J E S S I C A C A P S H A W
INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY BY { John Russo
PRODUCED BY { Photohouse Productions
HAIR BY { Xavier Velasquez for A-frame Agency
MAKEUP BY { Archangela Chelsea for Tomlinson Agency
STYLING { Cat Pope for The Wall Group
LOCATION { Los Angeles California
JR: Are you in New York?
JC: I am, and we are now getting our spring, and it is amazing every single day. I have lived everywhere – I am originally from the Midwest and then New York and then Los Angeles and then back again and all of that stuff. I did a straight run in Los Angeles long enough to forget the magic of all four seasons. I completely overlooked spring. To me, it used to be the thing in between winter and summer and I could skip right over it. Now, every single day, my kids laugh at me because I am like “that green was not there yesterday! (laughter).” And the next day I will be like “that was not there either!” I am really enjoying having all these seasons. Winter was rough this year. It was long and there was a lot of snow.
JR: Yes I do not miss the cold weather at all.
JR: So let’s dive right in! What initially attracted you to join the cast of 9-1-1: Nashville?
JC: Originally, the hot take was the Ryan Murphy of it all. That, as well as it not being very often that you get to sort of know that something’s been tested and liked. Normally you are starting from scratch and you hope it works. But with it being a franchise and knowing how passionate people were about the original 9-11 and then Lonestar, it was kind of comforting to join something where the water is warm, that people are interested in this and we had the opportunity to create something new, but in a world that we know seems to work.
JR: I have to say the whole 9-1-1: Nashville franchise is very cool. It’s like every single episode takes you somewhere in terms of the suspense & drama. I think it’s super fun, I love it, It’s one of the best things on TV. A total escape.
JC: I think we are living in a time where that is being very well received. I think like anything, not to be a total movie/theater/stage nerd, that we move through times where different things hit in more successful ways. I think right now, for many reasons, we are living in a time where the hyper real is comforting because like you said, it’s just such an escape. So watching the episodes, they are so hyper real, but they all are grounded in some original and real story but made TV-worthy I guess. (laughs) But it’s like these have happened, but you just can’t believe it.
JR: So how does your role on the show challenge you in ways that differ from your previous television work?
JC: This season was almost over, we had almost finished shooting the whole season, but I didn’t realize it until we got picked up for a second season. I did a bunch of failed pilots and my longest running jobs on series, I joined when it was already working. So for me, the greatest challenge was creating a whole new world. We were all in the same boat and it took a ton of teamwork and getting things right and getting things wrong and then figuring out how to redo them or live with the fact that they weren’t exactly what you wanted. But as we move on, we are going to know that that curve ball is coming at us. So I think the challenge was creating something from scratch.
JR: Is this your first kind of full time series? No?
JC: No. I mean from episode one, yes. But for me, I joined the David Kelley show “The Practice” in Season 5, I think, back in the day. But then when I joined Grey’s, I think I joined Season 5 to 14. So, it was already going.
JR: So these emergency response dramas often balance high stakes action with emotional storytelling. How do you personally prepare for scenes that require both?
JC: Honestly, I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I’m like, you just have to be game. We had an episode where my character ends up getting thrown off a horse and trekking through the wilderness. There’s falls and there’s tumbles and this and that. There was no way to prepare for it, except just show up and be ready and literally fall on a pile of horseshit if necessary. You just kind of have to go with it, you know what I mean? It’s like there was all the preparation of being ready for the day, which obviously includes being on time, the preparation, the learning of lines, all that. It helped to be ready but also to be nimble. We move fast too, we do a lot and we move fast.
JR: So you just kind of wing it and do it.
JC: It’s a little more than winging it, but you have strong convictions that are very loosely held, because you are not sure where it’s going to go, right? So that’s the part that makes it kind of exciting.
JR: So what has surprised you the most about working on a show centered around first responders in crisis situations?
JC: The thing that’s surprised me is how much I am enjoying not being a first responder on the show. (laughs) I get to work and they are all coming out with their gear and they are sweaty or they are freezing or they are whatever and they are on ropes and doing stunts, and I am thinking that I am so glad that that’s not me. I get pulled into a couple of the shenanigans but for the most part, I get to sidestep that and I really enjoy that.
JR: Being a first responder must be the most mentally and physically challenging careers and the stuff that you see, how do you not take that home with you and think about your workday, how do you turn that off, to me, that would be the most mentally taxing aspect.
JC: Yes.
JR: Can you share a memorable moment from the set so far that really captured the spirit of the show?
JC: I think it was the last scene shot of the season, but we didn’t always go in order, so we didn’t stay on one episode at a time. And at the very end of the season, we owed this one scene. We did eighteen episodes and we owed a scene from episode twelve or thirteen. The weather had completely changed so our costumes probably didn’t make much sense, it was freezing cold and we were not in jackets. We had to go back and shoot this one scene but pretty much all of us were in it. We were freezing cold, it was the end of the season, we had all come to know and love each other and we just got through it, in a way that we probably wouldn’t have in the same way if it had been the beginning of the season. But because we’ve earned the relationships that we all had, there we were just freezing our butts off, but we were happy to celebrate succeeding and getting a season under our belts and creating the thing. And we don’t have complainers, we don’t have any, it’s really fantastic, we don’t have any complainers on our team.
JR: So your cast is camaraderie at best, everyone is cool, fun, and loves their job for the most part.
JC: Yes, they really do.
JR: I love to hear that, that you get to go work in an environment where everybody is nice. So looking back on your career journey, what experiences have best prepared you for where you are today?
JC: I think being on a show like Grey’s for ten years, you get comfortable being ready for anything. That’s something that I know I didn’t have when I started. I wasn’t comfortable with anything being thrown my way. I thought I always had to be prepared, know what I’m doing, and check my boxes, and that because I am the oldest daughter in my family, I get it all right and blah, blah, blah. Now, I am far more comfortable having things be looser and being ready for anything.
JR: The acting industry has changed significantly with streaming and social media. What shifts have you noticed most from an actor’s perspective?
JC: I don’t know if it’s from an actor’s perspective or it’s actually from a consumer perspective. As an actor, I think the work is the work, right? And you go do the work. But from the consumer perspective, I think it’s just been that you have just such incredible variety now. And it’s so diversified. Which is great but also confusing. Now when you sit down to watch something, you don’t even know where to start. There used to be this, however many channels there were, plus you started getting bonus cable channels and now it’s like I mean, just the sky is the limit, it’s like where do you even go, what’s the hub?
JR: So social media… I always find this interesting when I talk with actors about social media, a lot of actors think it’s a curse and a lot of actors think it’s a blessing. And obviously some people think it’s a combination of both. Where do you fall on that line?
JC: It depends on what lens you are looking through. The way that I choose to look at it is that it is a platform where you can engage with people who somehow found you. There is something about what you are putting out that they are interested in. So they sign up for your updates, if you will. My mind and my heart goes to, how do you create content that’s joyful? And content that gives people who signed up to follow you a sneak peek or a window inside what the other eyes would only see. In that way, I really enjoy it. It brings me joy and I hope that it brings people who follow it joy. I don’t really engage in anything besides it. And yeah, I do think another aspect of it is that it is a layer of work. I think that’s not the same as if I were looking at it through the lens of someone who wanted to share my photos with my friends or my family. It’s a little more intentional and tailored to that. But I think it’s interesting. Then again, as a consumer, my algorithm is hilarious to us because we watch the reels and we get stupid pet tricks and “Get Ready With Me”s and we find it fun. But most of the time it’s humorous, so again, it brings us joy. But if I find a different algorithm it might be different, I don’t know.
JR: And as you said, you choose to engage or not, it’s not like someone is twisting your arm, you turn it on or turn it off whenever you want it.
JC: Yes. I do think that that’s true, except for when people get level 10 addicted, which I probably does happen. But yeah, I don’t feel pressure to and I look at it this way: if it ceases to be additive, then I would not engage in it. I think it’s additive right now, but if it ever started to be draining, or a burden or a chore, or awful, then I would not do it.
JR: Sometimes it does feel really good when you see these amazing positive comments about what you are doing, so that aspect of it for me I think is beautiful.
JC: Oh yes, I agree. I say to my girls all the time, because obviously they look and they don’t have social media accounts but they are likely to, if things stay the same then they are going to end up with them. So they look at comments and they are like “mom, they are all positive and they are this and that” and I am like yes. That’s great and that absolutely fills me up, but if that is true then the other has to be true as well, so if there were negative comments I would have to consider, would I be believing them as much as I am believing the positive comments? I think that is the balance, and that is the part that I think is hard to navigate on an emotional level, because the validation does feel so yummy and wonderful but there’s another side to it and if you are not getting it, then great, but if you are then I would be like, throw that baby out with the bathwater.
JR: I know we talked about the rise of the streaming platforms. How do you think they have influenced the kinds of roles and stories available to actors today?
JC: I don’t know. I feel like that’s more of a creator question, because I don’t really know. It’s definitely above my pay grade to understand how the systems work and what’s in demand and what does well. From an actor’s standpoint, I think it’s interesting and I get so excited to hear this stuff. But the artist in me is like “oh, this is terrible.” But we live in a world now where you can actually measure and ascertain how well things are doing in real time. It’s no longer some random Nielsen box somewhere, now they are able to genuinely understand how many downloads and how many eyes and what the age demo is of those eyes and what kind of things that person buys and how to advertise to them and everything else. It gets much more, forensic? You can mine for how it’s landing in a way that you couldn’t before. So my guess is that it’s all such an experiment, and I am sure it’s additive in some ways and that in other ways it really robs everybody from just letting something breathe, like creating a season of a show and not necessarily knowing every step that you take, how it’s landing on people.
JR: Yeah like old school back in the day.
JC: Exactly right. You would do a show… and you didn’t know what the weather would be like next Tuesday.
JR: What advice would you give aspiring actors trying to break into the film industry during this rapidly evolving time?
JC: There’s two sides of the coin, and it seems there’s far more opportunity to number one: create your own content if that turns you on. Number two: if you want to not create but just take part in it, it seems far easier to get yourself out there. That being said, that means that there’s now more voices in the room and it’s hard to rise above them. So I think that ultimately my old school analog advice would be to focus on your own race. Do what turns you on, focus on your work and then see where that takes you. Make big choices, be bold, be you and see what happens.
JR: That is so true, I love the idea of creating your own vehicles, especially like with the I phones being so incredible, you see people that do a feature film with an I phone and I think creating your own vehicles to me is one of the best things ever that technology has brought. So I love that.
JC: Yeah, I agree.
JR: As you continue this new chapter, what types of roles and stories are you most excited to explore in the future?
JC: I love my job so much right now, I really enjoy the people that I work with, and I love telling these stories. Every script is a surprise and that keeps me on my toes and excited to do my job. That has made me realize that I really want to focus on the present, and I just want to be where I am. I commute to Nashville so there’s a level of being on-the-go during the season, and then I am in full mom mode when I am home so I am present in that and then I get out my wheelie bag, (laughs) and I head to the airport and then I am in actor mode. Being present does definitely limit your awareness. For me, being present makes me feel really full right now. I did used to be very future forward and I missed out on the present. So, I am sort of in that mode right now. I am kind of not thinking about the future. I am trying.
JR: At the end of the day, all we have is now, when you really think about it.
JC: Yeah, that is very, very true. You get one life.
JR: I must say you are a very kind person and confirmed everything I had heard about you.
JC: Awww, thank you. It fills my cup and for me, it’s just the way to be. We get these moments and ultimately, I think with what we do, you could be under the impression that we are all just showing up voluntarily and we are all just magical friends, but you always have to remember that you are on a job. We all came together in that studio that day to do a job. You could show up lots of different ways, and you have so much experience so you have seen all the different kinds of ways, and I just feel like showing up with positivity and showing up ready and nimble is really the way for me. I don’t want to do it a different way. I don’t want the stress, I don’t want the inflexibility, I don’t want the “oh my gosh, I have to, I don’t have to” – I get to. I get to be on a television show, I get to go have beautiful photos taken and I get to talk to you today and now I get to go pick up my kids from school in a minute. (laughs) I get to do all these things. And is life hard? Yes, really hard sometimes, but if you don’t enjoy this part, then what are we here for?
JR: I adore you, keep shining bright my dear!
To learn more about Jessica follow her @jessicacapshaw