Emily Bett Rickards Habla sobre la popularidad de Felicity Smoak, el descamisado Oliver y Más
Por Craig Byrne 19 de Abril, 2013
Yesterday we had the privilege of interviewing Emily Bett Rickards, one of Arrow’s biggest surprises who plays the breakout character Felicity Smoak on the series. It seems like just yesterday “Arrow IT girl” were sending people to this site; in the time since, Felicity has learned Oliver’s secret about his alter ego and become a part of the crime fighting team… all while maintaining a job at Queen Consolidated.
We’ll be posting some video from this interview this weekend; in the meantime, we’re going to be spreading out the text of the interview over the next three days here at GreenArrowTV. As such, this is Part 1 of a three-part interview; follow @GreenArrowTV on Twitter for more updates when more will be posted.
We’ll be presenting this interview as a Q&A, with our questions posted in bold and Ms. Rickards’ answers in plain text. Enjoy… and before you ask, yes, Emily Bett Rickards is just as cool as Felicity is, if not even cooler.
GREENARROWTV: When you first got the role of Felicity, did you expect it to be a one time only thing?
EMILY BETT RICKARDS: Yeah. That’s exactly what I expected. It said “possibly recurring,” but you never know. It is what it is. You go in for one day, you hope so bad it’s going to be recurring, and when I got the second episode, I was just like “Yeah,” and I felt like, for sure, that was going to be it. And here I am!
What was your reaction when you found out you’d be a series regular for Arrow Season 2?
I was ecstatic. I was extremely thankful. Grateful. Honored. I’m not usually speechless, but I’m pretty speechless about it. I’m very excited. We have such an excellent cast. Our creative team is extraordinary. The story that they go through in the first season, looking at it from bookend to bookend, is just huge. I’m super thankful.
Were you surprised by the instant fan reaction when Felicity first showed up on the show?
I guess I was kind of in shock…. I sort of said “Oh, that’s so nice. They like her. I’m really glad that they like her.” That’s a huge compliment to me, and a huge compliment to our creative and our writing team. I was just, like, so happy about that… and then thanks to the fans and the reaction, they brought me back. That was great for me, and I got to explore Felicity more. That’s what I’m really excited about.
While everyone’s down in the lair, Oliver’s doing shirtless exercises while Felicity is trying to work. How does she ever concentrate?
Concentrate? She just stares at him. She’s like “oh, there you are, shirtless and getting a spray down.” She’s a great multi-tasker. How’s that sound? [laughs]
And how do you, as an actress, concentrate when Stephen is doing that?
I don’t know… he’s obviously extremely good looking, but we’re working, and Stephen and I are friends, and that’s just really fun. I always bug him when he’s got his shirt off. It’s like, “I’m going to have a great day today.” [laughs]
Is it possible at all that Felicity might not be all that she appears to be? Could she be a mole for Malcolm Merlyn, or anything like that?
Oh, gee. Not that I know of, actually, but that would be very interesting, eh? I don’t think so. No. But we do get to see Felicity sort of dissolve her fears a little bit, going out into the field, and that sort of thing. I think that’s something to look forward to.
There’s something coming up with Felicity going undercover [Episode 21, "The Undertaking"]. Can you talk about that?
Yes. She goes undercover, and she looks fine. [laughs] She volunteers to go undercover, which is different from Episode 15… and also different in that she doesn’t have a bomb collar on her neck, but the stakes are even higher, and the danger is even greater. She’s in there trying to keep composed, undercover, surrounded by people that are extremely dangerous.
Why does Felicity stick by Oliver at that time? The synopsis that Diggle and Tommy are mad at him at the moment?
Felicity gets involved in the sense that she wants to have everyone honest with each other and work things out, but she’s not going to judge everyone individually on what happened between them. If it involves her or not, what’s really strong about Felicity is she takes her own view and looks at things very objectively. I think that comes from working with computers, because there’s literally one way. It’s either you do this and it works, or you do this and it doesn’t. She looks at things objectively, and she goes “if this works, and this works,” there’s pros and cons to these situations. I think that’s really powerful about her.
GREENARROWTV: The entire Arrow cast seems to hang out a lot, with lots of pictures that you guys tweet. Can you talk about that?
EMILY BETT RICKARDS: Colton [Haynes] and I are really good friends. Colin and I live a building away from each other, on the same block, so Colin and I hang out a lot… I get to work with Stephen and David a lot, so we’re all really close… and I get to see Katie every so often, which is awesome, and Willa, too.
I get to hang out with Colton, I think, the most. Colton and I get along really well, and Colin, because he’s like the funniest person I know. He’s extraordinary, and brilliant, and super talented.
Speaking of Colton… when are Roy and Felicity going to have a scene together?
I don’t know, guys. Not in the first season. Maybe in the second. I can give you that much.
What can you tease about the season finale (airing May 15)?
I’m not allowed to talk about much, but I can tell you that it’s enormous. 22 could be the season finale, and it’s not, so think about taking that one step higher. I think everyone will really enjoy it. Super high stakes. Lots of danger. Lots of sacrifice.
What are the possibilities of a romance between Felicity and Oliver?
Possibilities of “Olicity”… Olicity’s a great ‘ship. I don’t know who came up with that. I would love to meet the first person who came up with it. It’s great.
I don’t know. I’ve said this since Olicity started being ‘shipped, that we get to see the relationship evolve. We get to see them become more honest with each other, and open up… Oliver doesn’t open up to very many people. You know when you meet someone who doesn’t open up to very many people, that you can feel yourself admiring them. You love someone that you’re friends with, and you love someone that you could look up to, and you could love someone you’d admire and could be honest with. I think those are all the right steps into making a relationship, but they also don’t guarantee that one’s going to happen.
What about the possibility of Felicity and someone else, like maybe Diggle?
That would be kind of fun. I don’t know! I think Felicity hasn’t earned [but] will earn a romance or some sort of interesting romance or friendship in Season 2. I’m not sure, because I don’t know much about that. But I think she has earned it, and I think it’s extremely possible.
What would you like to see for her in Season 2, in general?
Well, I’d like to see her home life. I would like to learn more about her home life and where she comes from. And, obviously I’d like to see her doing combat, but that’s for me, not for Felicity. [laughs] I don’t think she’d be too coordinated.
Yeah, I’d like to see more of her home life; maybe where she comes from, who her parents are.
Do you think she could ever put on a costume?
Well, I mean she kind of does when she puts on a dress, but if she puts on a cape? I don’t know. Would her cape be purple? I don’t know. I’m just saying.
Had you followed comic books at all before getting this role?
I hadn’t, really. I was never introduced into that world, but I’m really happy I am now, because I love it.
Have you seen the comic book version of Felicity Smoak? She’s quite different.
Yes, I have. She is quite different. I mean, she’s older, and there’s Richard Raymond, and they have that whole thing with Firestorm, so obviously that’s… we’re staying away from actual super powers on the show. So there are things that won’t happen, and things that will, and I like how our writers and our creative team have picked and chosen what they sort of want, and what direction they want tthe show to go in. But, yeah. I’m not that tall. I’m not brunette. I’m not that old. She’s smart. She wasn’t very awkward in the series. I think she was sort of “straight to it,” you know what I mean? But I love Felicity in Arrow. I love her.
GREENARROWTV: Do you have any plans for the summer hiatus; any movies or anything like that?
EMILY BETT RICKARDS: Well, I am auditioning this week, so I’ll keep you posted.
A fan on Twitter had asked: Are you planning any convention appearances?
I don’t quite know yet. I hope to, and I will let you know as soon as I know, because it would be really fun to meet you.
Is there anyone that you’d like to work with that you haven’t gotten to work with yet on the series?
I really want to work… I’d love to work with John Barrowman. [laughs] I get to be on set with him… he’s awesome. Everyone’s seen the little musical we all made together. And Susanna [Thompson]. I’d love to… I mean, I’d love to work with everyone, but I’d love to work with Susanna. I really admire her. I admire her work a lot. I admire everyone’s work, but I would really like to work with Susanna, who I haven’t gotten a chance to work with.
Why do you think that the audience has connected with Felicity so well?
I think she’s relatable. I think that she is honest. Because she can’t, she doesn’t have a filter, she doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking. She helps out a superhero, and she’s got all these cool gadgets.
What did you think when you received the script where Felicity found out what was going on with Oliver?
I liked what Felicity said in that script. She was like “you know, I’m not stupid. I’m not an idiot. You gave me the energy drink and a syringe, right?” I don’t think she was shocked to find out that Oliver was the Hood, but I think that she was surprised that she actually hadn’t labeled it earlier. Because what do you think, that Oliver Queen’s going to be the Hood? You don’t think that, because you just don’t. It’s impossible to think; that’s why Oliver hasn’t been found out yet. But I think it’s important, and I think Felicity was scared [at first]. She’s still frightened, but we get to see her dissolve her fears. But when she first found out? Unstill waters.
Do you think that Oliver is a better person or a better vigilante now that Felicity is part of his “gang?”
I think they’re learning from each other. I think that’s what happens in our relationships and our every day life. And I think whether or not he’s a better person, I think she’s opened his eyes to other aspects. These are real people, you are killing real people, whether or not they’re bad guys, and you are a real person, and you can’t get lost in the vigilante, or else you’re going to destroy your personal life.
What can you tease about this Wednesday’s episode, “Home Invasion?”
There is tension between the “Scooby Gang” as Natalie [Abrams] labeled it earlier. Diggle and Oliver are going to get into a little bit of tension, and Felicity has to play neutral.
But, the undercover episode is the week after, “The Undertaking,” correct?
Yes.
What’s this about Felicity being seen at Big Belly Burger? Is this the same episode?
That is… Episode 22.
What is the context of that?
[Purposely vague] She is undercover, again, and it’s part of her facade. It helps her move around. She’s not in a dress.
Are there any more characters Felicity might meet before season’s end?
She does get to meet a couple more characters. We do get to see that. She doesn’t really get to involve herself, too much, with other characters. I mean, our characters cross paths… I think she says hi to Laurel at some point, but there’s nothing crazy.
So no one’s going to figure out Oliver’s been hanging out with the IT girl from Queen Consolidated?
No. Nobody knows.
On that note… what happened to that job? Is Felicity still doing it?
She is still doing it, as of right now. Queen Consolidated is sort of whittling away. I mean, Walter is gone, and Moira is focused on other things, and over her head. Queen Consolidated is still working, and she is still working there. I mean, she does show up to the Foundry in her work clothes most of the time. Yeah. She’s still there, so you can still find her there, but she’s not there very often.
If and when Walter is possibly found, will Felicity feel that her job is done?
I think she’s more involved than that now. I think she’s left that condition, when she negotiated her being part of the team. She’s found another reason to stay.
Do you have anything else you’d like to say to the fans who might be reading this?
Hope to see you guys at a conference soon!
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