Sep 03, 2015 at 12:30 pm

Serayah Says Her 'Empire' Character Tiana 'Is Crazy'

Serayah gets cheeky in this inside shot from the October 2015 issue of ASOS.

Here’s what the 19-year-old Empire actress had to share:

On her character Tiana: “When I got the lines for my first audition, I was like, ‘Tiana is crazy!’ She’s just met this guy and she goes backstage with him and is supposed to do crazy things with him – that we ended up not doing – which I’m so glad for! She’s so racy and the opposite of me, but then in some ways, so me, because she wants to be a performer and is into entertainment. I really connect with that side of her, but a lot of things she does I’m like, ‘Ooookkkaaaayyy… Really guys?’ But that’s Tiana!”

On how she first met Taylor Swift: “I was driving, and my mum called me, saying, ‘So guess who just called me? Taylor Swift!’ I was clicking the volume on the phone to make sure I’d heard properly. Mum was trying to explain and I kept cutting her off with questions! She said that Taylor had asked for my number so she could talk through everything about the video, I was like, ‘Don’t ask me! Just get her to text me now!’ When Taylor called, she said, ‘Thank you so much for saying you’ll do it’ and I replied, ‘Come on! Anything! I’m there!’ But it just shows that huge pop stars or actors or actresses can still have that humility, which is so inspiring. A lot of people, as they get bigger, they lose that, so it’s really cool to see someone leading by example. Especially for young girls.”

On her future acting plans: “[I want to] Do a feature film. I want to play a superhero and do crazy stunts. When I did Bad Blood, I was like, ‘This is everything!’ I want to master my music sound and what it is that I represent. My long-term goals… get behind the camera to direct and produce, invest in real estate and have a family.”

Serayah is also pictured below at the cover celebration held at Gjelina on Monday afternoon (August 31) in Venice, Calif.