‘Ozark’ star Jessica Frances Dukes nearly misses audition due to train delay in New York

Ozark star Jessica Frances Dukes wasn’t going to let the New York subway system derail her audition for the role of FBI agent and forensic accountant Maya Miller.

In an exclusive interview with Page Six, the actress tells us how intensely she prepared for the ridiculous role, which will play Jason Bateman (Marty Bird) and Laura Linney (Wendy Bird), whose characters get into a difficult money problem. a laundering scheme that leads their family to the Ozarks.

“I was a fan of the show before I auditioned, so I watched seasons 1 and 2 probably a few times because I’m a huge Jason Bateman fan; I’m a huge Laura Linney fan. So I said, ‘I’m learning,'” Dukes, 43, recalled of the four-season Netflix drama series.

While she “watched the first season for fun,” Dukes tuned into Season 2 to “learn” and “learn.”

The actress, who is set to star in the upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama series The Earth Lives, admits she couldn’t believe it “when the audition came around (Ozarka”), telling us her reaction was loud. “nahhhh.”

But she thought, “I’ll go anyway. I’m going to go into this room. I’m going to kill this audition.”

Not only was Dukes “late for (her) audition because of the trains in New York,” but she was also not dressed for the role.

“I had to walk in and I think I had on, like, a shoe, leather tights and, like, this denim trench coat — not like Maya Miller at all. And I had to audition like this,” she recalls.

But Dukes, who started working in theater, was confident in her training and abilities, telling us: “I got the job done. I knew the show so well and I just thought, “I know I’m talking to Jason Bateman in these scenes.” I know who Marty is. I watch him so much. I understood that.’

The actress says that she “got a call about a month later.”

As if the news wasn’t enough to celebrate, Dukes was told that agent Maya Miller has moved from a recurring role to a series regular, as she recalls the showrunners telling her, “We’re ready to go on this journey with you. »

Dukes, who is currently filming Season 3 of the historical drama The Gilded Age, says filming The Ozarks was “one of the best experiences of (her) life.”

He was also one of the funniest. Despite the “heavy” nature of the show, Dukes reveals that there was pure comedy behind the scenes.

“It was the funniest shoot ever,” she says with a laugh, calling Bateman, 55, “the king of comedy.”

“What he is is exactly what you feel when you watch him. When you go on set, there is no ego. There is no “I’m better than”. He’s such a family guy,” Dukes adds of Bateman, going on to say that “Laura is also really funny.”

According to Dukes, the shared jokes and laughter continued “all the way to ‘The Action!'”

While it wasn’t necessarily a funny memory, there was one particular scene with the “amazing,” “career-goal” Linney, 60, that Dukes calls one of her “favorite moments as an actress.”

“It felt like every day was a master class with her,” marvels Dukes. “We had a scene. She just comes in and says, “I’m going to do it a few different ways.” And she leaves the room, and I say, “OK.”

“And we do the first take and she does it like the sweetest person in the whole world. She leaves the room, (and) they shout: “Cut!” I say, “Okay, great.” (They shout) “Action!” She comes back and does it like the Wicked Witch of the West, and they yell, “Cut!” And she goes out. And then she comes back and they do it again and she’s like, selling me cookies! And I thought, “What happened?”

Dukes explains that her theater background allowed her to be “open and just responsive” to how Linney chose to approach the stage.

“This scene is best watched when one is not planning and acting,” Dukes says, calling the experience “just wonderful.”