By Kenn Gold
The surprise hit show of the summer is Damages, on FX. Damages features Glenn Close as the nations top litigator, Patty Hewes, and Ted Danson as the object of her litigation, a Enron type executive, who may have taken his employees futures away with his actions. The show airs on FX on Tuesday nights.
Anastasia Griffith stars on Damages as Katie Connor, a multi-faceted character who on the surface is the good girl, but who may actually may have a very dark past. Anastasia, the younger sister of Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber, recently talked to MediaBlvd Magazine and other press sites about the complex character that she plays on the hit show.
Growing up as the youngest child and only girl, were your brothers overly protective?
Anastasia Griffith> Surprisingly, not so, actually. For people who don’t know, I’ve got six older brothers and I am the only girl and the youngest. I think secretly they were a lot more protective than they ever let on to me. You know, people have told me since, being an adult, that my brothers are fiercely protective of me, but they’ve never kind of let me know that, which I think is probably a good thing.
In one of the interviews with your brother Jamie a few years ago he mentioned that your father was kind of very reluctant for him to go into acting. I was wondering if you met that same kind of issue with your dad?
Anastasia> Dad has always been a businessman himself and he’s always just been a little bit cynical about the world of acting. Jamie is an incredibly bright guy and he had so many opportunities when he was younger and acting kind of grabbed his attention, as it did mine. I think Dad is old school and he kind of thinks it’s more fitting for a daughter to go into acting than it is a for a son, but having said that, he’s done everything he can to encourage me to do other things. He’s got huge confidence in my intelligence and my ability to do things and also to act. But he just has no trust in the world of acting. But, having said that, since Damages has taken off for me and it’s doing so well he’s actually written me a note recently saying congratulations and you obviously did the right thing.
How did you get involved with Damages and what attracted you to the project?
Anastasia> Well, I got involved with Damages through the regular path really. I had moved to New York City in December last year. And I think about a month after moving into the City, I’ve been with Paradigm for a long time, with my agency, and I’ve gone through the whole pilot season situation a few times and so I was just falling back into that pattern and going out for pilots and I actually got a call from my agent saying that this is last minute, but the producers are in town and they want to see you for this role.
It’s a great role, it’s a great show, but it’s in two hours’ time, and in an American accent, go in and do it. So that was it, really. I went in and met the producers then and there and they were a little concerned at first about a Brit playing an American, especially because they already had an Australian playing an American.
So I went in and met them again the next day and kind of went in immediately with an American accent and spoke to them in an American accent from beginning to end of the meeting just in order to put their fears at rest I guess. And then three days later I was told I had the role, so it was a very quick process.
Did you have formal training to speak with an American accent, and especially a New York accent?
Anastasia> I have had formal training. I trained at drama school where we do dialect and, yes, I’ve been to see over the years a couple of times, dialects. When I was in L.A. during pilot season I saw one there. It’s like a muscle I think; you’ve got to just keep it sharpened and keep it flexed and keep your ear in it.
And, obviously, when I first arrived I had come straight from London. My Dad is actually American I should say and although we never lived here or schooled here as kids. We have been brought up with an American father who speaks very much with his American accent despite having been in London for thirty odd years.
So, I mean we have that influence, but I do think it’s very important to keep your ear in it. And we had an amazing dialect coach, Rose and I both went to see a lady called Deborah Hecht, who teaches at NYU and does a lot of theater work here and she was fantastic. She just helped us both just click into that mindset.
But, you know, it’s practice really and I think a lot of Brits make the mistake of thinking that just because we’ve listened to a lot of American songs and watched a lot of American television we immediately are good at doing this accent and I think it’s a lot harder than people make out. So it is hard work, but after a while, after the first or second episode it became absolute habit and I think both Rose and I are now very, very comfortable in doing it and were forced right into it. So, yes, it’s hard work to begin with, but after a while it really is just part of the course.
When you aren’t actually in the middle of filming, do you maintain that accent or do you have to be in the character?
Anastasia> We did for the pilot because with her (Rose) being Australian and myself being British, there’s, obviously, very similar sounds in that and we were both concerned that we’d distract each other in some way so for the pilot we would always the whole time on set I’d speak in an American accent.
And, actually, it was funny because my Mom came out to visit just toward the end of the pilot, and my Mom, everyone knew she was flying in from London I think, but she kind of walks in and sounds like the Queen and everyone on set was like, I don’t get it. I thought Anastasia was American, so that was a really satisfying moment for me because it told me I had done my job well that no one believed that she was my Mom.
Now we don’t at all. We’ll go on set and feel very relaxed about our ability to be able to snap into it, now we know the characters so much better. Yes, having been here for longer as well, just being in the States really helps, listening to it all the time. My British friends tell me I’m turning into an American.
The scene where your dog was killed, you backed up towards a very large knife without looking Did you know exactly where the knife was so you didn’t bonk your head on it?
Anastasia> You are quoting back at me what Wex, our first A.D. said when he watched it. He just said, the whole time, obviously, he has to worry about the actors’ safety on set the whole time and he hadn’t worked on the pilot and when he watched it he was freaking out for me and said, “How the hell did you do that without injuring yourself?”
But funnily enough I think I did that in a couple of takes; I think it was one or two because we had so much blood on my hand that it was a nightmare for continuity and for make-up so we did do it really quickly. I think it might have been a one take. And I didn’t really even think about it. Thank God it worked out. I just kind of looked at where the knife was and knew I just had to avoid it. So I think it was kind of good luck.
What’s it like playing a character that has two very different sides?
Anastasia> The thing about Katie, actually, funny enough the innocence things was something which they kept trying to steer me away from I think in the pilot and it’s something which, because I had no idea where Katie was going to go when we filmed the pilot and there had been a lot of changes as to whether she was older or younger; there had been a lot of changes as to who she was.
And I think in a way that innocence is almost my naiveté as far as the character goes. But, having said that, I love the fact that it’s not so much an innocence for me; it’s more that she seems to be very upfront and open and honest and I think she is in a lot of ways and I think she’s somebody who gives a lot to the people around her and is actually a pretty kind, good-hearted girl.
I think she’s someone who has grown up with a younger brother who is perfect and she’s probably not as intelligent as David is and she’s never quite gone down the same perfect path and she’s trained opposite Kirk and done her own thing and she’s a very strong girl who is working in a man’s world, but I think this fact that David is this kind of perfect guy means that she keeps a lot of her own instabilities and mess ups and problems to herself. I don’t think she shares that with anybody.
I think perhaps if David had been the older brother then she would have felt more like she could do that, but she’s really not a bad person. She’s somebody who has kind of made mistakes and is bright enough to know she’s made those mistakes and isn’t proud of them. So she just keeps them to herself.
Michael Gaston from Jericho mentioned he had a one shot on Damages, and he was kind of a jerk. Was that all directed at your character?
Anastasia> Yes, oh, he was fantastic. The scene with Michael was fantastic. He’s a very, very punchy actor. He’s someone who can deliver a line with huge simplicity, but huge power.
So it was a bit of a face off between him and I, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s one of my favorite scenes that I’ve done so far so I don’t want to say too much about the episode or give too much away as to where his character comes in, but needless to say it was a strong scene and I was really looking forward to doing it.
Is there any chance that your brother Jamie (Bamber) will make a guest appearance on the show?
Anastasia> Oh, I would love it if he would, I would love it. It’s not really up to me, but if a suitable role came up I would certainly be the first person to suggest that he comes on. It would be fantastic to work with him. I also know that Jamie is keen to kind of get into doing some movies and things like that now after doing five years on a TV show. Maybe another TV show is not really what he’s going for, but I’m sure he would love to do a guest appearance on Damages because he’s a big fan of it and it’s always been our dream to work together so maybe I should speak to casting and get him involved. No, we’re for family getting together to work together so maybe they will support it.
What’s the mood like now on set now that you all know the show is a success?
Anastasia> I mean I haven’t been on set really that much in the last couple of days, but before that it was generally people are delighted. I think, we were obviously nervous about this going out because there’s no rhyme or reason as to success in television and we’ve witnessed so many great shows be pulled, but FX has got a really good habit or reputation, should I say, at supporting their shows.
So it wasn’t really about the pilot going out, it was more about longevity and whether two, three, four, five were popular. And we’re all just really delighted, really relieved. We’ve always been a close-knit cast and crew and that hasn’t changed. I think I was really scared that the atmosphere on set would alter in some way now that it’s out there and let’s say someone got amazing reviews and someone else didn’t get amazing reviews.
But, generally I think because everything has been upbeat and positive, I don’t read reviews myself so I’m just blissfully unaware, but the fact that the numbers are good I think gives us all a good vibe and nothing really has changed. It’s the same vibe. We’re all still having fun with it. I think Glenn and Ted are such pros that it doesn’t affect them; they just get on with their job.
But, generally the atmosphere has always been a good one is what I’m trying to say and this has only helped that I guess, but it hasn’t really changed.
What other projects are you currently working on?
Anastasia> Well, literally this week I’m filming an episode for a Fox TV show called New Amsterdam. I’m doing a guest star role in their first episode after the pilot and playing a Brit, actually, which has been really nice. And other than that, I have nothing lined up right now, although I’m looking very much into doing some theater. I would love to do something in New York City when we’ve got some down time. I’m traditionally trained. I was trained at LAMDA, which is a drama school in the U.K. and I’m really keen to sort of put my theatrical training back into use.
So we’re in discussions about that right now and, obviously, film. I’m delighted to be involved with Damages and it really was a dream come true. A year ago if someone had asked me what I would like to be doing in a year’s time it would be playing an American in a well written, well directed TV show out here.
So that really was my kind of first dream and now I’ve achieved that and hopefully will gain some longevity from that. I would like very much to explore film and theater in more depth. But at the moment, there’s nothing that I can really speak about.
What is it that you like best about playing Katie, or Katie, in general, the character?
Anastasia> I love her balls; I think she’s ballsy, I think she is brave. She’s one of the characters in that show that has the most amount of power, not power; power is not the right word, but she’s got real personality. I like the fact that she’s complex. I like the fact that she’s got her insecurities. I like the fact that she’s made mistakes and she’s an exciting, punchy, feisty girl who, you know this girl has lived and worked in New York City restaurants for the last ten years and I think that kind of helps create that darkness in her.
I like people with a dark side. I find them fascinating and interesting, so, yes, I think there is that side of her. She just brings a bit of mouth to the show.
