Jessalyn Gilsig – Big Shot

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What was it about the role or series “Big Shot” that made you want to be a part of it?

A) Well, definitely the David E. Kelley of it. I really started my television career with David Kelley and so he has a standard to his work that is so high. So, you know as an actor that the scripts are going to be amazing, and the characters are going to be amazing. Also, he’s going to attract a lot of great talent. Then, the amazing thing was that it was set in a school, which when I started with David Kelley it was on “Boston Public.” So, it was kind of like a full circle moment to come back to a school on a David Kelley show. I knew I would be in good hands and that it would be a great experience.

Q) Holly is the Assistant Coach and she’s really invested in these girls. Is there something about these girls or over the years she’s really come to care about her players on and off the court?

A) I think that Holly in a lot of ways is a classic education in the sense that she is so deeply invested in these girls and she knows these are pivotal years in their lives that is going to establish a foundation for how they progress and the adults they are going to become. She is a former high school basketball player herself and she understands the value of the team experience and how formative it is going to be for them and how it is going to help them build character and really kind of engage in their personal potential of being a part of this team. So, I think that through the storytelling you see her connect on an individual level with each of our girls. But I think that Holly’s calling has been going on for a long time. She’s just a true believer in the influence of being a part of a team and how powerful that can be on a young girl’s trajectory.

Q) How does she feel about Marvin Korn stepping into her world and becoming Head Coach?

A) Initially Holly is really excited about the arrival of Coach Korn. She’s a fan and she’s a basketball fan. So, I think like all of us there is a feeling there is a stranger coming to town and we’re going to learn from him and we’re all going to grow. As the story progresses, Holly realizes she has a lot to offer as well and that he has a lot of growing to do and she can make a meaningful contribution to not only his development, but the team’s development as well. And to her own development because I do think there is a moment where she thinks, “Wait a minute. Why aren’t I Head Coach? I was the Assistant. Was I ever in line for a promotion?” So, sometimes you think that you have an idea of how things are going to progress, but I think over time Holly actually manages to better understand her value and carve out a little more space for herself than what she inhabited when Marvin first showed up.

Q) What have been some of your favorite moments or episodes from filming “Big Shot?”

A) I think it’s a combination of people. I think the show has so much heart and soul and also probably because COVID is this experience that we all share now. We shot most of the show in the pandemic. We became a team. We became a family. I remember one day one of our actresses came to me and asked, “Why do you keep smiling?” I said, I’m just so happy to be here! I just love being at work and with these people.” Game Days were long, but they didn’t take much acting. The girls were really, really playing and they were really applying themselves. There was so much emotion in the room. When we would have a victory or defeat you weren’t acting. You were just kind of experiencing the excitement of being a part of the game.

Q) You worked with David E. Kelley before and even Ryan Murphy. What have you taken away or what does it mean to you to have been able to work with these incredible show creators and writers?

A) Well, when you work with people who have mastered their craft, I think as an actor you can go in with a lot of trust and know that there is a lot of support. That the material is strong. That the other players are strong. That there has just been a lot of thought put into the project. One of the things that I learned because, like you said, I did get to evolve as an actor with David E. Kelley and also Ryan Murphy, is in a way they also put a lot of trust in the performer and you realize that it’s really committing to your character and inhabiting your character and deepening that role and bringing like human dimension to the character because they are all so distinctly drawn and so well drawn it’s so hard to understand how one person can write the dialogue for multiple people and it be so distinct. But that’s what they are so good at doing. So, then as an actor, you kind of know as an actor you have to show up and be as committed as they have been to the material that they are giving you. It’s kind of a lot of pressure, but you are also so safe because you know there is excellence all around you. Working with someone like John [Stamos], he’s such a dynamic actor. He’s so alive when he works and he’s so incredibly present. So, you have to really show up exactly and get to that bar as well because he’s not going to have a false moment. He’s not going to settle for a false moment. Everything is grounded and everything is so dynamic and so alive. That was like such a great, as an actor, like being on stage every day. You just can’t drop the ball because there is such an expectation that you’re going to keep it afloat.

Q) What do you think it is about “Big Shot” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

A) It’s got heart. I think people are going to fall in love with these girls and I think people are going to see themselves in these girls. One of the things I’m really proud about with this show is traditionally in TV (not always, but often) they give a very narrow lens to what they think it is to be a teenage girl. But that’s just the limitations of how we’ve chosen to tell those stories. I think when you see this show, this is going to be more relatable to people. These are girls who are exploring their power, their ability. They are trying to learn what the obstacles are that are holding them back from realizing their potential. I was really proud that we were making the space to investigate who they are in this school environment maybe in a new way – in a more honest way that I’ve often seen.