I got so uber lucky.
What has it been like spending your teenage years as Paige?
HOLLY TAYLOR:Trying to keep [our lives] separate has been a little challenging.
Credit: James Minchin/FX
She loves her parents but doesnt know if theyre hurting people.
Shes upset, shes angry, shes confused.
But just being a teenager myself has helped with other things.
Jeff Neumann/FX
Are you enjoying this meatier role?
It comes with pressure.
I dont want to disappoint anyone.
Im really hard on myself, so I dont want to disappoint myself either.
Those are always hard for everybody, but things do get a little loopy sometimes.
How do you decompress after all these tense scenes?
I head to craft services and eat chocolate chip cookies.
What can you tell me about Paiges story this season?
Have you thought about a potential ending for Paige?
[Laughs] No, Im just kidding.
For Paige, Im not sure, Id like her to maybe join the KGB or infiltrate the FBI.
Its hard to say.
Youre done with high school what areyournext moves?
Im starting college in the fall at Penn State Online [the universitys distance education program].
That way, I can continue to do the show if thats still going.
Id like to do other projects like movies or some comedy in the future.
Thats my main goal, but if not, I have my education as my backup.
Just to switch gears: You werent alive in the 80s, when the show is set.
Has the era rubbed off on you?
Ive been wearing a lot of high-waisted pants, and Ive been attracted to turtlenecks lately.
Now if I wear one in real life, I feel low-key guilty about it.
Couldyoupull off being a spy?
I think I would be a good spy!
I can be sneaky.
And I have really impeccable hearing.
I can hear people whispering in another room.
Its like I have bat ears or something.
I never say anything, so Im very spy-like.
The Americansreturns 10 p.m. A version of this story originally appeared inEntertainment Weeklyissue #1406, on newsstands now or available for purchasehere.
