Interview with Julie Ann Emery

August 10, 2017 | Julie Ann Emery plays Lara Featherstone in the current third season of the AMC series "Preacher", which is available at Amazon Video in Germany. We talked to Julie Ann Emery about her part in "Preacher" and also about her time on "Better Call Saul" and "Fargo".

Foto: Julie Ann Emery - Copyright: Ryan West
Julie Ann Emery
© Ryan West
Note: © myFanbase 2017 - The interview is exclusive to myFanbase and may not be published on other websites or the like. You may share the first two questions (up to 180 words) if you link back to this site. Translations other than English and German may be posted with full credit including the link to this site.

On Preacher every character has their very own relationship to faith and god. What is your character's take on that?

Featherstone is incredibly devout. I would go so far as to say she is a zealot. Serving The Grail means she lives her entire life devoted to setting the world back on a path to God. She even thinks of herself as one of the good guys, as so many zealots do. There is no line she will not cross, no method or tactic she will not use in service to her mission and the cause of The Grail. She carries around a great intensity.

In the comics your character clashes a lot with Jesse. How was it working with Dominic Cooper?

Dominic in real life is a love of a person. He is kind and considerate, tends to look out for others on set. And he is a very dedicated scene partner. He also totes around one of his cameras all day and shoots photos of whatever artistically strikes his fancy.

What about Lara Featherstone intrigued you the most when auditioning for this role?

Everything about Featherstone intrigued me. The zealotry for the cause is intriguing enough on it's own. But this chameleon like ability she has in her undercover work, the ability to so fully become another person entirely in order to achieve her mission, that is thrilling to play as an actor. One of my first thoughts when I read the script was, "Oh wow, she seems more like a normal person when she is undercover than she does as real life Featherstone". And that continues to be true as the Season plays out.
She is one of those rare fascinating female characters. When those come along you jump at the chance.

Foto: Julie Ann Emery - Copyright: Ryan West
Julie Ann Emery
© Ryan West

You played Betsy Kettleman in the first season of "Better Call Saul", and now again for a little special to the current third season of the show. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould said that the parts of Betsy and her husband Craig became much bigger after you and Jeremy Shamos took over the parts. Can you talk a little bit about this process, your collaboration and what makes the Kettlemans so special.

Vince directed our first episode. And during that first scene in the diner with me, Jeremy Shamos, and Bob Odenkirk, we actually did a lot of digging into the characters. There was a lot of character exploration that first day. What we dug up, intrigued the writers and they decided to run with it. Truthfully we are so lucky that they were willing to do that. It never happens on TV because you shoot everything so fast. I am forever grateful.

I think what makes The Kettlemans interesting is that they are broadly drawn characters, I mean their logic sort of lives on another plane from the rest of us. But at the end of the day they are a family who loves each other. And will obviously do anything for each other. As frustrating and whacky as the Kettlemans might be, that family love continually grounds them and brings them back to a world that is relatable.

I cherish the time I got to spend on the Better Call Saul set. It was one of the most creatively and personally rewarding experiences of my career.


How did you feel reprising the role for the current special? How did that come about, and is there a chance for Betsy (and Craig) to come back to the show?

It was such a joy to get the Kettle-family back together for the No Picnic short. Thank you Acura for sponsoring our family reunion! I eagerly jumped at the chance to get back into Betsy's headspace and be on screen with Jeremy Shamos again. The entire day felt like a big family reunion. Jenn Caroll directed, Ariel Levine wrote the script, Vince Gilligan even stopped by to give hugs and see how we were getting on.

In terms a chance of seeing The Kettlemans again, they aren't dead, so I will hold out hope that we haven't seen the last of Betsy and Craig.


What we saw of Betsy, is it how you pictured her life since we last saw her?

What you see is a tiny sliver of Betsy's life since Season 1. And I think a version where you see her making the best of things. Betsy doesn't work. They put her husband in jail and took away her money. I imagine life has been incredibly hard for Betsy since Craig went to prison. Particularly since she is so aware of appearances.

You also worked with Bob Odenkirk in the first season of "Fargo". Can you talk a little bit about this experience and your time with the "Fargo" cast and crew?

I did have the great pleasure of working with Bob Odenkirk on FARGO. Season 1 of FARGO was unlike anything I had ever done. The cast was off the hook great. Character actors I have admired for years. When we started, the conventional wisdom was that doing a TV series about FARGO was a terrible idea. The cast jumped on because they loved the writing and the characters. So everyone was wildly dedicated, always prepared, and wonderfully nice. It was one of those experiences you hope you remember forever. Noah Hawley really created something special with FARGO.

You're very active on Twitter, where you very authentically show your passion for your profession, your past and present roles, but also about current politics. Does this come with a price, as a woman (especially when you post something feminist) on such an open platform? How do you feel about the platform Twitter and social media in general?

I like Twitter. I like Instagram even better (though I think I am better on Twitter). I do wander into gender politics a bit on Twitter. And I tend to call for Civility in politics across the board. I think of social media as a place to advocate for things you believe in or love. If I can be a cheerleader for more female directors, producers and writers, for gender balance in all professions, I will do that. Yes there is sometimes a cost. But we have talked over drinks and behind closed doors enough about what it is like to be a woman in the business or walking around in the world. It's time for these issues to see the clear light of day. If you are a woman on social media, just be sure to empower yourself. Know how to report, mute, block inappropriate folks. And if you get into a debate, keep it civil and open minded. Go for winning hearts and minds instead of venting your anger.

In one of the "Better Call Saul" podcasts you talked about hiking with your husband. Is that still your hobby? If so, what was your last tour?

YES! My husband and I love to hike! We tend to do day hikes in whatever part of the world we are working in. The last great trek was in The Grand Tetons over Paintbrush Divide (incredibly challenging and GORGEOUS). We are currently in the planning stages to hike Half Dome in Yosemite and are planning a trip to Scotland to hike the West Highland Way.

Thank you so much for making time for us!

My pleasure!


Cindy Scholz and Nicola Porschen - myFanbase



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