The TV Chick

Glee is back in just one day! My countdown clock will soon become obsolete. I am so thrilled that it is returning, and I jumped at the chance to chat again with Jessalyn Gilsig, who plays Terri Schuester. I know there are huge Will and Emma fans out there (Wemma as they have become affectionately known), but I love Terri because I think Jessalyn plays her with such magnificence. She adds a little crazy to the mix but she also shows that nothing is ever perfect. If we got what we wanted right away on any TV show, it would be the easy way out, and if there is one thing about Ryan Murphy and his creative team I know for sure, it is that they are never ones to do this. There is a great Terri moment in the mid-season premiere (“Hell-O”) but as Jessalyn explains, it really heats up later. We talked about the amazing fashion on the show, interesting fan reactions, and her song.

Congratulations on all the success of the show. It has been an amazing season. What has awards season been like for you?
I think it just ended, or it just ended for me. I never understood when people said it’s a season that it’s really a season. I mean, it goes on. There are a lot of award shows (laughs) that I never knew about. It was amazing. The Golden Globes were amazing because we just — we couldn’t believe we were there. We sort of felt like we snuck in. And then when I got to the table and the whole cast was sitting there. And Chris was there and Mark’s there and Dianna, and we just looked at each other like what are we doing here? We’ve only shot 13 episodes (laughs). And then, a really fun one that I went to — this was the kind of thing I never knew about — was the Costume Design Awards. Lou Eyrich is our designer who also designs for Nip/Tuck, she was nominated, and she actually won that night. And Jayma and I went there in support of her and it was just really fun to see. We get so much attention from the show but we know that the show is such a collaborative experience and Lou is such a good example. She helps us find our characters, and she really sort of creates such a visual experience, so to see her get recognized and kind of put the spotlight on her…Jayma and I both agreed it was our best experience out of all the award shows.

Yeah, she does some incredible work on the show.
Doesn’t she? And she takes such big risks and I just feel like because there’s so many times that our characters are present but not necessarily speaking. I mean, especially for a lot of the kids. You know, they might have an episode where — I just saw one where Dianna, she doesn’t have much to say but just whenever she’s on screen, there’s still a story being told, and so much of that is also through what she’s wearing and her posture. So it’s just really interesting how everybody kind of tracks the evolution of our characters. And there are so many of them.

There are actually websites out there dedicated to the fashion on Glee.
Are you kidding? (laughs)

There’s a site called What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?
What? Are you kidding me?

No you have to go check it out!
I mean, Emma’s wardrobe…that’s a perfect example. It’s ingenious. And of course, I selfishly, from Terri’s point of view, think Emma’s a genius because she dresses like a saint but she’s actually a husband stealer.

Oh she totally is…
But the way she dresses…it makes her look like a good person.

And I wanted to know what it was like filming that scene that last time we spoke, you referred to it as the reckoning between Will and Terri. It was so incredibly intense.
Was I right?

You were right, absolutely!
It was intense. This is why it is so much fun to work on Ryan Murphy’s show because it’s really fun to watch an audience get frustrated with the show. You know, a woman came up to me in the store the other day (laughs), it was so hysterical. I’m standing in a store with my daughter, and this older woman — I mean, she was probably in her 60s — she comes over and she says “You know what I don’t understand? How can he be so stupid?” (laughs)

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Justified is a new western/crime/drama premiering on FX tonight at 10 pm. In my review, I talked about how this genre of television is not usually my favorite but Justified is phenomenal. (And I am hooked). The show centers around Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant), a U.S. Marshall forced to return to his hometown and face his demons. In this land of men, one of the stand out performances was Joelle Carter, who plays Ava Crowder (Raylan’s old friend and flame). Ava is a take no prisoners kind of girl who shot her abusive husband with his own rifle. I recently had the chance to speak to the lovely and talented Carter, about the role of Ava, working with Olyphant, and what makes Justified so unique.

What originally drew you to the role of Ava?
I love when people ask me that. I’m like what didn’t (laughs) attract me to the character of Ava. I mean, she’s a lovely, delicately flawed character. She’s just recently been put in a crazy circumstance and in some ways, what she’s done is actually freeing her. It was the conflict of the whole character and the deliciousness of the way Elmore Leonard writes these scenarios he puts these characters in that they can act in a completely different way. And just the cast and Michael Dinner directing and Graham Yost. It was like a win, win, win win situation.

Absolutely. And how do you relate to your character? Obviously, you two are very different.
I think mostly that she’s kind of seen in one way, but yet she has a lot living inside that comes out at certain times that might surprise people, what really makes up the core of her. I think through my life and experiences that I have a lot that I carry around that I have inside that people might not necessarily recognize from the outside. You know what I mean?

Yeah, of course.
I liked her unpredictability. I loved that she really is sexual and she loves to use her sexuality almost in an un-subconscious manner. It’s just the way she is, with no excuses and no apologies. So I love that too. She’s really forward and strong. But yet soft and southern.

Ava is such a strong female character in a land of men. What has it been like playing such a powerful female lead?
Oh it’s — especially in Hollywood I think women jump at the chance to play a part like this. It’s interesting because you can really draw off the fact that you’re in an industry that is male-driven and even the show is so — I mean there’s Sarah Timberman [Executive Producer] up at the top there but then it’s like so many men controlling the project and there’s very few women parts anyway in the whole show, so it’s like stand strong and fight for what you want and it’s interesting how it kind of travels beside each other — the reality of the circumstance you’re in and the character’s circumstances.

Justified is incredibly different from any other show out there right now. What do you think makes it so unique?
Well definitely the environment. The fact that it takes place in the south in Kentucky, there’s not a lot going on — I can’t remember I guess Deadwood was the last one that was kind of more of a Western-y feel, southern…I don’t know “Little House on the Prairie?” (laughs)

(laughs)
So — uniquely, the town and the environment is a character in it’s own, and that gives it it’s own uniqueness.

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55 days until Glee returns, but who’s counting right? There has been a lot of news lately about the show so I thought I’d tie it all together nicely. Also, last night FOX released their newest promo for the back 9. If you are trying to stay spoiler free (why?), there’s really not too much they give away here. Things I observed: Glee club singing Hello/Goodbye, another Emma/Will kiss, Rachel wearing a “Team Finn” shirt, Terri’s back, Sue/Schue showdown, Sue talking about Madonna (this episode is going to be epic), and was there maybe a scene where Will sings to Emma or they sing a duet? Only time will tell!

And now here’s your dose of Glee news:

• Kristen Chenoweth is returning
• Idina Menzel will be guest-starring (although rumor has it that she will not be acting with Kristen)
• J-Lo will be guest-starring
• Jane Lynch is singing in the back 9. One word: Madonna
• Judging from a picture posted on Naya Rivera’s twitter (she plays Santana), there might be a kiss shared between her and Heather Morris, who plays Brittany
• The show will be casting three new characters for next season, which will be chosen by an open audition/casting call and the process will be featured on some sort of reality show or special.
• We knew about this before the first 13 episodes ended, but it bears repeating: All. Madonna. Episode.
• There will also be an episode with all original songs written by professional songwriters (and maybe one by Ryan Murphy??) I’m pretty excited about this. It’s just one episode with no covers, and I think it will be great.

And without further ado, the video promo/first look we’ve all been waiting for: (I have watched it about 5 times already)

Glee returns to FOX on Tuesday, April 13th.

The Deep End is a mid-season show on ABC that centers around five first year law associates, the pressures of the jobs, their relationships and staying afloat in an extremely competitive environment. In my advance review, I mentioned that I thought the show was very entertaining with some great acting. To be quite honest, one of the main reasons I tuned in was for Tina Majorino. I have loved her since the days of Veronica Mars, when Veronica and Mac would team up for crazy adventures. She has since moved onto Big Love (playing Heather Tuttle), and now to The Deep End. I was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to speak with her, and she couldn’t have been more gracious. I had extreme technical difficulties, as my phone, despite having full service (AT&T, I hate you!) didn’t ring. I finally restarted it and found I had a sweet message from Tina on it. We finally were able to connect and we talked about how she relates to her character on The Deep End, what makes the show so unique, and even a little bit about her days on Veronica Mars.

Tell us a little more about your character Addy.
My character is a really sweet, somewhat naive girl who is just fresh out of law school. She’s bright-eyed and bushy tailed and just really wants to help people. And as time goes on, the great part about this character that I really enjoy this aspect is that she doesn’t stay green. She, as time goes on, and she goes through these different experiences of getting pushed around and walked on, she learns from it and applies. So, it’s really fun to go on this journey with her as she tries to find that balance between being a good person and being a good lawyer. Because she does want to keep her integrity, and she wants to keep that passion that she has for her job, but there is that really important part that she needs to learn how to be more assertive and be tougher, because that what it’s going to take to be a successful lawyer. So it’s really fun to go on that journey with her, and to see her grow and learn as a person and as a lawyer.

What originally drew you to the character?
I think — when I read the script — David Hemingson is such a genius writer that I really loved her humor. I think that she has a really great ability to not take herself too seriously. So she has that ability to laugh at herself, and to also be — she has to have the ability to reflect on herself and acknowledge where there’s room for improvement. And I think that’s a really admirable quality in someone. I just was really excited to do something this different. I have never played a role like this before, and as funny as this sounds, I literally have never played anybody over 17 before, so it’s really nice to get the opportunity to play an adult, and also step into attempting to play a lawyer — that’s really difficult. So the role is challenging in so many different ways so I was really attracted to not only her qualities as a person but the challenges I knew that this character would apply me with.

How do you relate to Addy — obviously you’re not a lawyer. How do you draw from your own experiences to play this character?
(laughs) I think that we’re very similar in certain aspects and we’re really, really different in others. Our similarities are you know, obviously we’re the same age and we’re both trying to — I kind of feel like with this project, I’m stepping into a new part of my career. So I kind of relate to her anxieties about trying to navigate that aspect of her life — trying to figure out this new direction that she’s going in. And I definitely relate to her in that I could use a lesson in being more assertive. I have a tendency of — I can let myself get walked on sometimes, and it’s something I’m working on.

(laughs) We all can, right?
(laughs) And I think we’re both pretty quirky and clumsy in certain ways. I really enjoyed playing her because they gave me some great physical comedy in the show and that’s pretty similar to me. I’m a very physical person. I tend to trip and fall — you know do that kind of stuff all the time. And we both bake. So those are my similarities with her. There are a lot of ways in which we differ too. I always try to find characters to play that there are differences because it’s more challenging when a character is not you. I do try to bring some of myself to this character, as I do with all the characters I play but I really like playing our differences.

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Chuck is off to a fantastic start this season. It is full of big guest stars, interesting story lines, the Intersect 2.0, and Captain Awesome finding out Chuck’s secret. Captain Awesome has always been a favorite character of mine, simply because it’s clear that there is much more than meets the eye. When he has to essentially become a spy in an hour or less, he is able to handle whatever Chuck throws at him (even if it’s not done with the utmost of grace, and results in a lot of hilarity). Chuck is a show that has it all, and I’m excited to see what new surprises the creators have in store for us this season. I recently had the chance to chat with Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome) ab0ut his significant role this season, his character’s relationship with Ellie, his dream guest stars, and that time George Clooney wandered onto their set.

Your character Captain Awesome/Awesome has really taken on a significant role this season. What has that been like for you?
It’s been cool. The end of last season, Captain Awesome was brought into the spy world, you know everybody was making a really big deal of it, well let’s see the third season and see where it goes, and then what they did with it — I’m really impressed with all of the writers, and I’m really impressed with the fact that they didn’t kill Captain Awesome in the spy world, because that would have been a bad thing.

Yeah.
(laughs) That’s the risk though that you run with dealing with the likes of Angie Harmon. She could shoot you in the face at any time. So yeah it was great, it was fun, there’s always more for me to do but we have such a good supporting cast that it’s just fun to see everybody get more involved–see all these back stories come to light a little bit.

Absolutely. And Awesome was the first person to find out about Chuck’s secret. Why do you think he was the first person to find out?
Oh, Vik [Lester Patel] just brought me some lunch here. Lester is right next to me, eating right now. Maybe you want to ask him too (laughs). He said no, he has to go change. He’s gotta get out of his Jeffster outfit right now. I’m sorry, what was your question again?

Why do you think Awesome was the first person to find out about Chuck’s secret?
I just don’t think the audience saw it coming. And I thought it was good, really fun — you would think that his best friend would find out or his sister or somebody else. So I don’t think the audience saw that I was the one– it just made sense though because of course Captain Awesome would want to get into the spy world first and jump right in without any training or without any I don’t know, spy training. And let’s just be honest, it’s more fun to have Captain Awesome in there (laughs) because I can bring the fun in. It’s a funny character and I have a good time with him.

Will we see him getting more involved in Chuck’s world as the season goes on?
As the season goes on, I mean to be honest, I think they wrote it, got really excited by it but then are like “Oh, now what do we do?” which is what happens with most shows. No, they probably have a good arc planned out, but the thing is you can’t have him be really good at it yet. I’m kind of carrying the torch from the first season, and this season, I’m kind of like what Chuck was in the first season where he was balancing the spy world with the home world and now the audience is going to see that through Captain Awesome’s eyes. So, yeah I think it’s going to evolve. Not in the same way as it did for Chuck, but there’s some chatter going on right now about what’s going to happen at the end of the season, and it sounds like it’s going to be just as big and exciting as the end of season 2.

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Premiere day has finally arrived! Life Unexpected premieres tonight, and I couldn’t be more excited about it! The show centers around Lux (Britt Robertson), who wants to emancipate herself from the foster care system when she turns sixteen. The journey brings Lux to her biological parents, Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kris Polaha) and Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), and they all wind up with the family they never knew they had. This show has a ton of heart, and in speaking with most of the cast members and the creator, it became so evident that this is a passion project that they love, too. It represents what dramas should be, in that they make you laugh and cry and learn all in about an hour. I recently had the chance to speak with Britt Robertson (Lux) about her new leading role, her own family and her favorite moments from filming the show.

Tell us a little bit more about your character, Lux.
The show Life Unexpected centers around 15 year old Lux, and she’s seeking out emancipation from the foster care system and during that process, she ends up meeting her biological parents for the first time since they had given her up, and she’s sort of like this tough, hard-edge, funny, sarcastic character who ends up becoming a little more in touch with her emotions towards her parents throughout the series and she’s this 15 year old girl, but she’s really not 15 at all because she had to grow up so fast, because of being in foster homes and group homes. So she’s definitely got a lot of layers to her.

What originally drew you to the role?
Originally, when I read the script, I loved the story itself and when I spoke with Liz, our creator, and I found out how connected she was with it and how passionate she was about the project, [and] I just fell in love with the idea of the show and secondly, it was so well written. The characters were all so well written, and Lux the character that I’m now playing, but the character that I was auditioning for, she was so different from anything else I had ever done, and that was like really, really interesting and challenging and I was just taken aback by how fun and interesting it could be.

And you just mentioned your creator, Liz, who was adopted. Did you speak to her or anyone else in the foster care system to get a sense of how they grew up?
Yeah, well originally when I was auditioning for the part, I had spoken to her a little bit about the situation and she was telling me — I had no idea that she was adopted at the time, and I had no idea that at the time she was actually seeking out her biological parents as well and it wasn’t because of the show or because it was getting off its feet, it was actually just sort of coincidental that we were shooting the pilot and she had just now gotten in touch with them. And it was interesting, because I was sort of able to understand what it’s like to not know who your parents are and wish for certain people, and not necessarily get the people you were hoping for, or vice versa. So it was really helpful to speak with her, because I’d never really known anyone to be adopted or in the system. And also, I spoke with — there’s a program in Pasadena, California, that I sort of did a lot of research with called the Casey Family Program. It’s sort of directly targets, sixteen to twenty five year olds who have been in foster care or group homes and basically it’s sort of teaching them how to get emancipated and move out on their own and take care of themselves and keep pursuing things even though they don’t have the money or the sources and so that was really helpful because all of the employees there have actually been through it themselves as well.

The show is at its core about family. Lux’s new family, and her old family which we get to see a little bit in the upcoming episode. What is your family like?
It’s interesting because I moved out to LA when I was pretty young, and my family wasn’t able to come with me because I have a lot of younger brothers and sisters and my parents just couldn’t uproot our whole lives, so I ended up moving out when I was a lot younger and I think that actually has helped me a little bit with drawing from my experiences to relate to Lux because moving to LA you don’t have your mom to come home to or people in your life to sort of direct your path, I kind of had to like figure it out for myself a little bit, and I think though I’m super close with my family, I am away from them and I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like, so I think that’s definitely helped me relate to Lux a little better.

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Life Unexpected, a new drama coming to the CW, premieres tomorrow. I couldn’t be more excited about it! The show centers around Lux (Britt Robertson), who wants to emancipate herself from the foster care system when she turns sixteen. The journey brings Lux to her biological parents, Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kris Polaha) and Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), and they all wind up with the family they never knew they had. I think this show represents all that is great about the CW, and hopefully a new age of heartfelt dramas. I recently had the chance to speak with Kris Polaha (Baze), and we talked about how he relates to his character, the brilliant creator Liz Tigelaar, and why he thinks you should tune in!

What drew you to the character of Baze?
Oh Baze, Baze. Well, it was Liz Tigelaar’s wonderfully written, well-crafted script. I have been saying — it was a year ago today, I got a script from my agent and I opened it up and started reading it and I couldn’t put it down and there was just a fully comprehended, completely realized world, and the characters were just — it’s interesting — when you are an actor, and you read a script, characters are going to pop off the page, and you sort of imagine yourself as that person, and you can start making choices as an actor for that character — I immediately related to Baze. I started seeing myself as the part, and I started making choices — like I can see this moment and this moment, so I just responded to the material and went in, auditioned, and they felt mutually, sort of excited about me, I guess, and the rest was history. We filmed the pilot last January, and we’re off and running. We’re on our 10th episode right now.

Baze is sort of a guy who refuses to grow up. How do you relate to your character?
(laughs) Do I refuse to grow up? I’m still a child! Don’t give me something I want, and you’ll see, I’ll be like “Come on!” I relate to this guy because here’s the deal, all guys, like every dude in this country wants to drink beer, play video games, hang out with his buddies, and if you were to say…”hey, if your dad were to buy you a building, and you were to turn that building into a bar and then live above the bar, would you do that?” There’s a part of everybody, I think honestly, like even the most ambitious, intelligent, young male American, would be like “Yeah, I could see that being an option.” And Baze took the courage to take the option to live like a bum. But I think a part of that is the fact that well it’s an interesting character — I think that part of that decision to be a bum comes from — he got this girl, Cate, played by Shiri Appleby, pregnant in high school, and he didn’t take responsibility for that. And I think that at that moment in his life, he sort of shut down in a way. He stopped maturing. He sort of stopped this process unnaturally, so I think it’s combination of Baze just being sort of a ne’er do well, Peter Pan like man-boy-guy and then actually, sort of having messed up a little bit, and not wanting to deal with it. And when Lux comes and knocks on his door, he’s forced to deal with it. He does the right thing — like sixteen years later, he takes responsibility.

The show centers around a secret from the main characters’ youth. Do you have any secrets from your youth–obviously nothing as big as that.
Well, I don’t have any kids that I know of, let’s put it that way. I mean, God forbid someone shows up and says you’re my dad, although that’s possible, so…we’ll leave it at that.

(laughs) Fair enough. And you have great chemistry with Shiri. Was it instant when you started filming?
It was instant after all the off screen fighting stopped…you know?

(laughs)
No, I’m kidding. I’m joking. She’s an amazing actress. She is a pro, so when I go on set, she comes on the set, ready to roll, and we have a lot of fun working together. She’s very, very good, because I think she has equal chemistry with Ryan, played by Kerr Smith. She has great rapport with Brittany Robertson, who plays Lux. So I think that’s a testimony to Shiri’s talent as an actress. But she and I actually get along really, really well off-screen. I was telling somebody else, Kerr, Shiri and I went up to Whistler last week to celebrate her birthday, and we have as much fun off-screen as we do on screen. It’s a really fun cast.

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If you read my site, you know that Life Unexpected is a show I have been looking forward to for a long time. It centers around Lux (Britt Robertson) who wants to emancipate herself from the foster care system at age 16. She finds her biological parents (played by Shiri Appleby and Kris Polaha) and through unforeseen circumstances, ends up with the family she never had.

I recently had the chance to chat with Liz Tigelaar, the absolutely brilliant creator of the show, who has put her heart into this wonderful series. Here is what she had to say about her passion project, the casting process, and what we can expect from its freshman season.

What was your inspiration behind creating Life Unexpected?
The show is very close to my heart.  I’m adopted and I’ve always had questions about who my birth parents were and had a fantasy about who I imagined they were.  In a weird way, even though I have the best adopted family any person could ask for, I’ve kind of been searching for them my entire life — going from person to person, wondering “Are you like my birth mom?  Are you like me?  Essentially, searching for someone who’s just like me…”  This pilot is about that search and how you don’t always get the answers you’re expecting — sometimes you get better than you ever imagined, other times you’re disappointed.  The show is also about what it means to be a grown up and in your thirties today.

When I first saw the pilot back in September, I thought it reminded me of the Old School CW/WB at it’s best. What does it mean to you to be on this network?
It means a lot.  My first job was on Dawson’s Creek on the WB.  I’ve always had an affinity for that type of show so it means a ton to be back here, eleven years later.  I feel like I’ve come full circle.  If anyone had told me when I was a P.A. on Dawson’s Creek, sitting around with people like Mike White, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec that I’d be here, I never would’ve believed it.

The show has also been compared to Gilmore Girls (it reminded me of the show as well). Do you like that comparison? Did you watch the show?
I didn’t watch Gilmore Girls regularly but I watched it enough to know I love the comparisons.  I can only hope we’re a fraction as successful as that show was.  I appreciate being mentioned along side of a show like that, absolutely.

The show has a great mix of incredibly poignant and funny moments. And one thing that really shines through is that it has a ton of heart. Did you draw from any of your personal experiences to create and write the show?
The show is incredibly personal to me.  Each character is a part of me, especially Cate and Lux.  I struggle myself with knowing I’m a grown up but feeling like a kid, knowing I could be a parent now but wishing someone would still take care of me.  All Cate’s fears, insecurities, neuroses and skewed logic come from me so I love writing Cate.  She’s flawed and damaged and authentic and just herself, kind of take it or leave it.  But there’s a lot of Lux in me, too.  I’m not as bold as Lux but what she throws out there, the way she looks at things, the way she calls people on things… I probably aspire to be Lux when I grow up.  I also always pictured Lux to be blond.  For some reason, that was important to me.  Probably because I’m blond too and I just saw myself in her.  Is that lame?  We also have the same taste in music and fashion sense.

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Life Unexpected is one of the best pilots I saw back in September, and a show I have been excited about for quite some time. I was absolutely hooked from the first few minutes. The show centers around Lux (Britt Robertson) who has decided to emancipate herself from foster care at 16. This process leads her to her biological father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kris Polaha from Mad Men) and her biological mother Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby from ER and Roswell). Baze owns a bar and lives above it, and is stuck almost in a state of arrested development. Cate is a local radio star of a show called “Morning Madness” (which Lux listens to every morning) with her partner and off-air boyfriend Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith from Dawson’s Creek). You can absolutely tell is a well-thought out, passion project. It is quirky, sweet, funny at times, but most of all, it just has a lot of heart. We need more of these types of dramas out there, and I’m so excited for this one. I recently had the chance to chat with Shiri Appleby, about what drew her to the role of Cate, how she relates to her character, and her favorite moment from filming the show.

First of all, I saw the first few episodes, and I love Life Unexpected.

Thank you so much. We’re so excited for people to really get to see it, it’s been such a long time coming.

Tell us a little more about your character, Cate Cassidy.
I sort of like to think that she’s the girl that you see across the room that you would sit and have lunch together, but then when you get to know her, you realize how broken and messed up she really is.

What originally drew you to the role of Cate?
I think the fact that there was a moment where the character realizes that she has responsibilities in life and she has to grow up. And I think that’s a moment that most of us goes through, because I don’t think becoming an adult is something that just naturally happens with age. And I thought she was going to go through a really interesting journey and ride. And I can just really relate to her issues, her being scared to commit to somebody long-term, how do you know if you can trust somebody, and how do you also know that you’re good enough to be there for somebody else.

You obviously are not in the same situation as Cate, how do you relate to the character?
I think it’s something that I talk about with my girlfriends all the time. How do you know that you’re able to commit to somebody for the rest of your life? All of these issues that she has, regardless of the fact that she’s now a new surprise mother, are issues that all my friends and young women are facing and having to grow up and make real life decisions. I think her story and her arc is really relatable.

Cate’s a radio host. Did you listen to any radio shows to prepare for the role?
You know, I didn’t. Kerr was really good, he went on Ryan Seacrest. Once you get to a radio station set, you sort of put those headphones on, and we’re mic’d [sitting] next to each other, we kind of just like let it go. It feels really, really natural. Obviously, I’ve done a lot of radio tours and gone to radio stations in the past for other projects, so I’ve had a little bit of experience in that world, so it kind of felt pretty comfortable.

Just coming off ER’s final season, what made you want to jump back into a TV series? I think the show is really special, but what made it special for you?
Well, ever since Roswell ended about 8 years ago, I was wanting to do another television show. But after that experience, you realize what a commitment it is, so I look for shows that I felt like I would want to spend five years of my life being a part of, and when I read this script instantly I knew that this was a character that I would be excited to go to work to play for years, if we’re so lucky.

Life Unexpected in on the CW, and Roswell was on the WB (its former incarnation). How does it feel like to be back on this network specifically?
It feels really good. I know the way these people at the network work, I knew a lot of the publicists already, and I feel like this network is hungry to us to go out there and do what we can do. They’ve been really, really supportive, and they have been since day 1 of this show which has been a real, real blessing for all of us. But it feels like home — I get it. I know what kind of stories they tell.

Do you still have a fan base from Roswell that you think will come over and watch this show?
Yes! I hope so! They’ve been incredibly loyal, which is such a gift. I hope they’ll come and watch this show. If people like Roswell, there’s a lot of similar themes of being there for each other, and yearning for people, and love and friendship and family. There are some pretty similar themes, obviously set in a different world but I think both of our shows are about being a good person and finding true love.

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I have written at length about my love for Glee (see my 1,000+ word reviews every week). It has an outstanding cast, an even more outstanding creator, and it is full of the most wonderful show-stopping musical numbers. It not only has moments to laugh (and cry), but it also has a lot of layers, depth and heart. One of the things I love most about the show, is that everyone has their moment to shine. Everyone gets songs, solos, and showdowns. I recently had the chance to chat with Jayma Mays, who plays Emma Pillsbury. We talked about her character, which relationship she is rooting for, her musical number, and whether we might see her sing again.

What originally drew you to the role of Emma?
Everything, really. Actually, the second I got the sides. I got the sides just for that character before I got the whole script. And just from the sides alone in the pilot, I could tell she was such a well developed character. And there was so much going on with her just from those few sheets of paper that I had kind of describing who she was. I knew immediately that there was a lot that was going to be going on with her. And I think that’s hard to find sometimes with roles for women. There’s maybe not so many layers to them, always. And I just felt from the get go that there was so much going on. And I also knew that Ryan Murphy was involved. I knew that was exciting to me, too. As soon as I heard that, I knew that there would be something good on the page. So I was immediately drawn to it.

Emma is a very interesting character with many layers. She’s very quirky as well. Are you anything like her?
(laughs) Well, (laughs), I’m not obsessive about germs.

I would think not.
I’m not, thank goodness. Although I have to say it, after the first few weeks, after we got picked up and we started filming the first few episodes, I kind of started getting that feeling of needing to wash my hands all the time. And I started keeping anti-bacterial stuff in my purse, just because you start thinking about that stuff more, just naturally, because they’re kinda shoving it in your face at work all the time. I’m not wearing rubber gloves at home, but I definitely keep a little Purell in my pocketbook now.

I think that’s pretty normal. (laughs)
(laughs) Yeah, it makes me feel like a mom. I think moms do that a lot, don’t they?

I think so. I think you’re probably right.
They always have Purell with them, like squirting it on their children and stuff.

Well, at least their children aren’t spreading the germs!
That’s right! When I have kids, they’ll be the cleanest children in Los Angeles.

Good, that’s good to hear! (laughs) And there’s been a ton of different reactions to your character. What do you think of her? She might be very quirky, but she’s a romantic at heart.
She is a romantic at heart. But she’s practical. She’s very interesting, because she does have those dreams and hopes of finding the right man. And in her mind, even though Will’s married, that sort of guy is like the perfect guy for her. She’s very practical in the fact that she doesn’t want to be alone and she knows that she’s somewhat limited in a small town to men. And Ken is a very nice man, he’s not exactly like Will, but he’s good to her and he’s solid. He’s got a job, and he understands her and he understands all her quirks and stuff. So she’s practical, she knows that just might be her lot in life. So it’s weird. She’s got this very dreamy side about her and who she wants to be and what she wants her life to be like. But she’s also got this very practical, down-to-earth, well this is kind of the best I can do thing. It’s funny a lot of people have thought that part about her is weak. Like a weak character flaw, but I actually don’t think that’s true. I really just think that’s the practical side of her. I think that’s her being practical. And I think a lot of people are like that sometimes.

Makes sense. And which relationship are you rooting for to work out? Will and Emma or Ken and Emma?
Oh no! I don’t know if I can say! That’s a hard question because when you see the scenes of Emma and Will, you obviously think “Oh of course they’re supposed to be together, of course, of course!” but the fact is, is that he’s a married man and Emma knows that’s wrong, and she doesn’t want to be a homewrecker. She doesn’t want to ruin a relationship. So I guess in a perfect world, she could find someone like Will, or maybe Ken (laughs) can become a little bit more like Will. But maybe it’s all about respect. Maybe if she can respect Ken enough, that will develop into true love.

Yeah! Who knows? And you and Matthew Morrison have great chemistry. Was that instant when you started filming?
You know, I think so. We were friends. We knew each other before we started this job. We worked together once before. So, that’s always helpful when you know the person that you’re working with, and you already feel comfortable around them. But yeah, he’s a really good friend, so that makes that stuff a little bit easier.

And a few weeks ago I spoke with Jessalyn [who plays Terri] and asked her what it’s like being mean to you…(laughs)
(laughs) What did she say? What did she say?

She said that the crew gets really into it, and they liked when you guys were mean to each other. Is it difficult to film these scenes?
We are actually really close. And it is funny…I think I’m probably closer with her than anyone else on set. So the fact that we are (laughs) like arch-enemies, it’s really strange. But I actually think that makes it more fun, because it is totally a make believe scenario that we kind of play with when we have scenes together. But no it’s actually a lot of fun. And I think she’s just one of the best actresses out there, I just think she’s so good. And (laughs) she’s so intimidating when she becomes this person…this scary person, that it doesn’t even feel like it’s Jessalyn anymore. So we have a lot of fun with that stuff.

Can we expect anymore showdowns between the two of you?
I don’t know! I’m sure something’s coming because that whole relationship and that whole love triangle — which I hate calling it that — but that’s kind of what it is, is kind of set up for that. But maybe! Maybe they’ll let Emma win this one because I kind of think that she knocked me out in the last one.

Maybe they’ll even the scorecard.
Yeah, even the score a little!

And I loved your musical number, I Could Have Danced All Night. Do you want to sing again? Will we see you sing again?
Oh, thank you! (laughs) I don’t know if I want to say that I want to sing again. I actually found that terrifying. I haven’t had to do that before on camera, and I was so nervous that day. I had to keep eating bread and toast because my stomach was so sick. But it was an interesting experience. It was definitely a challenge for me. Of course if they ask me to do it again, I would do it again. But I’m not going to go begging them for it (laughs). Poor Matt. I stepped on Matt’s feet about a thousand times that day [when we were] dancing.

Well it looked perfect on TV.
Thank you. It’s all in the editing. They made me look a lot better on camera than it was in real life.

I hope you get to sing again, though. It’s great to see all of the characters get their moments to sing.
It is a lot of fun. I’m ready to see Jessalyn sing now.

I asked her that too. (laughs) She was like no ones asking where my solo is…and I was like I’m asking that now!
(laughs) I think I’m going to put in a little hint to the writers room, just to tell them that Jessalyn’s dying to sing. I’ve been telling everyone.

Something about her man, and getting off her man would be good.
It would need to be a country song, I think.

Definitely. Maybe a duet between the two of you.
Oooh, that’d be good! I would like that. I would really enjoy that. I’m going to have to start thinking about that.

Sounds good. And what were you like in high school?
You know, I never know quite how to answer that question, because I did a little bit of everything. I don’t think I necessarily fit into one particular group and to one clique. I did the cheerleader thing, I was a cheerleader, so I was a part of that group. But also, I was a total nerd. I loved math. And I would do the little math competitions that we had at school. And we didn’t have a drama department, but we had this small group where you’d go and compete doing monologues and stuff so I was also in that group. So I did a ton of different stuff, which really didn’t make me feel like I was a part of one particular group, but sort of a part of many.

Well that’s good.
Yeah, I guess that’s good. I guess I was well-rounded.

Do you relate to any of the characters — any of the kids in the Glee club specifically?
Well I guess in that way, I can kind of identify with all of them a little bit. I wasn’t a Rachel character, but I definitely had ambition. I think she’s the extreme of what ambitious kids might feel like. And I feel like there are kind of extremes with a few of the kids. I guess I had ambition, I knew I wanted to do something different. I didn’t know if it was possible at the time, but I knew that I kind of had that drive. But also, I did want to try and fit in with some of the kids at school, like being a cheerleader is all about trying to fit in a little, and be a part of that world. So I think I probably identify with a few of them, but not one in particular.

Your character gives out some crazy advice, like telling Finn and Rachel to wear sunglasses.
Right. (laughs) That’s great advice, come on!

(laughs) Well, I mean that does make you cool!
(laughs) It just shows how cool she was in high school.

Have you ever gotten or given out really crazy advice like that?
That’s a good question. (laughs) Let me think…I don’t know. I try to steer clear of giving people advice. I kind of think that can get you into trouble. That’s probably the best answer I can give you there.

And do you have a favorite moment from filming so far?
Actually, I’ve only had one small scene with him, but I really enjoyed working with Chris [Colfer]. We have a scene where he kind of vomited on my shoes. You didn’t really see the vomit happen, but I just really enjoy being around him, and I think he’s a phenomenal actor. And actually, there’s some stuff that hasn’t aired yet. It’s more towards the end, but I have a few more scenes with all the kids together. And that was really fun. They’re a really fun, unique bunch of kids to be around. When you’re in a big group like that, it’s rare that you get to have a big scene with that many actors. And they’re all so different and so unique that actually I found that to be a lot of fun, because there’s always something that you’re kind of seeing differently when you have that many good actors around you. So they’re really great to be around, those kids.

And can you give a little teaser for what’s coming up? I know you can’t spoil too much.
Well, Emma does get more involved with the Glee Club. I guess it’s a couple episodes away. She does gets more involved, so that’s a little teaser.

And you returned to Heroes quite recently. You had an episode centered around your character. Do you think you’ll be returning again?
I don’t know. That’s hard to say. I’m contracted to work with Glee, so technically I can’t really do any more of the Heroes episodes. But whether or not that happens a season away, maybe I go back. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with that character. I really don’t know. But I love working with them. I love that show, and I really love that character Charlie. I was really excited to go back and do another episode with them.

Thank you so much.
Thank you. You had some really good questions. I promise to have an answer for that bad advice question next time.

Be sure to tune in tonight for an all new episode of Glee at 9 pm on FOX!