In a show as stacked with guest actors as “The Good Wife,” it speaks volumes to Carrie Preston’s talent that she stands out from the crowd as Elsbeth Tascioni. The Emmy-winning character actor recently returned as the irrepressibly eccentric—and brilliant—lawyer for the beloved series’ final season before starring on NBC’s new sitcom “Crowded.” Preston took a break from filming her arc to chat with Backstage about audition advice, acting crushes, and Shakespeare.
Tell us about returning as Elsbeth on “The Good Wife.”
It’s always fun to be back on that show because it’s one of the best characters I’ve ever gotten the opportunity to play. I always get really excited to get the script and open it up to see what they have in store for Elsbeth. They always give Elsbeth some kind of physical challenge, so there’s something fun and funny and very much in line with her character that we’ll be seeing her doing. And then, as always, they bring her in to solve a problem that they don’t know how to solve.
Which of your performances has left a lasting mark on you?
My roots are in the theater. I have many fond memories of plays that I’ve done in the past that have had a lasting impact. My first experience in the New York theater was in “The Tempest” with Patrick Stewart. We did Shakespeare in the Park and then we moved to Broadway. I made my Broadway debut doing Shakespeare, which was a rare thing for an American actor.
How do you typically prepare for an audition?
That’s always the question, isn’t it? Auditioning is so different than doing the work in some ways. It’s very much about solving the scene, I think, and coming in with a strong take, but not having it set in stone. Everybody’s just wanting to see you be a living, breathing human being who is having a fresh, authentic experience. So I always try to go in there…profoundly prepared, but being open to letting a choice happen to me.
What do you wish you’d known before you started acting?
I wish I wouldn’t have tried so much to get inside the heads of the people in the room, because you can’t know what they’re thinking. That’s just wasted energy. But it’s hard to know that at the time because it’s all new, so you are trying to figure out what it is that they want. Looking back, I wish I had had the wisdom of the many years of auditioning that I have now to get out of my own way... [to know] that my training and who I was and what I was bringing to the role and all of that was enough.
What was your most memorable survival job?
Sometimes I would teach along the way at a theater camp for kids. [That was] good because I was one of those little theater kids who had stars in my eyes and loved it so much. I was the kid who started her own theater company in the backyard in the seventh grade. It’s always fun to pass on what I’ve learned to the younger people.
How did you get your SAG-AFTRA card?
I had just started going out to Los Angeles to audition for things. I had done “The Tempest,” and I got cast in a pilot for CBS in what was a very large guest star on the pilot. I wasn’t a series regular, but I was the guest lead, so it was a lot of material. It was with James Remar, he was the star. It was kind of like “The Rockford Files” set in the West. It was such a blast for me. I got to shoot a gun, I got to wear a [sheriff’s] uniform—yet I was also funny. I got to be funny, because it was a sort of lighthearted hour of television. The pilot never got picked up, but everyone was pleased with the way it turned out. It was really fun to go out of town, being put up in a hotel. This was all really exciting for a kid from Georgia who had just gotten out of school.
On whom do you have an acting crush?
I watch a lot of television. I love doing it, obviously, but I really love watching it. I especially like to support and watch any female-centric shows. Whether that’s Connie Britton in “Nashville”—I watch everything that she does because I think she’s really wonderful and I learn a lot watching her; I watch Viola Davis on “How to Get Away With Murder,” and Kerry Washington on “Scandal.” I’m watching “Jessica Jones” right now. I do like to get inspired by and support any female leads.
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