Lauren E. Banks Talks ‘City On A Hill’, Working With Kevin Bacon & Aldis Hodge

Banks discusses her experience working with Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge and what she learned about Boston in the 1990s.

(CBS Local)– Showtime’s new series “City On A Hill” is filled with many big names like Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, but another name to watch is Lauren E. Banks.

Banks is fresh out of Yale University’s MFA program and making the jump into her first full series. The Yale grad plays Siobhan Quays in a show that recounts the violent and racist times of Boston during the 1990s. Banks got involved four days before the pilot was shot in December 2017.

“That first episode that you see… we shot that two years ago,” said Banks in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “The great thing about Showtime and everybody on our show is that they work to make sure we’re doing it right. It feels really good to be apart of a supportive system like that.”

Banks spoke to several people living in and around Boston during the “Boston Miracle” when crime rates dropped precipitously after one of the worst stretches in Boston history.

“You can’t skim over historical details, especially when you’re doing historical fiction,” said Banks. “Some things are fictitious, but a lot of things are steeped in real life events. I’ve spoken to a lot of people in Boston who were there for some of the things you’ll see in our show. I know that they feel strongly about what happened and feel strongly about their city. Those are some proud people, they got a lot of pride in Boston.”

Banks says she felt a great responsibility to do right by the people and the city with this role. While the actor is just starting out, she learned a lot from veterans like Bacon and Hodge about acting and life.

“Like Kevin, one of the first conversations he and I had was him saying we don’t spend a lot of time acting,” said Banks. “It’s a lot of sitting around and a lot of time in process, which also means you have to be ready to do TV. I learned an extreme amount about what it is to shoot a full series. Prior to this, I did a lot of guest stars. I shot and then four hours later I was done. Whereas this, you get maybe two takes and that’s all you have. The biggest lesson I learned was how to condition my body to be ready to execute at that high level.”

Watch “City On A Hill” Sunday night at 9pm EST/PST on Showtime.