Everleigh McDonell is an actress out of California. She has been seen on Fresh off The Boat, Truth Be Told and Good Girls. Soon she will be seen on the TV adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife.’
1. What was your first day back to set for season four of Good Girls like?
My first day back to set for season four of Good Girls was a little different because it was during COVID. We were finishing an episode that we had started during season 3, before COVID, and I had actually gotten sick that day because they had me eat a waffle during the scene, and I ate too much and puked it up! I never got to finish the scene that week since the show shut down because of COVID! When we moved onto season 4 of Good Girls, it was way different than it used to be. We had to take a COVID test two days before filming, a rapid COVID test with all the other TV shows at the Universal Studios Lot the day of filming, and then a lab test on the Good Girls set. We couldn’t eat lunch with everybody, we had to stay in our trailer and far away from each other, and try to not touch each other, which was really hard for me because I love to hug everyone!
2. Who was your favorite guest star to work with on the show?
I think it would have to be Jessica Walter because my scene with her was really fun. I was sitting down at the dining table and I was eating spaghetti with gunpowder in it and my grandma was there in the baby chair – it was the smallest chair because she was just visiting. And my spaghetti didn’t really have gunpowder in it – my TV brothers just said it did! I heard that Jessica Walter passed away recently and it was pretty sad and surprising too. I’m lucky I got to work with her!
3. How did playing Jane change from season two to season four?
Well, my first season, I was only 5 years old and had actually auditioned to play Emma Boland! And my last season I was 8 years old. The more I grow up, the more I think my acting improves. Also, my hair changed, my voice changed and I think that through the years, I’ve gotten better at being Jane than any other role I’ve played in my life. I’ve gotten so used to it and I just feel like I’m always going to be Jane Boland!
4. Do you have a favorite scene you filmed for the season?
I loved lots of scenes, and if it was going to be just one….then my favorite has to be the scene where I argue with my mom, Christina Hendricks, about eating (because in real life, I always love eating). I loved working with a stunt coordinator to learn how to not get hurt while running up the stairs really fast while fighting with Christina. I thought it was super cool that I got to do all this hard work. It made me want to do a superhero movie! I loved it! Christina did a really good job dragging me to my room, and she was saying bad words in the scene, so I was trying not to laugh.
5. What was your last day on set like?
It was actually pretty surprising because I didn’t even know it was our last day. The cast still had to finish the last few episodes of the season, and Jane wasn’t in those episodes because I was flying to New York to film a new TV show. I thought I was coming back for season 5 and I was really looking forward to it. It was pretty sad when the show was canceled and I heard there would be no more Good Girls. I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone, and I still want to, like, really bad!
6. Do you keep in touch with anyone from the show?
Actually, yes I do! I still talk to Scarlett, and she even visited me in New York over the summer while I was there filming. She came with her little sister and we all visited the Harry Potter store. Scarlett and I like to play Animal Crossing together too. I thought I was going to get to see Christina in New York because her boyfriend George is a camera guy on my new show!
7. How did you enjoy working with Cooper Friedman on the Kings Hawaiian commercial you did together?
It was pretty fun! I thought our lines in the commercial were funny. A sandwich coach? I’ve never heard of one of those before! Working with Cooper was cool. We had fun eating! We were excited to be in a commercial with Guy Fieri!
8. What was it like getting to travel to New York to film The Time Traveler’s Wife?
I was so excited! In my head, I was like “oh I really wanna get this job!” – but I knew it was such a big job and I had only been on 2 other shows, so I never thought that I would actually get that job. I just thought it was so cool to book the role of Clare, especially because I got to go to New York. I’ve wanted to go there since I was like 3 years old! When I was a baby, I went to New York, but I don’t even remember one bit of it, so I really wanted to go and re-live it again. I thought traveling to New York was amazing. We got to fly first class, in a really cool seat and I could lay down and watch movies. When we got there, we had a great view from the Uber, and we got to see the Statue of Liberty. That was amazing for me because I didn’t even remember anything about New York from when I was little. Our apartments that we lived in over the summer were amazing. New York was filled with good food places and I loved working on set!
9. What was the casting process like for the show?
It was pretty crazy. I had a meeting with the director and the casting director and they both have the same name. It was David and David! I couldn’t believe I was having a meeting with David Nutter and David Rubin. They’re such big people! I know David Nutter directed Game of Thrones so I was just like “Hi my name is Everleigh!” and I got to go over some scenes with them. And David Rubin did casting for a show that my cousins were on (Big Little Lies) so I thought was was really cool. When I got the job, it was kind of funny because I was on the toilet. My mom was yelling to find me and screamed that I got the job of Claire in Time Travelers Wife and I was going to get to go to New York! She ran downstairs, trying to find me and I was screaming and so happy that I got the job!
10. Can you tell us anything about your character?
My character is Clare Abshire, and she is a curious girl who loves to play in the woods. Her brother won’t play with her, which Claire does not like. I can’t talk about scenes so this is so hard! I want to talk about my dad, Michael Park, but I can’t! The show is mainly about Clare and this time traveler, Henry. The time traveler meets Clare when she is 6 years old – it’s kind of like an imaginary friend but he’s real. She grows up getting used to sort of having a playdate with one of her best friends for her whole life.
Is there anything else you want to add?
I want to add something and it’s about my director. My director, David Nutter, was sooooo nice. When I was working, I had to run really far. David had this man get me an ice cold water, but David didn’t have the man give it to me; no, David grabbed it out of his hand and ran to me to hand it to me. David had so many meetings with just me, and was so nice. Also Theo James is so nice and funny, and he has an accent in real life! He’s from England! It was really fun working with Theo. I wish I could have worked with Rose Leslie, but I couldn’t since we are playing the same person. But I did get to meet her and she was really nice. We found out we are related to the same people from Scotland! And she also has an accent! I really miss everybody!
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Image by: Luke Fontana
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