Vanessa Ferlito
When I reviewed the pilot for the USA network show Graceland, I had less than flattering things to say about Vanessa Ferlito’s role as Charlie. Since then, her role as an undercover FBI agent has evolved, and Charlie has become a force to be reckoned with. On June 6, 2014, I spoke with Ferlito about Graceland and what she is excited for the fans to see this season.
While you can’t see it in the transcript, I enjoyed hearing the excitement in Ferlito’s voice every time she mentioned her costar Daniel Sunjata, who plays Paul Briggs on the show. I admit, I blundered a question about a twitter account that isn’t hers but I recovered from it ok. Graceland returns tonight 10/9c, only on USA Network and you can read my advance review here.
Here are my questions, followed by the remaining Q&A of the call.
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Melissa: Hi everyone. My name is Meliss from USA Network and I’m so happy you were all able to take the time to speak with Vanessa Ferlito today who stars as Charlie DeMarco on the hit drama series, Graceland, which returns this Wednesday at 10, 9 Central.
The second season follows FBI, DEA and ICE agents who struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy especially when former FBI rookie, Mike Warren, played by Aaron Tveit, returns to Graceland to run point on his dangerous mission against the cartel. And with that I’m going to turn it over to Vanessa who can tell you more about the upcoming season, where we find Charlie, and what fans can expect.
Operator: And our first question from the line of Greg Staffa with Your Entertainment Corner. Please go ahead.
Greg Staffa: Hi, Vanessa. Thanks for taking our question today.
Vanessa Ferlito: Hi, hi, how are you?
Greg Staffa: Good. Enjoyed the first two episodes so far. Graceland is an intense show both mentally and physically. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as an actress doing Graceland, and without giving anything away, can you tell us a particular scene that you’re proud of this season?
Vanessa Ferlito: A scene that I’m proud of, oh God, I did one the other night. I can’t give away too much because it’s the one right before the finale. But there’s a scene between Daniel and I. It’s probably one of the best scenes that I’ve ever done in my – I mean I haven’t seen it but it sounds like – it felt like magic. Without giving away too much -you know, Daniel and I are together a lot this season and, you know, at this point by the end it’s just a mess and there is this scene between us that involves an animal and something bad happens. And it was just such an emotional scene, so emotional that I couldn’t – I got so emotional and so upset that it was hard for me to come down from it. But Daniel stopped the came over and was like, you know, kind of taking care of me because I just got so worked up and felt sad. So yes, that – I think that is one of the best scenes that I’ve ever done in my life.
Greg Staffa: Wow, can’t wait to see it. Thank you.
Vanessa Ferlito: I think – well, you’ll know because it involves an animal. But it’s episode I want to say 2-10, very close to the end.
Greg Staffa: Jeff Eastin does an amazing job of treating strong female characters for both shows, White Collar and Graceland. And I’m wondering if that’s what drew you to your character when you first read the script.
Vanessa Ferlito: Exactly that. I knew, I just knew it was special when I read it. You know, me, Vanessa, I always say I would have been a great cop, I would have been a great FBI agent, great undercover. I just love all that stuff. By just growing up in Brooklyn, you know, tough neighborhood, I just would have been a great cop. Maybe that’s why I’m always drawn to those roles.
So when Graceland came around what I loved most about it was that you – that Charlie is such a strong woman, so independent, one of the best in her field. And you also get to see into her life. It’s not just about crime, it’s not just about case resolving; you see into her life, her love life, her struggles. Her father is in jail; he is Mafia. You get to feel that and that’s what I thought was unique and special about Graceland when I read it.
I mean all of that wasn’t – when I read it obviously and I got the role, Jeff Eastin contacted me and he pitched th whol thing to me and he told me what it would be. And it turned out exactly like that.
So, I, yes, I get to live vicariously through Charlie whic is I get to be an FBI agent and be in love with the most beautiful man on the planet which is Paul Briggs. You don’t really get that stuff on procedural shows, you know. You don’t get to see what their struggles and what they go through and, you know, you don’t really get to see that. That’s what I love about Graceland.
Greg Staffa: I’m going to call you out a little bit right now…
Vanessa Ferlito: You’re going to call me out?
Greg Staffa: Your other housemate, Daniel, maybe he’s a friend of a friend and they’re all active tweeters, they’re all active on Twitter. And according to your Twitter page your last tweet was, “I am awful with keeping up with my tweets. I will try harder,” which was dated February 18, 2010.
Vanessa Ferlito: That’s not me. I’ve never had a Twitter account.
Greg Staffa: Oh, it’s not. Well, if you could tweet…
Vanessa Ferlito: I have never had a Twitter account, I’ve never had a Facebook account, I’ve never had a MySpace. Remember MySpace? Do people use that anymore? I have never had any of that.
Greg Staffa: Okay, I’m going to change it then. Then what would you tweet if you could tweet?
Vanessa Ferlito: If I could tweet — I don’t want to sound corny or anything but if I was out there tweeting, I’d probably – you know what, I’m one of those people that if a fan started talking to me and might want my advice — always starts — it would become like a Dear Abby line, I swear to God. That’s why. You know, I couldn’t like ignore certain people. I’ll tell you why I don’t have Twitter. I’m not really good with — this is going to sound crazy — I’m not really savvy with new technology and I kind of like to keep it that way, nice and simple outside of the acting. And acting is, outside of my son, acting is my passion, my joy, and that’s really what it is for me. But outside of acting I live a very normal life. I’m a single mom. I have to take care of my son, which many, many women out there, I’m sure, do.
So I kind of made the choice to not get involved in anything like that that might – I don’t know, you know, take me away from what’s really important in life. Does that make sense?
Greg Staffa: Yes. I’m glad I was able to clarify then that you’re not on Twitter. Thank you.
Vanessa Ferlito: Yes, that’s an impostor.
Vanessa Ferlito: That’s pretty scary. But I would probably tweet, you know, that I love all the fans and I’m so grateful to all of them. And that’s the truth.
Greg Staffa: Ah, thank you.
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Operator: Our next question is from the lin of Sabienna. Please go ahead.
Sabienna: Hi Vanessa, it’s so nice to speak with you today.
Vanessa Ferlito: Hello, hello.
Sabienna: Hi Vanessa. Can you hear me?
Vanessa Ferlito: Yes, hi.
Sabienna: It’s so nice to speak with you.
Vanessa Ferlito: Hi, you too.
Sabienna: I love your character in Graceland. I saw – you’re probably my favorite from last season. And I just wanted to…
Vanessa Ferlito: Oh, thank you so much.
Sabienna: Can you say a little bit about what we can expect for Charlie this year?
Vanessa Ferlito: What to expect from Charli this year, well, the beginning. You know, coming off of what happened in the first season you saw?
Sabienna: Yes.
Vanessa Ferlito: I want to say the first couple of episodes Charlie and Briggs are really low- key. Have you seen any of the episodes from the second season?
Sabienna: I haven’t, not yet.
Vanessa Ferlito: Yes, me either. Okay, so, you know, the first couple of episodes she is kind of like – because she’s traumatized from last year – last season, from her life last year. I’m saying last season but Charlie DeMarco is traumatized from last year. I mean, you know, the whole Jangles thing and thinking Briggs (unintelligible) which she is (unintelligible). But she doesn’t know that; she tortured herself.
So second season Charlie is a little unsure of herself which is crazy because she’s one of the best agents. You know, she’s a really good agent…
Sabienna: Yes.
Vanessa Ferlito: …She has been doing it a long time. She’s really dedicated to her job. She actually loves what she does. She doesn’t do it for a paycheck. So when you see Charlie kind of backing down and not wanting to go undercover and, you know, she goes undercover and is (unintelligible) not a lot of action. She’s keeping really low-key.
So she comes back – so Mike tries to, you know, get her to do some stuff and she sort of like she’s not getting the job done. Finally Briggs confronts her and he’s like, “What is your problem, what’s going on?” She’s like, how can I do this? How can I do this anymore? You know, I can’t trust myself. I was so wrong. The sad thing about that is she was so right, but Briggs will never admit to it, you know?
Sabienna: Yes.
Vanessa Ferlito: He’s so worried that she’s going to judge him or look at him in a different way, not look at him the same. You know, it was really intense relationship. So the whole beginning of the season is it’s really just Briggs and Charlie, you know,and hen we’re back together again because in the second season – in the first season we mess around. We make mention of him and I having fun in the past and being together.
So it’s an ongoing thing. They can’t be with each other; they can’t be without each other. When they are with each other it’s like so intense, you know. So they’re giving it another shot and they’re both trying to be kind of low-key but in my opinion it’s not really in their character. So it eventually all just breaks loose. Things start to happen. Stuff from the first season come out and it blows up. So…
Sabienna: That’s sounds amazing, the next…
Vanessa Ferlito: …I don’t think anybody should be too comfortable with the lovey-dovey stuff because what happens is heart-wrenching. Still when I read the script I’m like, Oh god, like, you know, it’s really, really intense
Sabienna Bowman: Oh my gosh, I’m really looking forward to it. Thank you so much, Vanessa.
Vanessa Ferlito: You’re welcome. Thank you so much.
Operator: Our next question is from the line of Tina. Please go ahead.
Tina: Hi there.
Vanessa Ferlito: Hi.
Tina: How does Charlie react to Mike taking point, you know, coming back to Graceland and kind of leading things?
Vanessa Ferlito: Yes. You know, I think it’s the way he – I don’t think she likes taking orders from anybody other than Paul Briggs and herself. So Mike was the rookie last season. All of a sudden he comes back and he’s trying to, you know, run the house and tell everybody what they have to do and blah, blah.
It’s a little bit of a – I don’t want to say problem but it’s interesting for her. She’s not used to that. You know, last year she was like his – you know, he is like, she is the mom of Graceland. She like took my kind of under- but she really likes Mike and he was like a rookie and, you know, she would help him out with things and, you know, he comes and he’s like you’ll all be working for me.
So it doesn’t go over too well with Charlie. You know, she still tries to push her weight around with Mike. You know, he’ll give her an order and she still does what she wants to do. So it doesn’t go over too well with her.
Tina: Okay, great. Thank you.
Vanessa Ferlito: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question is from the line of Jamie Steinberg with Starry. You may go ahead.
Vanessa Ferlito: Hey Jamie.
Jamie: Hi Vanessa. Nice to speak with you. Thank you so much.
Vanessa Ferlito: How are you doing?
Jamie: I’m great because I can talk to you.
Vanessa Ferlito: Right!
Jamie: We’re here locally in Florida and we know that the show gets filmed here as well…
Vanessa Ferlito: Yes.
Jamie: …and the location for the show, Graceland, seems to kind of be at times a character in itself. Can you talk a little bit about that? Tell me here and how that might fit into the show.
Vanessa Ferlito: Well, the show is supposed to, as you know, supposed to be set in California…
Jamie: Right.
Vanessa Ferlito: …so a lot of the exterior stuff, well, like (Hector)’s Tacos is stuff that we made up but its location is in Florida, you know. So with that we’re very lucky to be here. We love Florida. Everybody is so great. They just gave us the key to Fort Lauderdale like they treat us so well.
We try to make it look as much like California as possible but I think – and I think they’re doing a great job of that. So your question was where it’s set has a lot to do with it? Was that the ques-
Jamie: Yes, eve though you film here in, you know, in Florida and as you mentioned it’s supposed to be California but the location is i a beach setting and the sunny weather and I know that seems to be kind of be a character in itself at times. Can you talk about that portion?
Vanessa Ferlito: Absolutely. Yes, but just we love – we all love to surf. It was like, you know, it’s so funny in Graceland like the surfing, the soft night, the beach. I guess they want to show because we live such crazy lives and this is not – this is all real. This vast – you know, this is based on a true story and everything that goes on like everything that happened with Jangles and thinking – and agent that are crooked and this is – all of that is real.
So I think they love to incorporate the beach and the sunny weather and the, you know, all of that beauty and set her out because it’s like we have to find some kind of relief, you know. That’s what I love about the show, like when you watch your show and not the procedurals, it’s all about the clime.
You know there is sea. You want to know more about he agents, want to know what they do outside of work, where they go to (sing), where they go to unwind, what do they do. That’s what I love about Graceland. We surf, we (soak), we drink and there’s romance in the house. So, yes, the beach, the sun, everything about where it is a huge part of what the show is, what eally fills the (cupboard). We love Florida though. Great.
Jamie: Thank you.
Vanessa Ferlito: Thank you.
Operator: And we do have a follow-up question from the line of Tina. Just go ahead, Tina.
Tina: Hi, why are your viewers…
Vanessa Ferlito: Hi.
Tina: …going to want to tune in to Season 2 of Graceland and why will returning viewers love Season 2?
Vanessa Ferlito: Why will viewers love Season 2?
Tina: Yes.
Vanessa Ferlito: Ahm, god, because well, it’s way darker than the first season and if you want dark and you like dark that’s what you’re going to get. A ot of stuff between Charlie and Briggs really crazy I think people are going to fall off the chair when they see what happens. That’s what happened when I read the script; I almost died.
And just, you know, everything, it’s violent, there is sex, there is love, thereare fights. The house is kind of – there’s like a divide in the house; there are soft nights. It’s really crazy and really dark, really dark.
So if you thought last season was heroine, you know, me shooting heroine and all that crazy stuff was dark, then, you know, you have to be prepared for this season, yes.
Tina: Well, you sound like you’re having a lot of fun shooting Graceland.
Vanessa Ferlito: I have – honestly, I have the best time. I have to be honest this is like one of my favorites. I don’t know if it’s just that, you know, when you’re in the business a quite a while you get a little more comfortable. I mean, you know, I’ve worked with Tarantino, I’ve worked with Oliver Stone and I’ve worked on great things and I loved all of them. I have to say this is like – this is one of my favorite jobs. I’m having the best time of my life.
Really, I love my cast members. That’s so rare, okay, everybody just gets along all the time. The writing is fantastic. I love the creator of my show. I am having the best – I have the best time. We joke around a lot, you know. It’s a really great set.Hello?
Tina: I mean can you just talk about working with Daniel Sunjata?
Vanessa Ferlito: Oh, can I talk – do you have enough time?
Tina: Yes.
Vanessa Ferlito: Because I’m obsessed with him. Okay. Working with Daniel Sunjata, honestly — and I get to work with him the most. I’m the luckiest girl on the planet. Obvious reasons, he’s one of the most beautiful men on the planet.
But, honestly, that’s such a small part of who he really is. He is one of the smartest, most considerate, giving, selfless human beings I’ve ever met in my life. I adore him. I’d like, you know, to say that I can call him a close friend. I love him, I do. He’s (the best).
You know what, he’s a tremendous actor, he’s giving in every way, in real life and on TV. Most of my scenes are with him this season. Charlie and Briggs are facts together, stronger than ever, and there’s a lot of twists and turns. He’s like one of my favorite people in the world. I love him.
Tina: Great, thank you.
Vanessa Ferlito: You’re welcome.
Tina: Awesome.
Operator: We have no further questions at his time. Melissa, I’ll turn it back to you for closing remarks.
Melissa: Okay, so thank you all so much for taking the time to speak with Vanessa, Be sure to tune in for the Season 2 premiere of Graceland on Wednesday, June 11, at 10/9 Central. And have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude the conference call for today. Have a great weekend everyone.
END
Graceland returns Wednesday, June 11, 2014, 10/9c, only on USA Network.
For more information on Graceland, visit the official website.
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Follow the stars of Graceland on Twitter: @DanielGRACELAND, @MannyMontana, @SwanSerinda, and @brandojay.
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All photos © 2014 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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