Emmanuelle Vaugier – Millennial Mafia

By starrymag | August 27, 2020

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) We are currently seeing you in “Millennial Mafia” out now on IMBDTV. It seems like the series was shot a little while ago, but it is just being released.

 

A) We shot it about a year and a half ago, almost two years ago, and they were shopping it around.  I am not sure exactly what happened, but now the time presented itself.  Now was sort of the perfect opportunity to have something new content streaming since there really isn’t much new stuff out there. It kind of worked out perfectly that way.

 

Q) Francesca is a no-nonsense boss who knows how to get her way. How was she originally described and broken down when you first read the script?

 

A) Basically, that was in essence what I was told.  She is no-nonsense and she is someone to be reckoned with and not to be messed with who holds a lot of power in her line of work.  Yet not without a sense of humor and a high level of manipulation with the way she operates, but definitely no nonsense.

 

Q)  Not only is there a lot of attitude and energy with her, so much of your delivery has a lot to do with the boss woman that we see. Talk about the choices you made crafting her and how playing off of the other cast really also helped to form this character as well?

 

A) Honestly, when you start working on a character before stepping on set you do all of the sort of homework beforehand. But once you walk on set and you have another actor in front of you and you are feeding off of that person things can change.  It’s never what you expect it to be.  Sometimes it is but that’s part of the fun.  The moment you step on to set all of the work that you did goes out the window.  It’s there, you have it, but it’s not something I am actively thinking about.  It’s in me and I walk in open to whatever the situation presents.  Because sometimes they might change the location of what you thought was going on to happen in a bedroom and in a storage locker or in a kitchen or whatever.  You don’t know.  And that changes the dynamic of the scene, too.  So, you just have to be as prepared as you can be and just role with the punches on the day and have fun with it.

 

Q) “Millennial Mafia” is a dark comedy, how does the series with the writing and tone balance both aspects without making it tip too much on either side while exploring its intended themes?

 

A) I think the humor is so witty and smart.  The way that it was written is very clever and funny.  I remember first reading the script and I was laughing.  I don’t laugh out loud often, even when I am reading comedies.  Not because some of them aren’t funny. It’s just it’s like okay that’s funny, but there were actual laugh out loud moments for me reading that script.  I was like this is great.  I think it’s a credit to good writing and being able to balance the tones in the series and having it all work seamlessly together.  I don’t know. It was just such a cleverly written script and I was just really excited when I read it.  I hadn’t laughed like that at something in quite some time.  So, I got very excited.

 

Q) Francesca is tasked with tutoring these young adults after their mob family is incarcerated. What are some of the hard lessons she has learned that she imparts?

 

A) I think a lot of it is respect and follow through and show up when you say you’re going to and do the job you are going to do and if you don’t there are consequences.

 

Q) The characters we see continually have such a gradient to them and a deep complexity. There is perpetually so many shades developing and twists that adds to the dramedy. Where do Francesca’s colors guide her throughout the season?

 

A) I think a lot of that part of it has to do with the writing.  A lot of that stuff was on the page which was really nice.  Then, you kind of mesh it with who you are and what I feel my strengths are that I can bring to the character and letting that play out on set.  We were lucky to have such a great cast, and everyone brought their A game.  Everybody had that complexity and different gradients of their characters. I think that just added that much more to the series as a whole and it also helps whoever your scene partner is.  You feed off that and that only helps you as well, which is really nice.

 

Q) Quite often we see female characters like Francesca who are ambitious get labeled bitches for knowing what they want and going after that. How can the TV industry work to circumvent these types of toxic stereotypes and stigmas that tend to be put on female characters the way most men are not seen on screen?

 

A) I think approaching characters like that and playing against that stereotype.  Because if you play into it and you play the so-called bitch and you act bitchy, it’s like one it’s not terribly interesting and two you’re just feeding into the stereotype.  What I like to do is to go against that and find ways to make a character that you love to hate.  Just because you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I’d love to be her friend, but gosh she’s impossible. But, oh, I love her.” It’s like The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep.  She did an amazing job with that character where you had empathy for her.  And she’s so just cold on so many levels, but you’re drawn to her and you love to hate her and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I want to see more of her!” If I am going to be portraying a character that is that stereotype, I want people to react in a way that’s not oh my gosh, I can’t stand her!  I want them to walk away going wow, is she ever evil, but man I want to see more of her on screen!  If that means I am a bitch; then so be it!  I want to walk away leaving people wanting more.

 

Q) That’s a really amazing way to flip that word!  

 

A) Yeah.  It’s like just because someone behaves a certain way, you can still root for them.  It’s like the best villains are always the ones you root for.  Not the ones you’re just like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t stand that person, let’s see less of them.” Like The Joker, that villain.  You watch Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight and it’s mesmerizing.  He’s just riveting in it.  Same thing with Joaquin Phoenix playing The Joker in the movie The Joker.  He’s also someone who is a somewhat unsavory human being, but he is flawed. You root for him because you see him as a person and not someone who is evil and is a villain.  It humanizes him to the audience to some degree because there is a vulnerability there.  Instead of the cold bitch, it’s like you still want to have a vulnerable side, even though that’s innately kind of who you are because everyone does.

 

Q) You just booked a beauty campaign for Isadora Cosmetics that is a global brand based in Sweden. What is it about this brand that you really gravitated towards?

 

A) I was looking for a beauty brand to collaborate with that had the same values that I have.  I wanted it to be cruelty free, never tested on animals and also they don’t ask third parties to do testing on animals.  They are fragrance free and they are clinically tested to make sure that they are super safe and comply with all of the US Drug and Food Administration, EU Directive and Japanese regulation – all of that.  They really fell into that category for me and it’s an affordable brand.  It’s widely available, it’s clean, it’s pretty and it’s easy.  All of those things just sort of encompassed a brand that I wanted to work with.  We collaborated on doing a shoot together and we will be doing that in the next few weeks.  I am really excited about that because it took a while for me to look through who would be a good fit.

 

Q) There is a great deal of stress involved with this pandemic and it’s hard to exercise self-care. What are some of your self-care essentials and how are you implementing them right now?

 

A) I was a big group fitness person and I would go to a gym that has lots of classes. When that shut down, I was like oh no.  I hate working out at home, but I didn’t really have a choice.  I don’t like going running on the streets, especially in LA with the pollution.  The fresh Los Angeles air isn’t the most ideal and now it’s really hot.  I got the Beach Body on Demand app and signed up for that.  Basically, it gives me access to all kinds of home workouts that are group fitness like, except it’s just myself and my fiancée and we will do them together working out at the same time.  I usually ride my horse in the morning and then I will come home and workout. That’s been very important to me to keep a fitness routine and stick to it.  I find it helps me with my energy level, my state of mind, my mental health in general and I feel better.  All of those things.  I do feel like showering and getting out of your sweat clothes or casual day stuff, making an effort to put yourself together, not in a huge way but put on something other than sweatpants a few times a week, that helps.  Little things like that.  Exercise has been really the number one thing and riding my horse.  I am so grateful to have her because that’s a complete God send in this time for sure.

 

Q) You also have a current project that you’re going to be featured in called “The Potwins” that you have been working on recently.

 

A) I just started working on that two weeks ago and we are shooting out in Riverside.  It’s a half hour single camera comedy starring Kevin Sorbo and Barry Bostwick.  It’s great.  I haven’t seen Kevin in like fourteen years. We worked together when I did the last two episodes of his show “Andromeda” way back.  Now, fourteen years later, we are working together again and he’s just a lot of fun. He’s got a big personality, he’s very funny.  And everybody on set has just been lovely.  It’s been a joy to be around people again and actually be creative and doing stuff.  It’s been tough.  Everybody has been so stuck at home and isolated to some degree, so it’s nice to have the opportunity to be creative and work with people that you don’t see every single day for the last four months.

 

Q) It’s got to be a really amazing outlet to channel everything in to as well personally as well as professionally to keep yourself focused.

 

A) Yeah.  It’s also a light, fun comedy.  It’s nothing heavy. It’s the person job for me right now because it’s fun.  I think we all need some fun in our lives right now.  I was very grateful that came along.

 

Q) Is there anything we didn’t touch on that you’d like to mention?

 

A) We were planning on doing The Fluff Ball and then COVID happened.  We were in the beginning stages of working out a venue and all of these things and then COVID happened.  So, we put the brakes on that and shifted to more online stuff.  As much as I want to be out there promoting The Fluff Ball and raising money, it’s also a hard time for a lot of people and asking people to donate.  I feel like if people want to donate, they can.  I am not going to put the hard sell on the campaign.  I will volunteer and try to do things that I can to help out. Everybody is going through their own challenges with finances so it’s kind of a sensitive time for that.

 

Q) But they can at least go online and give back while they are staying home, if they so choose.

 

A) Yeah. Exactly.  And it’s been such a wonderful time as far as rescues and things like that.  The shelters have had so many people adopt pets since people are home right now.  People are fostering more.  There has been a much bigger turn over as far as the animals being adopted and getting animals out of the shelter.  That’s been a really great thing.