mxdwn had the opportunity to sit down with Westworld’s Emily Somers (Awaken The Shadowman) to discuss her role on the show, her thoughts on science fiction acting, what it was like to work with big names throughout her career, and much more. Somers plays Lindsay, who is considered an outlier who has some pivotal scenes with William, played by Ed Harris (The Truman Show).
mxdwn: First off, I wanted to talk about how the role of Lindsay in Westworld became available to you.
Somers: It was pretty standard. It was an audition, self-taped request that my agent submitted me for on breakdowns. I did a self-tape because we’re in the age of doing everything from home (laughs). I sent it in, you forget about it, it goes out there, and you hope someone watches it. Weeks later, we got the call that I was on hold for the role, and then within I think it was like 30 minutes, usually, it doesn’t move this quickly, we found out I booked it and I was shooting the following week. So it was like bam, bam, bam.
mxdwn: During your career, you’ve involved yourself in film and short film roles, and now you’re in Westworld in a television role, what is it about Westworld that drew you into getting into television?
Somers: Gosh, I think it was just the luck of the draw in terms of, you know, ending up doing more film than TV and I think now with TV being more kind of filmatic, I’m lucky enough to be getting more of these opportunities. But I think just the legacy of the show or any show on HBO really (laughs), you know, is a great show and I’ve been familiar with Westworld. I’ve watched seasons of Westworld, the actors on the show obviously. I mean, it’s just a win-win situation if you get the chance to be on a show like that.
mxdwn: [Westworld] is obviously regarded as one of the top sci-fi series out right now, has appeared in more sci-fi shows or films always been of interest to you?
Somers: Yeah! I find science fiction, sort of because it’s this untapped frontier and that there’s so much more imagination put into it, I love that and it’s a good challenge for an actor too because so much of the time, everything’s done in post-production, right? All these really cool special effects and things so it’s a different kind of challenge for an actor. So, yea, I’ve really enjoyed – I did a Hacker film a few years ago which kind of bordered on that with very similar themes like tech taking over and our reliance on tech and that kind of thing. I always think it’s an interesting world to live in.
mxdwn: When you first saw the part for Lindsay, what was your initial reaction, and how did you sort of draft up your approach to becoming that character?
Somers: Well, my initial reaction was it’s an audition for Westworld which is so cool! Just that in itself and then the writing was so beautiful. So to not be walking on and having sort of an empty character, but having this beautifully emotional, vulnerable character that was so well written, sometimes those are easier auditions, which sounds strange. It’s just written so well, a lot of the time it’s so much easier to tap into. So, it was a gift to get those lines.
mxdwn: Talk about the writing in Westworld and how it’s different from anything you’ve seen or anything else you’ve been a part of.
Somers: It’s on another level, I think, as is the case with so many HBO shows. But specifically the writing for Westworld, they really balance the sci-fi aspect and technology with this beautiful humanity side of things. The staff writers that they have, they’ve been working on the show for so long. They have a lot of assistants writing episodes, which is so cool. They’ve got a great balance between science fiction and also just beautiful language in the writing.
mxdwn: What can you say about working with Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan?
Somers: Well, a dream again just to be on the show that their names are attached to. I finally got to meet Lisa at the premiere and she couldn’t have been lovelier. Just getting to meet and work on a show [about] a woman who’s working at her level in this industry and has the legacy she has. I loved Pushing Daisies back in the day. [Meeting her] was definitely incredible. I still haven’t gotten to meet Jonathan Nolan but again just to be on his set was a dream come true.
mxdwn: When you were shooting your parts in Westworld, how much did you know about what was going to happen with your character in advance or did you sort of learn as you were filming?
Somers: Oh man. Even the things you think are going to happen to your character are totally different by the time the show comes out (laughs). I think all the cast talks about this, but they give your lines so you have a general idea of what you’re doing, [and] what your character is doing. I was lucky because I got some information too on the actor who’s playing my husband and his lines and what happened to him because he was in a different episode, so I have that, and you kind of fill in the blanks for each other when we’re on set together the cast. But aside from that, I knew the basic storyline and you read into what you’re saying, right? So kind of making it up based [on] what I was given and hoping it was the right direction to go in.
mxdwn: As we said before, Westworld has quite a loaded cast with names like Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffery Wright, Ed Harris, Aaron Paul, and the list goes on. Who would you say you’ve learned the most from since joining the cast?
Somers: [The person] I’ve learned the most from is definitely Evan Rachel Wood. We originally had stuff together in episode two, so I got to spend a day with her and I think just from watching how she conducts herself on set, her level of professionalism, how she’s able to just stay focused and drop into the character. Also how she treats everybody else on set. In front of the camera and behind the camera, just observing how she shows up was the greatest. And really everyone, it’s hard to choose from because everyone else was fantastic too. But (Rachel Wood), I just spent the most time with her out of everybody.
mxdwn: Do you happen to have any standout stories from working with any of those big names so far?
Somers (Laughing): I do. This is kind of a funny story but Ed Harris ordered a pizza to set in New York City when we were shooting on the rooftop. It was a scramble and there wasn’t any food there so he just called up a pizza place and ordered a pizza to be delivered to the set and shared with everybody. I thought that was pretty great. He was like watching the game and was just the coolest, coolest guy.
mxdwn: Was just seeing how actors of their stature just doing normal things like that help you see them in a different way?
Somers: Yeah, I think it’s just a good reminder because it’s intimidating when you’re stepping on a set like that and these people have been working forever at such a level. Especially Ed Harris. He’s a legend and what actor doesn’t look up to him? It’s pretty cool when he’s down to earth and sharing his pizza with everyone. It takes away the nerve a little bit, yeah.
mxdwn: I also wanted to talk to you about some of the other work you’ve done. You’ve been in some smaller roles in some films. There was Sandy Wexler with Adam Sandler, Playing For Keeps with Gerard Butler, and Awaken The Shadowman with Jean Smart. How has working with names such as those, even in a small role, helped you in your career?
Somers: Yeah, I mean, it’s helped a ton, right? Because you don’t get so starstruck when you’re working with people, although I definitely had my moments on Westworld (laughs). I think now after Westworld, I feel like “Ok, I can go on to any set and I’ll be ok.” But yea, it helps. Jean Smart was, I think, the biggest one because luckily I was on that film for a couple of weeks at that point and working. So, she was just coming in and doing her stuff. So, I felt like I was in a safer environment when I met her but still was like (gasps) “Jean Smart!” But yea, it does help. The more you do it, you know, you realize that we’re all just at different levels in our career but we’re all doing the same thing.
mxdwn: Another thing I was thinking about, going back to the shorts vs films conversation, what are some of the major differences between acting in a short vs acting in films or shows like Westworld?
Somers: That’s a good question. I think the amount of time you’re working on the project is the main one. With Westworld, it’s like such a massive undertaking and you’re coming back and over the course of six months, you’re going to be there for a couple of days then you’re not there for a couple of weeks then you’re there but it’s this ongoing thing and you come back to set and you know, you’ve been there before. With a short, it’s like everything’s packed into a couple of days. Sometimes one day, sometimes three days. But you’re trying to get as much coverage as possible in my experience in a very short amount of time. So, it’s sort of a fast-forwarded condensed version. I think you have to be a little bit scrappier too. For the most part, shorts don’t have the budget like giant TV shows or movies do so you have to be resourceful and get the shot.
mxdwn: The last thing I was really wondering was what kind of projects do you have coming in the future? Has anything come since you’ve joined Westworld? Have the offers started to pile up a little bit?
Somers: I hope so. I’m excited about one that I’m going to be doing at the end of this month. I’m going to be recurring on an Apple TV+ show, so that’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a very different character from Lindsay. I’m looking forward to being in a different kind of turmoil, I guess, with this character because Lindsay was a beautiful role but emotionally, as an actor, you’re just going through it the whole time. So, I have that coming up at the end of this month. I just produced, wrote, and starred in a short proof-of-concept for a project I optioned the rights to called Into The Valley. So, I’m just working on editing that too and we’re trying to finish that up as well. So, keeping busy.