7 November 1998
|
Isn't she lovely?
Playing the lovable FELICITY is no stretch for KERI RUSSELL The way Keri Russell tells it, there was one tiny sticking point when she was offered the title role on Felicity. Sure, the show looked great on paper, but Russell - although only 22 - had already been a supporting player on two other short-lived series (Daddy's Girls, Malibu Shores). If Felicity suffered a similar fate, she was worried her career could go down with the ship. "Seriously, I was really worried about that," says Russell, looking gorgeous even after a long day of interviews. "If the show went bad, I would really look bad because I'm the main character. If it bombed, people would say, 'That Keri Russell series was really bad.' Who needs that kind of pressure? But I think I made the right choice." Viewers would agree. Since debuting this fall, Felicity has shot out of the gate to become one of the season's first breakout hits. The critical raves are unanimous and almost all credit the show's appeal to Russell's presence. For those who haven't seen it, Felicity casts Russell as a precocious young college freshman set loose in New York. Between classes, she spends her time alternately rapping with her dorm supervisor-emotional mentor Noel (Scott Foley) and shyly trying to make a connection with Ben (Toronto-raised Scott Speedman), a former high-school classmate who's the object of her unrequited affections. "It's such a joy to play someone like Felicity," says Russell. "I don't think she's naive, per se. But all of a sudden she's in the middle of New York and there's so much going on in her life. But she's in control; she's not in over her head." What separates Felicity from other teen-themed shows - like Beverly Hills 90210 or Sweet Valley High - is the approach taken by creators J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. From the start, both men were adamant that Felicity not be a perfectly-written, flawless character. They wanted viewers to watch her grow. "The drama of the show," says Reeves, "is Felicity will be making different mistakes because she's still becoming a formed person, and she's still going through all these things and that's how she learns... The way that she responds to mistakes she makes, that's her growth." And unlike the starlets on 90210, Felicity is not your typically glamorous teen TV character - which is just what Russell loves about her. "I love the fact she doesn't wear makeup, has baggy clothes and has her hair stuffed into a ponytail," she says. "Most young girls out there look like her - not like the girls on Baywatch. I think it's a positive thing to see someone like her who's smart and funny and can still be a basketcase sometimes. She's human. They can finally see someone who's like them." Since Felicity started production earlier this year, Russell has been fully encouraged to make suggestions to scripts and dialogue, and was even allowed input into the show's musical score. In the pilot, at least a few songs heard are actually Russell's selections. "No kidding," she says. "I gave a little tape of my favorite songs to the producers. And how cool that they were open to that. They were totally interested in my ideas." The most impressive thing about meeting Russell in person is realizing how down to earth she is - just like Felicity. Even her approach to the whole showbiz scene is low-key. Born in Fountain Valley, Calif., she was one of three kids and spent much of her formative years studying dance. The notion of becoming a child star was the furthest thing from her mind. "I was never one of those kids with a stage mother - 'OK, honey, you go in there and knock them out!' I just wanted to keep dancing and studying dance." Russell's dance experience brought her to an audition for the Disney Channel's series remake of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1991. She got the job and in short order was living at Walt Disney World in Orlando, where the series was taped. "Pretty exciting for a 16-year-old," she says. "Plus, we got to go on rides for free." A year later, she received her first feature film role, in the comedy Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. And although she wasn't dancing as much anymore, the dance lessons helped her learn to act. "Absolutely," she says. "Just having that self-discipline from dance helped me a lot. After all, acting is really all choreography and timing." Following Honey, Russell became a sought-after TV commodity. In 1994, she was cast as Dudley Moore's daughter on the short-lived CBS sitcom Daddy's Girls. "I was definitely the rookie, but I learned a lot working with people like Dudley Moore, in terms of comedic timing. He says anything and it's funny." Two years later, she was cast in the glitzy prime-time soap Malibu Shores, which came from Aaron Spelling's production company. "There's something really unique about an Aaron Spelling show," says Russell diplomatically. "He totally knows his audience and he has this system he uses over and over. Felicity is a different approach. There's less fantasy - a lot less fantasy." Clearly, that's the world to which Russell herself belongs. Some of her favorite scenes on Felicity, for example, are those with Foley, who, as Noel, is the first person to offer Felicity advice or a shoulder to cry on. "Isn't he the greatest guy?" she sighs. "A lot of my friends are just like Noel. I think I'm personally drawn to people like him. I mean, who wouldn't be?" The main attraction, she continues, is that Noel "knows exactly who he is. He has this great line - it just broke my heart - in one episode. They're all going to some party, and Noel say to Felicity, 'Wow, you look really nice.' So she tells him he looks handsome, and Noel says, 'Oh, you had to say that. But you know what? I feel handsome.' Only Noel could say that and get away with it. It was so sweet." Similarly, the realism factor on Felicity was expressed in a scene in the pilot in which Felicity's manipulative parents try to coerce her to attend prep school by offering mom's car as bait - while a bewildered Felicity looks on. "That's reality," she says. "I have friends whose parents are just like that. They want to mould their kids, but they can't. I guess I'm lucky because my parents were never like that." Away from Felicity, Russell has a major role in the upcoming feature Mad About Mambo, due out next year, in which she plays a young Irish dancer who teaches an awkward soccer star (William Ash) how to dance, in order to help him with his game. "Ireland was so gorgeous," she says. "I only wish I could have been a bit less focused on work, because it's so beautiful. I was stuck in a studio in the middle of Dublin most of the time. Some day I just wanted to take off and sightsee and roam those green hills." For now, though, Russell plans on being consumed by Felicity, which has so far translated into 15-16 hour work days. Still, it's easy to believe her when she says it's a labor of love. In fact, she's not even worried about the inevitable fact she's going to become a role model for millions of young women. "That's a huge responsibility," she says earnestly, "but what's great about this show is that Felicity actually is a good role model. She is true to herself and considers other people first. I don't have to change her one bit." |