One of the advantages of doing a slasher film (or murder mystery) as a long-form miniseries is that by the end of the run, if the writers have done their jobs, the corpses aren’t just disposable stereotypes, they’re well-rounded characters whose deaths might actually mean something to the viewers.

After the first couple hours of CBS’ “Harper’s Island,” the odds of viewers becoming emotionally invested in the deaths of Chloe (Cameron Richardson) or Cal (Adam Campbell) would have been low. Network promotion had categorized Chloe as The Flirt and she looked prepared to cuckold her British boyfriend at a moment’s notice. Cal, dubbed The Outsider, was more likable, but he was mostly a foppish clown, probably deserving of his cuckolding.

Over the weeks to come, we saw Chloe rebuff the advances of other men in the wedding party. We saw Cal display his medical knowledge, his courage and his devotion to Chloe. While people were dying all around them, Chloe and Cal even had nearly a full episode in an unrelated subplot where they were trying to reacquire his presumed engagement ring. We grew to like the characters and even like their relationship.

That’s why Saturday’s (June 26) “Harper’s Island” was such a blow. After rescuing Chloe from her dark, drippy dungeon, Cal attempted to sacrifice his own life to allow his betrothed the chance to escape from the seemingly unstoppable and unkillable John Wakefield. But Chloe, after watching Cal die (and seeing her own fate as inevitable), plunged off a bridge, rather than giving Wakefield the satisfaction of adding another murder to his belt.

It was sad stuff for “Harper’s Island” fans, but days later, Campbell and Richardson talked to HitFix about their double-demise.

HitFix: So how did you watch the weekend’s episode?

Cameron Richardson: I watched it with my boyfriend. Live.

Adam Campbell: I watched it the next day on Netflix with my wife.

HitFix: How well had you guys kept the secret?

CR: So well.

AC: Incredibly well.

CR: My family members didn’t know. I wanted people to enjoy it.

HitFix: Was the secret-keeping ever difficult?

CR: I actually thought it was fun toying with people’s emotions.

AC: I kept telling people that I was the killer, kept putting that red herring out there.

HitFix: I’ll admit it. I suspected you, Adam. Apparently not?

AC: Apparently not.

HitFix: And what have the reactions been from friends and loved ones?

CR: My family, my aunt just Facebooked me and said, “Is Chloe Really Dead?!?” They don’t want her to be dead, but I’m like, “Yup. She’s done.” Every thought we did a great job.

AC: My family’s all in England, so they don’t get to watch it until it comes out over there, but my friends in LA are all just really obsessed with the show and they don’t stop talking about it.

HitFix: Have either of you died before on-screen?

CR: I died in a movie once.

AC: I’ve never died. This is my first screen death.

(more…)

How did you find out you were the next victim?

Cameron: I was in Vancouver. It was cold. I felt a vibration… it was my cell phone. I looked at the caller ID. It was Karim, and a shiver went down my spine…

Adam: Karim told me face-to-face. He found me on set, and just said, “Dude.” That was it. And I knew.

Were you surprised to have lasted as long as you did, or did you think you would survive?

Cameron: I thought I would be gone sooner – like episode 7.

Adam: We were guaranteed seven episodes. After that it was week-to-week. I thought we would make it to seven episodes and that would be it. So yeah, I was surprised to make it to episode 11.

Who do you think is the killer?

Cameron: Madison.

Adam: It’s gotta be Madison. She is so creepy.

Cameron: She is actually a 45-year-old little person.

Adam: Who is exceptionally strong and violent.

Cameron: Either that or me and Cal coming back to haunt the island.

Was Cassandra Sawtell, the actress playing Madison, that creepy?

Adam: Absolutely not. She is possibly the most lovely child actress I’ve ever met.

Cameron: We were reading the Twilight novels together. I would run to her room and say, “What is going on with Jacob??” She talked me through it.

Adam: You were reading Twilight together? I was reading Twilight too, but no one talked me through anything.

(more…)

Maxim brings the hottest female stars to FOXNews.com every Monday. Today, meet ‘Harper’s Island’ star Cameron Richardson.

Cameron Richardson has a lot in common with her character, the flirty bridesmaid (and possible murderer) Chloe Carter on CBS’s hit miniseries Harper’s Island. They’re both free spirits. Painfully attractive. And they both have interest­ing hobbies.

For Chloe it’s a fascination with serial killers. Cameron’s hobby is ever so slightly less weird: “I’m always watching the Discovery Health Channel,” she laughs. “The baby with two heads? My life as a hermaphrodite? Those shows suck you in.”

Born in Louisiana and raised in New Jersey, Cameron started her career as a model. “It was a struggle,” she recalls. “I was 5’7″ going into New York with these Amazon women!”

Read more…