It seems that all over ‘The Good Wife’ is getting good press and it has won a Peabody Award along with multiple Emmys. So when Carrie was joining the cast in Season One did she know that this show was going to be success or did she have a different feeling about it?
“I was a fan of it from day one. I know Julianna Margulies – we did a play together about seven years ago. So, she was a friend, and I started watching it for her. I liked it immediately. I had wanted and hoped to go on the show in some capacity. At the end of the first season, when they asked me to play this incredible role, I was really excited. At that point, the show had found its audience and was turning into a hit. I didn’t do any of the second season at all, so I thought, “all right, that was it. I and a great time. I played a fun part.” and then when they came back and asked me to do those episodes last season, I was just thrilled.”
So how would Carrie describe her character?
“I guess maybe I would use the word “dizzy.” I would say that she’s brilliant; her mind works very quickly – like quicksilver – and her mouth and her body are always trying to keep up with her mind. That’s what makes her so fun to play.”
So has she ever played a lawyer before?? And if she did how did those roles help her get Elsbeth down?
“No, I’ve never played a character quite like her. I’ve never even really seen a character like that. She’s pretty singular, which makes it more exciting – and I think it’s fun for the writers, too, to add that spice to the mix. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever played a lawyer… I did, yes. I played one on Arrested Development in one of their last episodes, but that was a totally different character from Elsbeth. I don’t imagine there are very many lawyers like her on any of your typical lawyer shows. That’s what makes The Good Wife so interesting: they give all the judges and lawyers and defendants and guest stars very specific characters. You get the sense that they have whole lives outside of these circumstances. That’s a wonderful and amazing thing to be able to achieve in such a small number of scenes. I think that’s why so many actors are scrambling to try to be on the show.”
So Carrie and her husband Michael Emerson have appeared in a bunch of different project working together. Carrie played his mother on Lost and his ex-fiance on Person of Interest. Plus they both were in Straight-Jacket; Ready? OK! which was a stage production of A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters.
“We did, yeah. That was just a one-off benefit reading of Love Letters. But we met doing a production of Hamlet eighteen years ago at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Since then we’ve done a production of Measure for Measure, another totally different production of Hamlet, an independent film called The Journey – so, we’ve done a lot of things together over the years. Plus, I’ve just recently done a couple more episodes of Person of Interest.”
So do the two try and work together as much as possible?
“If it works out, yeah. A lot of times, it’s not up to us – you know, it’s up to whoever is producing and directing. But we enjoy it very much. I have a production company, and I’ve put him in movies that I’ve produced or directed. [laughs] I like to take advantage of his talents and his visibility.”
So since she has worked on the stage, film and TV which one does she prefer to work on?
“Well, right now, I’m really enjoying the TV and film work. I haven’t done a play in seven years now, so there must be something about doing work for the camera that I’m really enjoying. I think part of it was that I did theater for so long. I started doing plays in my hometown – community theater plays when I was eight or nine years old. Once I started getting the opportunity to do film and TV, I found that it was very fulfilling and also something that I had – and still have – a lot to learn about and from. I think that’s what keeps me wanting to go back to it. That’s certainly what’s kept me behind the camera as a director and producer: figuring out how this huge jigsaw puzzle works. There are so many moving pieces that are utilized to create this thing that we watch on TV and so blithely click on and off or change channels from one to the other. The more work I do behind the camera, the more I realize how much work goes into every single thing that’s being flipped through your remote control as you’re sitting in front of the TV…”
So when did she want to start directing?
“I took a filmmaking course – a five-week intensive – about twelve years ago now. That was when I started getting interested in it and messing around with it. I directed my first feature in 2003. My producing partner wrote the script and starred in it. There are three of us in my production company. We basically crewed it ourselves, lit it ourselves, shot it ourselves, edited it ourselves. It was a good crash course in how to make movies. We’ve been trying to slowly build on that. Our latest effort just came out in theaters. It’s called That’s What She Said.”
It’s good to see Carrie doing a lot of different projects. This just shows us how versatile of an actress she is. What did you guys think about the roles Carrie has done in the past?? What do you want to see her do next? Feel free to let us know below. You can also read the rest of the interview here.
Source: Buzzine.com – “TV INTERVIEW: CARRIE PRESTON”
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images