Arrive - January/February 2014

58 Arrıve • January/February 2014 • arrivemagazine.com previous page and right: chad griffith
as a doe-eyed, cold-blooded killer? the pro-
ducers pondered that idea a moment. they had
not seen it coming, but they quickly agreed:
she could be perfect.

at the time, in late 2011, russell was home in Brooklyn, having just given birth to her second child. she started receiving calls from people she respected in the entertainment industry, encouraging her to check out The Americans’ script. her response was always the same: “i’m nursing.” But her colleagues persisted, and eventually she looked at the story. the lead female character, elizabeth, was far from the perfect wife and mother. she spent the mornings packing lunches for her children and then seduced or bullied men in the evening. russell, 37, was intrigued. she liked that her character was unlike what is often expected of her on-screen. the deceptive, cold, serious role was indeed the perfect fit for this chapter in her career.

“it has been one of the most fun things i’ve done,” russell says. “Who knew i would enjoy playing the bad person so much?”

SUBVERTING A STEREOTYPE

it is a rare feat for an actor playing a well-known tv character to then play a completely different character, let alone be equally or more beloved for the second one. Breaking Bad’s Bryan cranston is one of the few who have pulled it off, after years on the sitcom

Malcolm in the Middle; and russell is another example of someone who successfully overcame such typecasting. during her 21-year career, she has continued to reinvent herself, evolving from the girl- to her current incarnation as the spy-next-door.

in 1998, the Mickey Mouse Club alum broke through as the title character in the show Felicity. then 22, russell attended the fictional university of new York and gained a devoted following of fans over the next four years. Entertainment Weekly has since ranked felicity porter 24th on its list of “the 100 greatest characters of the Last 20 Years,” ahead of such pop culture favorites as forrest gump, ron Burgundy and elmo. russell had hit the jackpot, but her success also presented her next acting challenge: she was so believable as felicity that viewers and casting directors wanted to see more of that adorable personality.

“there is a reason actors get typecast in holly wood, and it often has nothing to do with the range of the actor,” says Matt Zoller seitz, a tv critic for Ne w York magazine and a contributor to rogerebert.com. “any actor that is good enough to land a recurring role on a television show is good enough to play any part. But casting directors are afraid of getting fired and they think, ‘ Who can i put in this role that is reasonably good enough to do it and i won’t screw up and won’t get hired again?’ and the answer is, the person who has always played that role.”

WHEN THE AMERICANS’ PRODUCERS sat around the boardroom table at the FX offices in Los Angeles and brainstormed potential actresses for the lead role in the show, they knew they had a tough job: Pick someone who could portray a cutthroat KGB spy yet be someone the audience roots for. They kept looking over the same list, unable to settle on a name. No one knew what to do. Suddenly, FX president John Landgraf broke the silence.