Zap2it: In playing clawing-her-way-back-to-the-top actress Raquel in“The L.A. Complex,” you’re showing an edgy but funny side that hasn’t been seen in your previous series roles. Are you enjoying playing that?

Jewel Staite: When I was reading the script, I was a little worried that she wouldn’t be likable, and I had to figure out a way to find the humor in her desperation. That was definitely the biggest challenge. She’s hilarious, but I love that she does what she wants to do, regardless of the outcome.

Zap2it: You had fame among sci-fi fans before starting “The L.A. Complex.” Have you found people’s reactions to you changing by virtue of your role in your new show?

Jewel Staite: I’m starting to get recognized for Raquel more than anything else, and I’m used to people recognizing me for “Firefly” or“Stargate Atlantis.” Especially with “Firefly,” people come up and kind of want to hug me all the time, just strangers. I’m like, “Wow … OK,” but with Raquel, it’s totally different. They’ll kind of look at me with fear in their eyes, and I sort of like that.

Zap2it: Does the American network pickup of the Canadian-made “The L.A. Complex” signal anything to you about the show’s possible longevity?

Jewel Staite: This is probably my eighth time as a lead in a series, and we just found out we got picked up (for a second season, at least in Canada), which is really exciting. I’ve definitely been there when we haven’t.

“The L.A. Complex” airs Tuesdays on The CW.

 

A really good interview

The L.A. Complex’s Raquel Westbrook is the cautionary tale that every ingénue in Hollywood hopes could never be her own fate. She is a bit bitter, a bit lost, and a bit manipulative, but all of these traits are just defense mechanisms to hide how lonely, self-conscious, and yes, scared she is. Best known for her genre work, Jewel Staite shared with LA TV Insider Examiner that when she first signed on for The L.A. Complex, she was most worried about how to “make this crazy person likeable.” But in Staite’s incomparably adept hands, Raquel is not only likeable, but she is also understood and therefore rooted for; she may be struggling against the bright lights of Los Angeles, but in a lot of ways, she’s any woman driven to extremes.

“I think she equates fame to self-confidence. I think she thinks fame is the answer to everything. It’s not. She’s filling a void, just like a lot of those characters are– just trying to find a way to be happy. I don’t know what it’s going to take for her. I think eventually she’s going to have to reach rock bottom…in order to see who she is and how what she’s doing is really affecting her life,” Staite said of finding the humanity in Raquel.

Read the rest of this entry »

A very nice interview with Jewel about The L.A. Complex:

In the new Canadian-transplanted CW drama “L.A. Complex,” Jewel Staite plays actress Raquel Westbrook.

 

A decade earlier, Raquel was the star of “Teenage Wasteland,” a cult drama that she has to keep telling adoring fans “had a bad time slot.” Now, she’s living in an apartment complex populated by fresh-faced Hollywood wannabes doing anything in her power to prove that her best days aren’t behind her.

 

It was only nearly a decade ago that Staite was the star of a cult drama that “had a bad time slot” and that still has fans eagerly approaching her to express their support. 

 

In real life, “Teenage Wasteland” is no “Firefly” and Raquel Westbrook is no Jewel Staite, whose pre-Whedon resume included shows like “Higher Ground” and “Da Vinci’s Inquest” and who has been seen guest-starring on FOX’s “Wonderfalls,” as a regular on “Stargate: Atlantis” and in the recent Sundance Midnight Movie, “The Pact.” Yes, Staite is Kaylee Frye, but she’s many other characters as well.

 

Perhaps that’s why Raquel is scheming, manipulative and occasionally desperate, while Staite is entirely grounded, good-humored and comfortable with her professional life. Staite’s also a really good interview. I’d be scared to interview Raquel.

 

I chatted with Staite last week about “L.A. Complex,” playing an “aging” actress and about why Raquel absolutely, positively isn’t evil. Read the rest of this entry »

Jewel has posted a new entry at blastr – be sure to check it out!