Keri Russell wasn’t planning to return to television. After rising to fame at the turn of the millennium starring in the WB drama Felicity, as a lovesick young woman who follows her high-school crush to a college across the country, Russell established herself a decade ago as one of the finest actresses of the medium. She went on to earn three Emmy nominations for her portrayal of a Soviet spy opposite her now-husband, Matthew Rhys, on the FX drama The Americans. A Keri Russell series has long been synonymous with television excellence.
It was during the Christmas holiday of 2021, when she was already in the middle of trying to make dinner for her children’s three sets of grandparents, that Russell chose to take a meeting with creator Debora Cahn about The Diplomat. Although she wasn’t looking to lead another series, Russell found that she couldn’t stop thinking about the role of Kate Wyler—a veteran American diplomat in the Middle East who, following an international incident, is sent to work as the ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The show is “letting us peek inside and behind the curtain of the diplomatic world of the State Department. It is a very private world, probably for good reason,” Russell—who earned a fourth Emmy nomination for the first season of The Diplomat—tells Harper’s Bazaar. “All of those things were exciting, but specifically the fact that she was creating this character who did not necessarily fit the mold [of a typical diplomat]—with the way she looks, her hair and clothes; she is too bold and not polished. That was the fun stuff for me.”
While attempting to defuse geopolitical tensions, Kate must decide whether her marriage to the frustrating yet diplomatically brilliant Hal (Rufus Sewell) is worth saving. In the six-episode second season, which premieres Thursday, Kate and Hal try to prove that the attack that brought them to the U.K. came from inside the British government—all while the potential of Kate being tapped to serve as the next vice president looms large over them.
“The tension and energy that [Kate and Hal] have with each other, which is so fun and mostly why I signed onto the project, is just a different color this season,” Russell says.
Below, Russell opens up about the experience of immersing herself in the world of high-powered diplomats, the attraction of the beautifully dysfunctional relationship between Kate and Hal, the introduction of Janney’s Vice President Grace Penn—and why she will always love Felicity.
You didn’t speak with many people who worked for the government in preparation for the first season, but you intentionally reached out to some diplomats—including Jane Hartley, the current U.S. ambassador to the U.K.—between seasons. What kind of experience have you had immersing yourself in that world, and what kind of feedback have you gotten from people in that line of work?
I desperately hope that they take [the show] as a love letter to the State Department, to diplomats, and to foreign service, because that is how we mean it. It certainly is not a show that is all substance. It’s incredibly silly at times, but they’ve been incredibly gracious with us so far. We’ve approached Samantha Power; we’ve been able to listen to some incredible politicians. I think it just broadens your world, and it helps you understand our [own] world more. My biggest message is that I hope they continue to keep putting up with us and that we don’t offend them. [Laughs.]
I hang out with Ambassador Hartley a lot. We have fun dinners with Christiane Amanpour, and there’s been some amazing dinners with Hillary Clinton. Living at the real Winfield House, Jane has these incredible dinners with these formidable people, and I just get to tag along sometimes as the clown, and it is really fun. It never gets old. I’m always the least smart person in the room, and that is amazing to be a part of. Watching people whose minds work that quickly is thrilling. And, usually, once you’re at that level, you have it all: they’re super smart, they’re funny, they’re easy, they’re cool. They are really good company as well.
Kate was ready to end her marriage to Hal at multiple points during the first season. But after nearly losing him in a car bomb explosion, she realizes she is not ready to lose him yet. How would you characterize the evolution of the beautifully dysfunctional relationship between Kate and Hal?
I definitely think she was ready at the end of season one to put herself first and look elsewhere. I think she’d had enough with Hal, and then as is so often [the case] in relationships when something traumatic happens, [that traumatic event] just really brings you back [together]. Anything remotely independent or extraneous or selfish falls by the wayside, and you go into protection mode. I think the magic of Kate and Hal is this intrinsic energy that they have with each other, which, yes, in the first season was full of friction, conflict and abuse. [Laughs.] But what I’m trying to say is whether they’re apart or together, that energy will always be [there].
This season, she’s come back to him because he’s been hurt. I love that in that first episode especially, she’s gone away to Paris with [David Gyasi’s foreign secretary] Dennison and worn this amazing dress, and when she hears that Hal got hurt, she doesn’t even look Dennison in the eye. She does not make eye contact with him! [Laughs.] She’s like, “That is not important. Hal is the most important thing now.” And then with what’s happening in the world and not knowing who you can trust, that closes the circle even further, because she does trust Hal. That is her person.
There are some beautifully intimate moments in the second season between Kate and Hal: Kate breaking down and lying in Hal’s hospital bed, Kate helping Hal take off his shoes before bed after they’ve had a fight, Kate helping Hal through the fireworks on the Fourth of July. How have you worked with Rufus to capture the physical and emotional intimacy of your characters’ relationship against this tense political backdrop?
Honestly, I would love to say it’s something that Rufus and I have done, but what Debora has created is just that good and that specific. Rufus and I have a very easy relationship, and I think it helps the work because I’m not trying to fight against anything. It’s not like we hang out off set or anything. We just have an easy chemistry—and a very silly chemistry. We’re constantly playing and laughing and making fun of each other, and I think there’s a real openness, so we don’t work on things. It just works. I trust him; he trusts me. We absolutely look forward to those scenes, whether it’s a big, long, 10-page policy discussion, or a big fight, or a wrestling match. [Laughs.]
I wish I had a name for why it works, but I think it’s just a combination of good writing, and we just don’t scare each other. These people are really fleshed out, and it’s just a relationship that is real. It would be very simple to say, “He’s a bad guy. He’s jealous of her career.” It’s not that simple. She’s not great at being the boss. There’s a part of his misbehavior and bull-in-a-china-shop tactics that she probably likes and wishes she could be like at times. We all have those things in our relationships, and I think they are a really unique mix.
This season, viewers get introduced to Vice President Grace Penn, played by the inimitable Allison Janney. Considering that so many of Kate’s showdowns have happened with men, it was fascinating to see the dynamics at play between her and another covertly power-hungry woman.
It’s incredible. First of all, that scene in Primary Colors of Allison falling up the stairs—I’ve watched that so many times. I think she’s so good at physical comedy. She’s so smart. She’s so fun. Having her come on the show is such a good callback to The West Wing, and having her tear Kate down [about] the hair, the clothes—it’s a total delight. I think the world of her, and it’s such a boon that we got her to be on the show.
I won’t spoil it for readers, but there is another massive cliffhanger in the finale that will propel these characters into the third season. [Editor’s note: The Diplomat has already been renewed for a third season.] What would you personally be looking forward to exploring with Kate going forward?
That cliffhanger is fucking crazy! [Laughs.] Just when you think it could get any crazier... It’s so fun, so surprising, so good. Debora has told me a little bit about what could come, and it just gets even better. You won’t believe what she has in store. It is better than I could ever imagine.
I remember early in the first season, everything was gearing up to Kate [becoming] vice president. And early on, I remember saying to Debora, “I’m not going to have to be vice president, am I? Because I like this show. This is what I like.” Debora took a long time, and she said, “The show’s called The Diplomat, not The Vice President.” And I was like, “Good, okay.” So the complication of Grace Penn, Allison Janney’s character, coming in and all the problems she creates is excellent.
What I’m not as interested in is the person who gets to become Vice President, has perfect hair and gives perfect speeches. I like the girl who was devastated about the failure of Afghanistan, who can’t keep her clothes clean before going into the Oval Office, and who has a messy, passionate, sexy relationship with this nut job, mess of a husband. That is who I’m interested in, and those are the stories I want to tell. Introducing someone like Janney and everything she embodies to the show only creates better problems, which is good for the story.
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Felicity. Looking back, was there ever a time when you just had to accept that you would become known as that character for the rest of your life? What kind of relationship do you have with Felicity now?
Oh my gosh, I love that show. I have amazing memories. I still talk to [Scott] Speedman, who played Ben, and [Amanda Foreman], who was the roommate. In fact, Speedman was just in my dream last night—no joke. I woke up, and I was like, “Oh my God, I got to call Speedman.” I have such good memories of that show. We all grew up together. I think I was 20 or 21 when we started.
I was just emailing with [co-creator] J.J. [Abrams] now, because his daughter is a big singer now. I was like, “J.J., this is so embarrassing, but are there any extra tickets for Gracie’s show? Because now my daughter loves Gracie. Don’t hate me, and you’re allowed to say no. It’s so embarrassing!” [Laughs.]
Felicity was such a romantic show about such a romantic time in people’s lives where everything is possible. You’re right—it’s like the moment you’re in now. The whole world is in front of you. You’re supposed to have bad boyfriends and terrible work experiences, and everything can’t be good at the beginning. I think back to that time, and how my girlfriends and I would meet up and they would tell these horror dating stories, and we would laugh our heads off. It’s such an amazing time of your life, but I don’t want to go back there. I love my life right now. They’re still my pals, and I love when people talk about it. It was a sweet little something of a show.
You were one of the last young actors to rise to fame before the age of social media. How did you navigate the experience of growing up under the spotlight in the late ’90s and early ’00s?
I honestly do not know how you guys all do it, because I’m a nervous, anxious person anyway. I remember what it was like moving to New York when I was young and having photographers wait on certain blocks in the West Village where I was living. You feel hunted. I was affected by my tiny version of that, and it made me really retreat and not want to be in crowds and not want to go to really fun things.
Luckily, I think what saved me was, after Felicity, I had worked so hard for those years in my 20s that I didn’t really want to act anymore. I took a big long break for almost two years, maybe a year and a half, and I just lived in New York and saw my girlfriends. I read books all day, and I went dancing and walked home drunk in the snow and did all those things that I didn’t get to do in my 20s—and I think it saved me. I wasn’t on that treadmill of doing photo shoots and auditioning, and I didn’t care about any of that anymore. I just wanted to show up for birthday parties and hear who my friends were dating, hear about college and all of that stuff. I think that helped me survive that transition, and it helped me stay in the business, actually, because I don’t think I would still be here if I burned myself out at that age.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
