Not all damsels in distress want to be rescued—and Madalena on ABC’s new medieval musical comedy, “Galavant,” definitely doesn’t need a knight in shining armor. Even after she’s kidnapped by an evil king and her former lover Galavant sets out on a quest to rescue her, she knows where her priorities lie. “We were going to live in a cottage by the sea,” he tells her. “We were going to make love, plant a garden, have children. I was going to sing songs of your beauty.”
“Oh, Gal,” Madalena says. “That sounds awful! Look around. I live in a castle! And you know what I’ve learned about myself? I really like stuff. I mean, why would I give all this up to get fat and pregnant and grow my own food?”
This is the appeal of “Galavant,” created by writer–executive producer Dan Fogelman (“Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Tangled”), legendary composer Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin”), and Glenn Slater, and starring Joshua Sasse as the titular knight and Mallory Jansen as his pragmatic ex.
“I tend to look at the show as a demented version of a fairy tale,” says Jansen, laughing. “It’s not your typical fairy tale; it’s not what it looks like. It’s very funny, very tongue-in-cheek, quite risqué.”
And much like the show itself, which premiered Jan. 4, Madalena isn’t your typical queen. “I just kind of see her as a modern woman in medieval times,” the Australian-born actor explains. “She knows exactly what she wants. She’s power-hungry, she’s man-hungry, she’s money-hungry, and nothing is ever good enough for her.”
To capture this powerful woman in her audition, Jansen sang “Gimme Gimme” from “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” “I was thinking of going with one of Alan Menken’s songs, but I thought, If Alan Menken is gonna be in the room I think I will actually flip out,” she says. “[‘Gimme Gimme’] suited my character so much; she’s a strong character—very ballsy, very womanly—and I just thought it was kind of dark as well.”
Jansen’s approach to acting reflects that same strong independence and drive. “I woke up one morning and said, ‘I’ve got to do this,’ and saved up all my money and just flew over and hoped it would all work out,” she says of her decision to move to New York City in 2011. Studying at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the T. Schreiber Studio & Theatre, Jansen says she took things from every teacher to develop her own singular approach.
In addition, she says her recurring roles on ABC Family’s “Young and Hungry” and “Baby Daddy” provided the comedic training that helped her land “Galavant.”
“Doing comedy is one of the best gifts in life,” the actor says. “I’ve never laughed so hard; to me it’s just such a privilege to be on set every day, ’cause it doesn’t feel like work at all.”
To her fellow actors, Jansen says, “Don’t be scared of not getting a job” when you’re up for a part. While the audition for “Galavant” called for a “Broadway-caliber voice” and she had never sung professionally before, she channeled Madalena’s fervor, went for it…and lived happily ever after.
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