Liz Parker - Shiri Appleby About Her Character

Shiri Appleby About Her Character

During the time when the show aired Shiri Appleby got interviewed many times about her character, what many don't know is that the actress originally auditioned for all the three female roles in the show (Liz, Maria, Isabel) before finally landing the part of teen heroine Liz Parker

"Well, I actually auditioned for all three of the girl parts numerous times " — Shiri Appleby, Roswell Press Tour Transcript, July 1999

From the same interview she also explains what drew her to the story:

"I think what really drew me was the writing, It really spoke to me and it is written in a really realistic way, so for people my age, it’s easy to understand. And I got really lucky in working with a really good group of talented young people and so we’re able to work together and bounce ideas off of each other. I think that’s what really appealed me to the entire show." — Shiri Appleby, Roswell Press Tour Transcript, July 1999

Appleby describes her character as both the innocent and strong-tempered woman that is result of her evolution through the series.

"Liz is very interested in learning. She is very innocent, somewhat naive, but with the ability to read what is right or wrong. She has a big crush on this guy but she knows they can’t be together because of the circumstances, but she still hopes. She’s experiencing a whole lot of new things in her life, so it’s exciting to see how she deals with that." — Shiri Appleby, XPOSÉ Magazine, year 2000

The actress is particularly proud that Liz has always stood by her convictions and she believes that her character can be a positive example for younger girls:

"A lot of younger girls, I feel like they look to Liz for guidance, because she's able to say no to a lot of things. That's a really uncommon thing for younger girls. The fact that she can take charge, stand up and voice an opinion, and not be insecure about other people's opinions, it's great. She's a fictional character that's standing up to a boy at points, and there's something to be said for that. That's probably one of the things I'm most proud of. When the show is finished, I'll be feeling good that that character had that stance. She doesn't like being taken advantage of" — Shiri Appleby, Life Beyond Roswell

Regarding the character's relationship with Max Evans (Jason Behr ) and her chemistry with the actor, Shiri states that their chemistry was there since the first time they read a scene together

"While Jason and I are looking into each other's eyes I just think about the most pure love possible because their relationship is based strictly on the heart. What they share is what I someday hope to find." — Shiri Appleby, Shiri Appleby, Fandemonium Q & A "I felt like Jason behr and I had such a unique chemistry. He just walked in and we started reading together, it was just there" — Shiri Appleby, Lula Magazine Interview

When they asked her if the chemistry between her and Jason Behr worked she answered:

" Yes. They has always worked. I would not want to analyse because then it could disappear. It`s like you started to analyse your first love and notice that feeling is gone. Everything started at that moment when we did get ready for our first filming and Jason arrived to place and watched me and said: "Hi! Nice to meet you!". Then it happened. We did have the chemistry right from the beginning. It surely tells something about our chemistry that people still likes to watch it after a two years." — Shiri Appleby, Sensual Shiri Appleby: From shy student to actress