By Greg David
Louisiana-born Ashley Scott is having a ball as
good-girl Emily Sullivan (who may have a twisted past)
on Jericho.
One of the surprise success stories of the fall,
Jericho and its tale of small-town Americans,
who pull together after an apparent nuclear accident
cuts them off from the rest of the country, is
performing well against the dancing stars over on ABC.
Funny and sweet, Scott devoted a chunk of her day off to
talking to TV Guide.
TV Guide: Hey, Ashley, how are
you?
Ashley Scott: I’m trying to put my CD
in, and my husband has everything wired down here. I
don’t know which buttons to push. I’m trying to listen
to Norah Jones.
TVG: Are you on a day off from the
set?
AS: I’m on a day off, and I am taking
advantage of it. I’ve done my wifely duties - I’ve gone
grocery shopping, I’ve worked in the garden.
TVG: Congratulations on the success of
Jericho. I had high hopes for it after watching
the pilot, but I was worried that viewers might not give
it a chance since it was up against Dancing With the
Stars.
AS: I don’t understand
Dancing With the Stars. I’m a chick, and I
don’t watch it! I’m like, “I can’t get into this.” So
I’m glad that I have something to watch on Wednesday
nights.
TVG: You watch yourself? Lots of actors and
actresses can’t stand watching their
work.
AS: I’m not like that. I don’t get
that. I learn more by watching myself. I’m not sitting
there going, “Ooh, look at me, I’m great.” I always
watch and go, “Huh, why did I do that?” I’m critical,
but I use it to hopefully improve my acting.
TVG: Jericho has a huge cast. So
does Heroes, Studio 60 and, of course,
Lost. All of those storylines, and all of those
characters, yet viewers aren’t put off by the large
casts.
AS: Yeah, it’s interesting. I was on
a show a few years back called Birds of Prey,
and though there were three of us, I did a lot of the
work [acting-wise]. With Jericho, there’s a
large cast where we are all able to share the
responsibility. With all of the characters and
personalities, there’s someone for everyone watching to
relate to, from teenagers to your Grammy.
TVG: Emily, your character, has changed a lot
since the first episode.
AS: Yeah! When I
read the first script I was like, “Oh, she’s nice. She’s
the good girl who lives in town.” But now she’s become
more fun, more like a bad girl in town who has
straightened her life out.
TVG: What’s interesting and different about
Jericho is that the series isn’t so much about
what happened - was it a terrorist attack or accident
that cut the town off from the rest of the world - but
how the townspeople get on with life.
AS:
With any great disaster that rips you from everything
that you’re used to - from the smallest thing like a
cell phone to running water - it makes you sit down and
talk with your family. And then you rebuild. And that’s
what this show is - it’s showing a community rebuild
itself.
TVG: Where is this faux community shot?
Where’s the set of Jericho?
AS:
It’s right next door to the old Beverly Hills,
90210 set. I love it, it’s so great. It’s like,
“The Peach Pit was here!”
TVG: Is Nat still there?
AS: Yes,
Nat is still here - he does the catering for us!
Published: Wednesday, December 6, 2006