“The Magicians” star Olivia Taylor Dudley chats with Backstage about accessing the vulnerability of her character and how performing sketch has made her a more open actor.
On finding humanity in the supernatural.
“Our writers and showrunners [on ‘The Magicians’] have done such a beautiful job writing complex characters that we get to explore and fall in love with—getting to do magic is just a plus. They write real, human problems on this show, so there’s a lot to draw from. It’s not just sci-fi and fantasy where we [would] kind of have to make up what that would be like.”
On the importance of creating your own content.
“Someone told me early on to try to make your own work, because that’s something you can make happen that’s not in other people’s hands. You can’t make somebody hire you for a job. Being able to make your own projects really keeps you busy when you’re not getting jobs. Then, when you’re actually working, you’ve been doing all these other things, so that it isn’t a big, daunting thing.”
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On how performing sketch has made her a better actor.
“Having [improv training] is really nice because on our show, we don’t do a lot of improv, but there’s definitely room for it because there’s so much comedic writing. Also, not being glued to a way I plan on playing a scene or a character I definitely think came from having a sketch and improv background.”
On relating to the ostracism of her ‘Magicians’ character, Alice.
“I read the first [‘Magicians’] book, and she was the one I related to the most. I grew up out on a ranch. I was home schooled. I was kind of isolated. I understand what it’s like to not have a very big circle of friends and to not feel like you belong or have a social community. That’s kind of how Alice is. She’s off doing her own thing and isn’t really interested in making friends. I had a lot to draw from, from when I was younger. She’s just so complicated.”
On ‘The Exorcist’ making her want to act as a kid.
“I first wanted to be an actor when I was about 5 years old. I was really affected by ‘The Exorcist.’ I was watching this girl who was young do all these things and I was like, ‘I want to play pretend on that level!’ I didn’t end up doing any acting until I moved to L.A. I did [sketch] for six years, and that allowed me to feel like I was doing something when I wasn’t able to get work elsewhere. From that stemmed a lot of contacts and people to work with and agents. From then on, I just started working.”
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