tvline – Katherine McNamara appears as Julie Lawry in one single scene during The Stand‘s fourth episode, and she makes quite an impression — though not necessarily a good one.

Julie arrives near the end of Thursday’s installment, appearing in a flashback to Nick Andros’ (Henry Zaga) and Tom Cullen’s (Brad William Henke) journey to Hemingford Home in Colorado. While resting and picking up supplies in an abandoned warehouse, the men encounter Julie, who’s donning a party dress and jewelry… and aiming her shotgun right at Nick. (Her first words: “You dangerous?”)

Throughout the next five minutes, Julie 1) decides Nick is not only harmless, but also quite attractive, and attempts to sleep with him, 2) gets interrupted by Tom, whose developmental disabilities she quickly mocks, and 3) angrily shoots at Nick and Tom when they don’t agree to let her join their journey.

Needless to say, Julie’s a far cry from Clary Fray or Mia Smoak, the respective Shadowhunters and Arrowverse characters for which McNamara has become known. Below, the actress explains why The Stand‘s Julie was such an appealing departure for her, along with a few teasers of Julie’s forthcoming devotion to the sinister Randall Flagg.

TVLINE | The Stand‘s cast is big, and quite stacked, at that. How did you come to be involved?
I’ve known about this project for a really long time, and being a huge Stephen King fan, I was excited to be a part of it in any way. I’ve known [series co-creator] Josh Boone for years… and we both have been sharing our love of Stephen King for a long time. [Laughs] But getting to play Julie — it’s such a fascinating character for me, and a fun challenge, given that I’ve been playing heroes for the last several years. Getting to dive into a character who’s a bit more villainous — it was a treat to get to play with a different set of colors.

TVLINE | Was this kind of role something you were actively seeking out, after Shadowhunters and Arrow? Something totally different?
When I first started in this industry, I made a promise to myself that I would never just end up doing one thing. That’s the joy of being an actor. It was a thrill to get to do this, and that first day on set — [Julie] literally comes in guns blazing, and that’s the only script I had at that point. Diving into set, I knew they had been in production for a few months, but Brad and Henry and the rest of the crew welcomed me with open arms. I was instantly put at ease by everyone’s willingness to play, and to really commit to this world that Stephen King created. It’s been exciting since Day One, and it’s been creative soul food for me, as an actor.