The Direct speaks with Earth Abides star Jessica Frances Dukes about her experience on the MGM+ series.
MGM+‘sEarth Abidesis based on the same-named book by George R. Stewart.
I Think Its Who They Are."
Jessica Frances Dukes: “It’s an interesting circle of events.
I feel like that’s exactly how Ish and Emma start.
I think it’s who they are.
I think that Ish becomes more of that with Emma, but Emma says it.
In her first episode…
This world has no doctors.
There is no full-fledged medicine that we have access to.
I don’t need to see y’all another month or whatever.
You know what I mean?
So, it really shows you who you are.
So we all kind of shared our stories about, you know, how it affected us.”
I love animals so much.
I rode horses as a girl, I grew up with animals…
I loved animals so much.
I already was an animal lover.
It was just amazing.
Even the little rats.
I never thought I’d say a rat was cute, but it’sthey’re cute.
They’re really cute.
So I loved it, but I’m already a nature girl.
I love being in the elements.
I just love gardens.
Jessica Frances Dukes: “All of them were real.
Yeah, yeah, the bison was beautiful.
His name was Stanley.
He was absolutely beautiful.”
Jessica Frances Dukes: “Yeah, I fell in love with the way George R. Stewart explains Emma.
He calls her mother of nations.
He compares her to Demeter and ISIS, and he calls her all these goddesses.
So I was like, okay, and she is, you know, passing in the book.
She’s just this massive piece of perfection to me.
And I was like, ‘How the hell am I gonna play that?’
Then I started to look up, you know, who are the goddesses that I am close to.
And I looked up all the goddesses that he mentions.
She’s you guys’ now.'”
Jessica Frances Dukes: “No, it was actually really hard to find the balance of that.
She says guilt is useless… Because for me, I was like, she’s lost everything.
How am I smiling?
How am I making jokes?
She lost two kids.
Yeah, she lost everything.
So it’s like, what?
How do you do that?
It would take me years to do that, and [Jessica] does it pretty effortlessly.
And I think she is purposefully there to help Ish go on his journey.”
Emma Actor Connecting to Her Earth Abides Character
“I Think She Questions That Daily.
Like…Why Me?
Why Am I the Last Person Left?'”
And I think in meeting Ish, she finds her purpose.
And I think that she is the bang out of person to go.
It must be this journey, so I’m going to make it the best journey I possibly can.
I think she questions that daily.
Like…‘why me?
Why am I the last person left?’
Because for a whole year, she was the last person left.
I mean, I think that that’s a big thing for me as an actor.
That was such a plus.
So there it was.
Really helped us through it."
It Was Absolutely Instant."
Jessica Frances Dukes: “Thank you very much.
You know it was instant.
It was absolutely instant.
Day 1, both of us were so heart first.
Both of us were like, ‘Hey, you know what do you want to do?
This is, let’s just play.’
It was just like, right in the table read.
It’s like that birthing moment where it’s just like, I can’t do this by myself.
I think both of us were just like, Okay.
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And then also I think Alex was so excited to have someone to talk to after Episode 1.
[He] was like, oh my god, somebody to talk to.
But we just, we’re both similar people… We love to talk, we love to connect.
And we never had to prepare anything.
All we did was just talk to each other and share as Ish and Emma.
And what you see on the screen is literally what happens in between that.”
Jessica Frances Dukes Teases Role in The Gilded Age
“I Play Athena Trumbo.
So that’s all I can say.
I had an amazing time.
I still have a few things to do, but it’s been a wonderful journey.
I don’t know when it’s coming out.
I don’t even know that information to tell you.
I love the shows that are just large and in charge.
So it was a joy to be a part of Marvel.
I’m a huge Marvel fan.
I think it might come back like I would want to.
I would want to play in both worlds… DC and Marvel, let’s go.
One of my favorites is [the DC Comics superhero] Vixen, but we can go there.
That’s a whole other conversation.
I feel like Emma could… That’s a little Vixen in there.
All six episodes ofEarth Abidesare now streaming on MGM+.
