Pushing Daisies

With Emmy nomination selections underway, Variety speaks with some of the possible strongest nominees, including Anna Friel. Some excerpts below…

Finding the best way to portray Charlotte “Chuck” Charles would be a challenge for Friel. Inspiration came from her year-old daughter.

“I watched a lot of her mannerisms and the way she looks at things,” Friel says. “Every single thing to her is new and fresh, and (she’s) not judgmental. But how could I do that and not make Chuck ditsy?”

To figure it out, Friel played nearly every scene three different ways. By the time production started on the second episode, she had found the right tone. Also, she continued working with a voice coach to help her mask her British accent and maneuver through the show’s smart, often rapid-fire dialogue rarely seen since “Gilmore Girls” — efforts that earned the actress a Golden Globe nomination.

(snipped)

Favorite scene: “When she’s by the grave (with Ned) and says, ‘Please wake my dad up. I just want to see him for a minute.’ And he says, ‘I can’t.’ There were quite a lot of choices about how to play it because she has to be forgiving of him and also understand why he made that decision.”

What you like most about your character: “She’s the strongest, sweetest person that I’ve ever come across, which is a complete contradiction. How can you be incredibly sweet but you’re also as strong as a rock? I like that contradiction.”

TV guilty pleasure: “I’ve bought ‘The Sopranos’ DVD sets and I’ll watch five (episodes) at a time. “

Anna Friel, Emmy Awards, Pushing Daisies