New Faces: Jaz Sinclair Defends Her Character’s Controversial Romance in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 2

You hear a lot about so-and-so star’s big break in Hollywood, but the truth is, for most it’s more of a slow burn than one seismic lightning bolt. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s Jaz Sinclair is grateful for hers. “If I had had a big explosion of a break right at the beginning of my career, I don’t know that I was emotionally ready for that, as a human, just yet,” she said. “I’ve kind of been blessed with little breaks that are gradually growing as I go. Now I’m at a place where I’m like, ‘Okay, I have a good grasp on this life and career and what that means, and I feel ready.’”

Born and raised in Texas, Sinclair moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career when she was 18. Now 24-year-old, she has a chill, “what happens will happen” philosophy on life, which may have ultimately helped her land her now breakthrough as Rosalind “Roz” Walker on Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. “I was traveling, and I was planning on traveling for three months or more. I had just gotten back from Columbia and was heading to Vietnam with my best friend soon,” she recalled. “In that time, this audition came. I read it and thought, ‘This is cool. She’s a feminist and I love witches.’ I went in with such a ‘Fuck it’ attitude. Probably because I was so fulfilled from traveling, I didn’t put too much pressure on it and just had fun.”

Still, she was convinced she wouldn’t land the part of Roz, Sabrina’s high school-aged best friend. “I saw an 18-year-old girl walk in after me and called my manager and said, ‘This was fun, but I’m too old for this,'” she said. “Now I know the baby face will sustain me longer than I thought.” After officially landing the part, Sinclair put her travel plans on hold, and instead moved to Canada to film the show’s first and second seasons back to back. “It was such a journey,” she recalled. “You have to remember we were there for nine months. You really see each other through all the seasons. All of us, the babies that we were, had these growth journeys while filming a show that we were excited about. And we really do love each other, so going to work everyday is fun.”

The show premiered in October, gaining a fast and fanatical following of viewers who just could not get enough of the show’s dark take on the beloved character. “I really had no expectations,” Sinclair said. “I thought it was cool, and had a good feeling.We knew before it came out that it was something special. The way that fans love the show is so fulfilling because I love it. I don’t pay attention to fame stuff, in general, so for me, I’m on a show and people like it and that’s perfect.”

And now comes season 2, which was released on Netflix in full on Friday. For those who haven’t managed to binge the entire series since its 3 a.m. release (a nearly impossible feat), Sinclair promises “so much juicy stuff in this chunk of next episodes.” That includes—and a big spoiler alert here—a new love connection between Roz and Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina’s ex-boyfriend, played by Ross Lynch. “People are going to be pissed at her, and I think it’s so hilarious,” she said. “But there’s so much chemistry that you can’t stay mad. People are going to fall in love with it, and I can’t wait for that to happen.”

Given the amount of people who hardcore ship Harvey and Sabrina, Sinclair herself was nervous at first to dive into the storyline—but now, she’d like to defend her character. “I was like, ‘Oh shit, y’all aren’t about to make me a bad friend are you?’” she said. “But the way that they did it and the way that they let it develop. Neither Roz or Harvey were expecting it, and I think that’s what makes it so special. It just happened. And Roz was honest with Sabrina from the beginning.”

Aside from the new love interest, Roz also gets more to do in the realm of witchcraft in season 2. “Roz is kind of like, ‘Okay, if we’re in this, we’re in this.’” Sinclair said. “The stuff with my eyes gets really intense. Roz gets a lot of juicy stuff—and a lot of good magic. I love all things magic. That’s half the reason I wanted to do this show. Anytime I get to do anything remotely magical on the show, I am all about it.”

And as is perhaps expected after working on a show about witchcraft, that fascination has extended into her offscreen life, as well. ““I’m reading about witchy shit all the time,” she said. “I look up spells for the heck of it. I haven’t done any spells but I don’t think that they wouldn’t work.”