're going out to kick some butt, we'll wear these outfits," she said. "Mine is sort of this really cool Emma Peel-y look. It's all leather with this little belt and a collar. It's really fun."
Smith said the outfit is functional for physical exertion - except for one part.
"Emma does an awful lot of running in the first three or four episodes," she said. "And man, the heels! I don't mean to pat my own back or anything, but at the end of the day, I did pretty well."
Smith was surprised at the immense reaction to Mutant X at last weekend's panel at the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in Toronto.
"I've not experienced anything like this before," Smith said. "I was so nervous."
Mutant X opens in syndication the week of Oct. 1. Look for more on the show soon here in The Continuum.
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