Claudia confronts lizard monkeys, Doc Martens and teen traumas

Have you seen the original Lost in Space?

When I got the script, I hadn't. But I got up the morning of the meeting with the director, and I watched it at, like, 5:30 a.m. on the Sci-Fi Channel. Since then, I've watched a lot of them.

What's your character like?

All the characters are kind of different from the show, but Penny is a complete rebel. She hates the mission because it has taken her mother and father away, practically making them ghosts. She's crying out for help, and no one is really paying attention.

Sounds like Claudia from Party of Five.

Yeah, in a way. Penny has more of an edge, though. She's a very fun character. She tries to be this big, brave woman, but inside she's still this little girl.

But outside, she's pretty grown up. Kind of sexy, even.

Oh, yeah. I mean, they cut my hair, and they made it like dreadlocks and spiky every day. It took an hour and a half to do my hair. And Penny's very into these cool clothes.

How was it dealing with all the special effects?

It was awesome! They had five big stages. It was a huge production. The hardest element was dealing with—it sounds weird—this lizard monkey that we find on the planet. We'd [act] with this puppet, but sometimes the puppet didn't exactly perform, so half the time, it wasn't there. So, it's attacking me, or I'm running from it, or it's crawling up my back and into my hair, but nothing was there. It was the strangest thing.

The human cast is pretty amazing in this film.

At first it was very intimidating being with Gary Oldman and William Hurt. I had watched their films, and I was in awe of their talent. I was sort of nervous reading scenes with them, but they were very down to earth and welcoming.

And what about Matt LeBlanc?

I was like, "Hello...do I breathe?" He is beautiful. He was a sweetheart. We ended up calling each other "Sunflower."

Sunflower? Where did that come from?

Oh, it's silly. When I study my script, I write analogies to understand a line, and one of them was "like being crippled and then running through a field of sunflowers." And Matt got hold of my script and added "with Don West"—because Penny has a crush on Don West.

I was totally embarrassed, because it was, like, my private thoughts. From then on, we called each other Sunflower. And at wrap, he gave me this enormous sunflower. It was beautiful.

Let's talk about something less sunny—Party of Five. It's been a tough year for Claudia. How is it to play her a little darker?

Well, it's been fun. It's been exciting creatively to do something different. To me, it's always a little more interesting to play a character with problems.

You're on the right show then.

Yeah. Nothing happy is ever going to happen on that show, just so you know.

How was it having your first pseudo love moments with Andrew Keegan earlier this season?

Oh my gosh. Well, you know, of course, everyone is like, "Oh, Lacey's kissing!" It was incredibly embarrassing, but I got through it.

Are you ready for a relationship offscreen?

Absolutely. I don't have a boyfriend in real life, but, you know, I'm scoping it out. Actually, I've heard that at the end of the season, Claudia might get a boyfriend. But I'm not counting on it, because it never seems to work out.

Do you relate to Claudia at all?

Well, we are the same age, so I can relate to her insecurities. You know, I'm not exactly the most confident person right now.

You seem fairly grounded.

It's my family. We're a Christian family, and that is the most important thing in my life. There has to be more to life than acting, and although I'm extremely passionate about what I do and want to continue this, I also enjoy other things. I think it's important to be focused, but you can't be completely absorbed by this.

What "other things" do you enjoy?

I love to shop. I am a complete girl. I'm totally into shoes.

What's the last pair of shoes you bought?

Oh, gosh. Right now I have on Doc Martens with a heel that I bought in London. I bought, like, five pairs of shoes there.