Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/461140
flibuster…. I was just so impressed by her and awed by her stamina and fortitude. I was curious about who this woman is. She resonated with me because she's a Texas woman: Obviously, I spent a lot of time in Texas and have grown to really love the place, and I played a Texas woman. To see this woman, who demonstrates so many of the qualities and values I admire about Southern, and in particular Texas, women—was really exciting. During that time there were a lot of parallels between Tami Taylor, the character I played on Friday Night Lights, and Wendy Davis. Even though she didn't win this election, I think she's going to be a powerful force in the world. It's too bad that politics is so divisive, because as a woman and a role model, she's exceptional. Why do you think women related so strongly and personally to the character of Tami? It's astounding to me and incredibly humbling and fattering. It still blows me away when people tell me what that character meant to them. It's a great reminder that we can create stories that can impact people and make them think about their lives. To be able to play a role that genuinely sinks into the core of the audience and leaves an impression is an honor. I couldn't have done it without all the great people I worked with, including Kyle Chandler. I feel fortunate that I was able to play this character who, without hitting anybody over the head, became a role model. She did that by being human, making mistakes, and trying to live the best life she could while taking into account the world around her and never discounting her own femininity or humanity. Now on Nashville, you have another strong female character; did you have specifc goals of what you wanted to do with Rayna? We all have stars we look up to, so it is exciting to play a character who is a star like that and [expose] her humanity. I want to play the faws and the great, powerful moments and the weaknesses and the strengths. Being able to play a character who is a country music star is thrilling and a huge challenge because I had never played anything like that. I hadn't sung since my early 20s in a real Off-Off-Broadway setting. Friday Night Lights was such a perfect and complete experience, so after that, I did go through a little bit of a crisis. I thought, What am I going to do now? How am I going to top that? And the answer was that whatever I did next, I wanted it to feel challenging, like I was stepping out of my comfort zone. American Horror Story, which I did in between FNL and Nashville, did that for me because it was such a different genre. When Nashville came along, I thought, I'm going to be stretching some new muscles; here we go. It's scary to do that, and it's been challenging and rewarding—that's what happens when you take risks. It's been really fun to explore the larger-than-life aspect of Rayna, but also to try fnding very subtle human aspects of her character. What's next for you? It takes 10 months out of the year to shoot Nashville, so I only have a couple of free months over the summer. I have been cocreating and producing a show [for Showtime Networks] that I'm hoping to do as my next project. I'm also a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. Since I majored in Chinese in college and studied in China for a while, people would say, "What are you doing with that? Are you going to be an ambassador?" [Laughs] So in many ways, it's a dream come true. I've always wanted to parlay the work I'm doing into something that can be useful on a larger scale. AW 80 AUSTINWAY.com