Freeformâs latest mystery-thriller series, The Watchful Eye, unravels the spine-tingling story of Elena Santos, a New York live-in nanny who finds herself consumed by the Greybourne Hotelâs deadly secrets of forbidden romance and unfinished business. Along the way, the protagonist befriends fellow nanny Ginny Welles, the sweetest soul to have graced the Greybourneâs eerie halls in its near-century of existence.Â
Bringing Ginnyâs character to life is Maryland-born actress Aliyah Royale, a talented twenty-two year old that hopes all audiences of The Watchful Eye will appreciate the showâs multi-generational appeal and purposeful realness. Royale rose to fame through her breakout role in AMCâs The Walking Dead: World Beyondâa limited television series that showcased her undeniable passion for the art of performance. Now taking on Ginny’s multi-dimensional character and a haunted hotel setting, Royale has put forth her most impressive display yet (one you wonât want to miss)! Â
10 days before the showâs late-night premiere, Her Campus at UCLA had the incredible opportunity to chat with Aliyah Royale about her latest performance and personal life as an up-and-coming actress in Hollywood. Enjoy this exclusive look into her whirlwind career:
HC: In light of Ginnyâs many amazing qualities, what specifically about her character drew you to the role?
AR: I thought [Ginny] was such a contrast from my previous roles. I tend to play serious young women going through a hell of a lot and I [wanted to] have some fun! Sheâs a cute, sassy, flirty, twenty-something, living her life in New York City, and I just thought that I was ready to take that on. Also, knowing that I might go to New York to film, I was like, I wanna do this!Â
HC: In your opinion, are there more similarities or differences between you and your character?Â
I would say there are a lot of similarities. [Like Ginny,] Iâm also a lover. I love love, I love flirtation, I love first meets. I also tend to give more than I get…Iâll get in too deep before I realize itâs unrequited.Â
The main difference between us is that she has more freedom than I do because she allows herself to have that. I am very Type-A and can be very critical of myself, [but] I think where Ginny allows herself a lot of grace, I donât do that as well. Ginny is teaching me to be unapologetically me, and Iâm still learning that lesson.Â
HC: With Ginny being a queer woman of color, she resides among several marginalized groups in todayâs society, yet she still has a powerful persona in the show. In your opinion, what makes her a good role model for minority or queer audiences watching The Watchful Eye?
AR: Ginny is effortless; I think she lives life on her terms and everything is real to herâŠA term I hear a lot when we discuss these things is ânormalizing,â and I feel like thereâs almost a stigma to that nowâŠGinny emulates real people in this world and that is the most important thing. Sheâs a lover, sheâs black, sheâs queer, just as much as sheâs funny, sweet, sarcastic, stylish and all of these things that make her a real person. Everyone deserves to see themselves on television and in films, and being in a place where I can present people with a real person who is lovable and charmingâŠIâm just so grateful to be able to do that.
HC: Were there any major challenges you faced with bringing this role to life, and if so, how did you overcome them?
AR: Iâd say the toughest potential challenge was [the show being a mystery-thriller where you get] information as you go. Normally Iâd know the total arc of my character, even if I didnât know episode-by-episode what was going onâŠI didnât know where they were gonna go with her, I just knew that I trusted the writers and they trusted me to be just as genuine and play every moment as truthfully as I can. It was a really awesome collaborative process that way.Â
HC: How was your experience working with such a diverse group of actors on this project? Are any of you close in real life?
AR: Iâve worked with many, many, many people, and this has to be one of my favorite ensembles by far. I think everyone came to work, ready to work. Everyone had the same work ethic of show up, know your lines, be ready to work off of each other and be ready for something spontaneous to happen. We all trusted each other; we spent a lot of time outside of work with each other just to create that family aspect that you have on a set.Â
Even outside of my cast, the relationship we all had (cast and crew alike)âŠEverybody came together to create a really awesome show and it felt like a family all around. Iâm very grateful for my cast, Iâm very grateful for my crew, and I would be so blessed to do a second season with everyone who was involved.Â
HC: Which scene or episode was the most exciting for you to film and why?
AR: I think episode six! Ginny is stylish and I think any chance to enhance her wardrobe, go up a level and play around a bit is going to be [something] that she would jump at. I had a lot of fun getting creative with the wardrobe.Â
HC: The Watchful Eye is careful to cater to multiple generations in every episode, but why might the show appeal to young women in particular?
AR: The show, in terms of its characters, is very realâŠI love being on a show that shows so many different women in so many different stages of their lives, with different objectives desires, and wants. I know for me particularly, what I love watching as a young person [are] shows that have a lot of love, and I think this show has it. I think life is really hard and something that keeps me dreaming is falling in love and experiencing the first flirtationâŠOur show has a lot of romance, a lot of love, sparks that tend to fly and I love to watch that.  Â
HC: What advice would you give to young women looking to start their own careers in the entertainment industry?
AR: Oh my goodness, two things that are important, entertainment industry or not: Trust yourself, please! Your relationship with yourself is going to be the most important relationship you have in your entire life. All of your other relationships will stem from that one, so if you arenât good with you, it will be impossible for anyone else to be good with you. Trust yourself, love yourself and spend so much time with yourself [that] you get to know your real self on a personal level.Â
The other side is to extend yourself grace! I personally struggle with [that, as] Iâm very loving and open [in extending] grace to everyone else, but I have these secret standards for myself. I want to carry myself a certain way, think a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain wayâŠand whenever I get too inside my head and think Iâm not matching everything up, it feels like imposter syndrome. I just want people to know that itâs okay to just experience you as you. Just extend grace to yourself because youâre wonderful, and itâs such a beautiful thing that youâre here right now.Â
HC: You should really consider a side-gig as a therapist because that was incredibly inspiring!Â
AR: Iâm going through it myself, so thatâs why it means so much to me! I feel like people didnât teach me growing up how important you will be for yourself and something that I’m learning in adulthood is that if I donât have my shit together for meânot for anyone else, but for meâthen everything else feels a lot heavier. You and you, itâs such an important relationship!
HC: Whatâs next for your own career? Are there any goals youâre hoping to achieve?
AR: Oh yeah! I recently finished writing a short film that I really want to start the production process on because Iâm satisfied with the script. I have such a writing gene inside of me and a passion for it, so as far as the industry goes, I wanna be on the other side of the camera and help create opportunities and content. But even stepping away from that particular industry, I love essaysâI love writing essays! Theyâre better than books to me because theyâre just trains of thought that change as you go along. You can start with a thesis and finish with a completely separate thought and I just love all of that soâŠI think putting out a book of essays one day? Iâve started writing a bunch and I have a little collection and I donât knowâŠI just really love writing, so writing is next! Â
HC: What would you like to see for Ginny in future seasons of The Watchful Eye?
AR: Iâd love to see Ginny dream more. I feel like Ginny is comfortable in her job and something we see over the course of the season is that sheâs very serious about her job, which itâs awesome to be serious about your work ethic butâŠshe needs it. Iâd love to see her dream, Iâd love to see who she is outside of being a nanny because I think a lot of people work without ever having a dreamâŠThe world would be a much more creative space if people allowed themselves to dream. Â
HC: To finish us off, if you had to describe the show in three words, what words would you choose?
AR: Iâve been using thrilling for one because I feel like the second you have firm footing and feel like you know whatâs going on, the next episode starts and youâre like, âOop, actually, I have to reevaluate everything I thought I knew!â Being someone who watches content and always thinks Iâm going to guess the plot by episode two, this show I found I could not do that with. So thrilling andâŠspicy! There are a lot of love connections in this show, maybe even some that shouldnât be happening, and they are always fun to watch. Okay, thrilling, spicy, andâŠmysterious, which may sound super obvious, but this show has so many different elements that it takes from horror, suspense, film noir, HitchcockianâŠI think it all ends up being a really good mystery with all of these different elements and it gets soapy at some points, which I also love, so it has something for everyone!
In case there were any doubts: Yes, Aliyah Royale is just as sweet, just as loving and just as impressive as her fictional character, Ginny Welles, from Freeformâs latest series The Watchful Eye. Whether her next creative project takes the form of writing or acting, one fact remains: Royale has a bright future ahead of her, as she is a powerful force to be reckoned with within all realms of entertainment. Donât miss her performance as Ginny Welles tonight on Freeform; she is your soon-to-be favorite scene-stealer!
Canât wait to watch the first episode of The Watchful Eye? Ease your excitement with the official, full-length trailer now.