Rachel dreaming of landing a role in a period drama
Rachel Keller, 25, stars alongside Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens in new FOX series Legion, inspired by Marvel’s X-Men comics. The former Fargo actress, who plays troubled patient Syd Barrett in a psychiatric hospital, tells Jeananne Craig about what to expect from the show, and how she dreams of starring in a period drama
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO YOUR CHARACTER, SYD?
When Noah [Hawley, creator of Legion and the TV series Fargo] first asked me to read for the piece, I thought, ‘I’d like to try her on’. I wanted to give it a go and see what my take is of a woman who’s got some real sensitivities and boundaries, but a sharp, fierce independence and kind of naive hopefulness.
LEGION DEALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, BUT IT’S ALSO AN ENTERTAINMENT SHOW. HOW SENSITIVE WERE YOU WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER?
We’re using it as a comment and a way to look at a young person who’s been ignored or neglected; a group of people who’ve been maybe misunderstood. I don’t think it’s a gimmick or any kind of statement about it, but I think it’s just saying, ‘This is a group of people who haven’t been cultivated in a way that they’ve been able to express themselves’.
HOW IS DAN STEVENS TO WORK WITH?
I was such a fan of Downton Abbey. I love me some Matthew Crawley. I was just always impressed with him, and then he sort of disappeared for a second [Stevens quit the ITV show in 2012]. When Noah said, ‘I think it’s going to be Dan Stevens’, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting’. He’s such a talented actor, he’s a really committed guy who wants to make really interesting choices and different kinds of work. He became a friend because we had to have each other be a partner in it. He’s a lovely guy.
WERE YOU EXPECTING HIM TO COME ON SET IN PERIOD COSTUME, MATTHEW CRAWLEY-STYLE?
No. He’s like a sweater, graphic T-shirt kind of guy. He’s the chillest. He fills out the Downton role beautifully.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO A BRITISH COSTUME DRAMA?
Yes! When I saw Pride And Prejudice and Sense And Sensibility, I loved them. That would be a dream of mine to do a period drama, for sure.