Julie Ann Emery – Better Call Saul

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) How did you get involved with “Better Call Saul?”

A) I was in New York and my agent sent me an audition. They said, “We know you are not in LA, but casting would like to see you.” So, I put something on tape. So, I went to a place called The Tape Room, which is a great resource for actors. I was such a huge “Breaking Bad” fan  that I read it and I thought, “This is never going to be me. I’m never going to book this. I would be an unusual choice for this role.” So, it really freed me up. I thought, “I’ll just make it work on me. Hopefully, I’ll do it well enough that they will see me again in the future.” So, I never expected to book it. Vince Gilligan makes unusual choices a lot. I didn’t take that into account. He sees a speck of something in people and likes to run with it. So, I’m truly lucky he found a speck of something in me and ran with it.

Q) There is an air of mystery to your character. What kind of background were you given on for Betsy?

A) Nothing. I was given nothing. We were literally given what you see on screen in the first episode. So much so that we didn’t know if they were guilty or not. We can talk about that now because we’ve seen them with the money in the tent in episode three. Even when we shot the first episode, we did not know. The scripts and storylines are kept on lockdown, even from the actors. So, Jeremy Shamos (who plays Mr. Kettleman) and I, were there for three days over a weekend before we shot and we would get together and try to figure out who these people were. We would try to figure it ourselves in a way that would work for us moving forward, no matter what happened. We were both so confused that we watched each other’s audition tape, which as an actor that is like being naked in a crowded room. We both sat down and got our courage up to watch each other’s audition tapes. We learned a lot form that. We were like, “Oh, I know why we’re here together.” That was true for almost everyone. None of us knew where it was quite going. In some ways, that is very nerve-wracking as an actor and in some ways that is the best creative space to be in because you’re unrolling this as a community with the writers and directors as it goes. So, everyone really does come together to sort of push it to the next level. It was really great. Scary, but great!

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) Vince and Peter [Gould] have been very vocal in the past about us being cast for one episode and them writing more. I think that we really discovered The Kettlemans with the writers and particularly with Vince. Vince directed the first episode and Sony and AMC were lovely enough to give him extra time in directing the episode. So, we really explored who the characters were on set. Jeremy and I, because there was so little to go on, had done some improvisation in rehearsals together. Over the weekend, we would get together and improvise to see if we could find this couple. We really leaned on that in shooting in finding who they were. Before they would start rolling and before they would start shooting we would be improvising with each other and sometimes it would go on until they said, “Cut!” A few of those things sneak in to beginnings and ends of scenes. Peter actually said in a Variety interview that he hopes they can make a DVD Extra of the stuff. I think this was an example of really brilliant writers evolving the characters and we sort of evolved them together. It was a beautiful experience to be part of.

Q) Being that we are just getting to know each other, will we be learning if these characters are intertwined at all?

A) I am not allowed to share very much. As of now, the Kettlemans interactions have been limited to Jimmy. That’s going to widen a little bit. All I can say is that the best of Betsy is yet to come. They really take it somewhere great. I can’t tell you what that is, but the Kettlemans saga is not over. The best is yet to come.

Q) You have such great chemistry with your costars. Was there an instant connection?

A) Well, Jeremy and I found a very natural chemistry together. We did this finishing each other’s sentences thing that was very sort of Robert Altman like. But that helped. Bob [Odenkirk] and I had worked together on “Fargo” and traveled a lot together back and forth to Calgary. So, we were already friends. He really made it such a warm, lovely place for me to be. It was really sweet of him and he made the set a warm place to be. It was nice because Betsy messes with him so much that it was great for Bob and I to have had a history together.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive?

A) I really love Twitter. I think it is great. I was really involved with Twitter during “Fargo.” This one is different for me. I love having a place to interact with fans of the show and reading what people think. It’s interesting with this one because the fans of Betsy really run the gambit from people who love to people who really think she is a bitch. That’s been an adjustment. She’s not Casey in Hitch. She’s not sweet little Casey, she’s something else. And there are people who love the Kettlemans’ phone message from last week’s episode and thought it was hilarious. Others said, “It’s so annoying!” I have to remind myself to take it all in good fun with the character and that is not me. I am not Betsy.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

A) I can’t share what my favorite scene is, but I think my favorite scene for Betsy is coming up this Monday night in episode four. It’s my favorite Kettlemans scene. I can’t share anything about it, but stay tuned for it.

Q) Is there anything else you can tease about what is to come this season?

A) There were a couple of reviews on Twitter that said, “It’s the end of the Kettlemans!” The Kettlemans saga is not over yet. It definitely blows up in a really fun way. As a crew gift, for our last episode of season one, I ordered kettle corn from Cougar Mountain Kettle Corn in Albuquerque and gave out as a gift from The Kettlemans to the crew.