Aubrey Peeples Sees ‘Nashville’ Role as ‘a Fun Challenge’

Aubrey Peeples may not have known what she was getting herself into when she signed on to play troubled singer Layla Grant on the hit ABC drama Nashville, but she's having a whole lot of fun with it.

After starting out as the quiet girlfriend, then wife, of gay country star Will Lexington (Chris Carmack), Peeples' character went into a quick, and potentially deadly, spiral that included drug use, toxic relationships and plenty of scandal. While plenty of young actresses might have been intimidated by the sudden shift in the role, the 21-year-old says that she was completely uninhibited to take on the complex character.

"I was so excited to get to do that," Peeples tells The Boot. "That’s when I really sunk my teeth in, was when they threw all that material that way. That’s what I love to do. I love to play the crazy people. I just looked at it as a fun challenge."

Peeples adds that she feels motivated every time she walks on the set of Nashville, which also stars Connie Britton, Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Hayden Panettiere and Clare Bowen, among others.

"It’s such a big production show, with all the singing and the playing of the instruments," she says. "The drama of the characters alone ..."

Like her character, Peeples is also leaning more toward a non-country sound as she works on her own album.

"I’m a blues musician, leaning towards a rock thing," Peeples says. "I’ve been writing for a really long time. I’m hoping that, now that the show has allowed me the opportunity, I’m hoping to do something within a year or two."

While Peeples concedes that her album may not land on the country charts, she admits that she draws a lot of inspiration from some of the genre's legendary artists.

"I’m such a fan of old country," she says. "It’s really laid the foundation for so many types of genres. And I feel like, nowadays, the genres are kind of borderless. Everything is leaking into another. All kinds of music are inspiring, and I think country really laid the foundation for that."

And when Season 4 of Nashville premieres, Peeples will have something else to celebrate: According to TV Line, she has been upgraded to a series regular. The show is set to premiere on Sept. 23 at 10PM ET on ABC.