PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: Brant Daugherty Talks Villains & Secrets

In a candid conference call with NiceGirlsTV, Brant Daugherty shared his insight on his morally conflicted character Noel Kahn on Pretty Little Liars. While Noel’s future on Pretty Little Liars is murky at this point, particularly as Noel was last seen being taken away in handcuffs by the police after “A” set him up, Brant was happy to talk about who Noel is and why he blackmailed Aria’s secret lover — their English teacher Mr. Fitz.

From Brant’s perspective, Noel is simply a poor loser. Having lost the girl he wanted to a teacher – and a forbidden relationship – Noel lashed out in anger; and the best way to do it was to pressure Mr. Fitz into giving him a grade he had not earned. A lover scorned is a sure-fire way to gain an enemy. In Noel’s mind he had thought Aria was unattached, and the fact that she ultimately chose Mr. Fitz over him, it unleashed a jealous rage that expressed itself through blackmail.

Despite the seeming set-back, Brant is confident that Noel is a persistent guy and will continue his pursuit of Aria. Having read all the books on which Pretty Little Liars is based, Brant knows how the story in the books play out, but he is not so certain that the television series will follow the same path. This could mean more opportunities for Noel and Brant is only too happy to explore any direction the writers want to take him. He would particularly love for Noel to continue through to the end as he really wants Noel to have a shot at a real relationship with Aria. At this juncture, Aria may have chosen Mr. Fitz, but the future is not set in stone.

When asked if he knew who “A” is, Brant laughingly replied, “I honestly have no idea who it is. I’ve been watching and following it with the fans trying to figure it all out and, God knows, they don’t tell me anything about that, but I’m right there with everyone.” But whether Noel knows who “A” is, Brant explained, “You’ve got to look at [Noel’s] motives and the situation he was put in. He may not necessarily be working maliciously as ‘A,’ but he’s still got a bone to pick and he’s still trying to figure things out for himself.”

This is particularly true after the big surprise in “Know Your Frenemies,” which Brant described as, “Ultimately, at the end of Episode 13, [Noel] becomes a victim himself, which adds another interesting twist to it, I think.” Brant also thoughtfully noted, “We’ve already seen a pretty dramatic turn in how we view Noel and the sides of him that we’re seeing. In the future, I think, we’re just kind of going to see how he’s going to relate to these four girls and what interaction he’s going to have.” He was reluctant to discuss too much about the upcoming episodes, but he reassured that we have not seen the last of Noel Kahn, stating, “[Noel] is a character in Rosewood and we’re going to see a bit of him around town and everything — mainly just how he relates to these four girls — and when they’re ready for him, he’ll be around.”

Talking about whether he had any similarities with his character, Brant ruefully admitted, “I think the biggest thing that Noel and I have in common is you’re not really ever sure what to make of us.” He said that he likes to keep his personal life personal. He also does not wear his heart on his sleeve and keeps his feelings to himself, which tends to give him a mysterious-vibe. Then, upon further reflection, Brant also noted that he and Noel are also very dedicated; however, while Noel is a mysterious and dedicated guy who has made some bad choices, Brant uses his mysteriousness and dedication for the greater good.

Another thing that he shares with his character, but which he uses differently is his smile. Brant noted that there is a lot of power in the type of smile Noel uses for different scenes. If the script calls for a sweet smile, Noel is the charming rogue. If the scene is a bit more menacing, then Brant makes sure that his smile is more eerie than charming. Brant also loves the fact that he can change viewer’s perception of who Noel is by simply altering his smile. He even made sure to use a whole spectrum of smiles for the “Know Your Frenemy” party at Hanna’s house to keep each of the girls guessing about what he was up to.

Also adding a bit of insight into who he is, Brant revealed that his favorite scene was the very opening of the midseason premiere where there is just a flash of Noel right after Hanna’s accident. Trying to describe what made that particular scene so memorable for him, Brant said, “I had such a blast filming that. They got to dress me in all black and I got to come up through the fog and give Aria that great look. The way they edit it; that was perfect, I just disappear. I don’t know, I think the combination of having fun filming it and then seeing it really sold that scene for me. I was really impressed with it all.”

While most actors may want to play the white-hat hero, Brant is excited to play a more in-depth, complex character. For him, the best part of portraying Noel is his duality. Brant explained, “When I was first on the show during the last ten episodes, Noel was this great, stand-up guy. They would talk about how perfect he is and he’s got a great life, and all these great things happening for him. Then just suddenly, he just flips completely and then you’re never really sure what to make of him after that.” Because of the flipped-switch, viewers could not long tell if Noel was lying or telling the truth and it took the role up a notch for him. Which, as Brant happily shared, that was the exact point when he got hooked, “I couldn’t wait to show this side of the character.” Playing shades of gray is a big challenge, but Brant is relishing the opportunity to play diametrically opposite sides of the spectrum.

However, if there is one thing Brant could change about Noel, he laughingly admitted, “He’d have to get the girl!” Though he understands that this is the journey that Noel is on, as an actor it had been hard investing in a character that loses in the end. Brant shared, “It’s heartbreaking to put so much effort and everything into this character and to see him sort of go down in a tragic way at the end of Episode 13. It was tough for me actually, emotionally as an actor to see that happen to him. I care for Noel. I like him.”

In addition, if given the chance, the one storyline Brant would like to see explored would be, “If we continue down this kind of darker road with him, it would be a really interesting thing to see how that played out because knowing that your ex-girlfriend and your teacher, possibly ex-teacher, are together isn’t just something you can unknow.” The knowledge of such a dark secret influences one’s behavior — how Noel relates to different characters and future decisions he may make. Thus, when Noel makes his next appearance in Rosewood, Brant speculated, “[Noel] would probably be on [his] best behavior on the surface. That’s for sure. . . . Regardless of whether he actually wants to be pursuing his antagonization of Ezra or not, I think that he would play it pretty low key coming back. I think he’d be all smiles.”

Despite the fact that Noel turned out to have a darker-side, Brant is still pleased with the fans’ reaction to him and the character. He noted, “You can always tell where the fans allegiances lie by how they react to the situation. Some of them are just furious and hate me and can’t believe this dark turn I’ve taken and the way that I’m hurting their poor, dear Ezra. Some of them love it, on the opposite end. Some of them are kind of rooting me on and they’re like, ‘Yes, get him, get him!’ So, it’s been interesting to see the kind of double nature of the fans that way, which it is great honestly, because coming in, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever win anyone away from Ezra, but I got a couple of them and I’m happy with that.”

No matter how friction-filled the relationship between Noel and Aria, things have been much smoother between Brant and Lucy Hale, who plays Aria. In fact, because they have worked so closely together, they became friends. Brant enthusiastically shared, “I love Lucy — she’s an amazing girl!” He also noted that he has made other good friends through the show and it has been good for his social life.

Commenting on the popularity of the show, Brant insightfully said, “It has to be the four pretty little liars themselves. I think they so accurately depict sort of America right now for these young girls with their struggles and the lies that they have to tell and the secrets they keep — especially hitting things like eating disorders in the last couple episodes and hitting things like coming out to your parents, the gay teenager. These things really resonate with the youth in the world today and I think it’s exploring story lines like that that keep us coming back every week.”

But by far the best part of working on Pretty Little Liars, according to Brant is, “The energy on set. There’s something so powerful about coming to work and knowing that what you’re doing is really resonating with people. It was great when we first had this new project we were working on and we couldn’t wait to see what happened. Then suddenly, everybody responded to it and it was amazing and we’re trending on Twitter and we’re top iTunes download for the show and it was so incredible. The energy on set just was amplified. It was great already and every time I walk into that place I feel like something magical is happening. Like we’re making something important. We’re doing something that is going to make a difference.”

As one last note of caution to fans that have read the books, Brant teased, “If you know how the books play out, what fun would the show be?” He explained, “It became abundantly clear that we are not following the book verbatim anymore, and especially with the turn that Noel takes.” So now that the show has began to make deviations from the books, fans should expect even more unexpected turns will be upcoming in the series. The show may not take viewers down the same path, so do not think the mystery of “A” and the havoc that “A” wreaks plays out exactly like the books.

Brant encouraged everyone to be sure to tune-in for the next episode of Pretty Little Liars which airs Monday, January 31st at 8/7c on ABC Family.