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Scarpetta: Faracy on Embracing Crime Drama, "Nobody Wants This" & More

Stephanie Faracy discussed her turn in Prime Video's Scarpetta, working with Liz Sarnoff and Nicole Kidman, "Nobody Wants This," and more.

Sometimes in Hollywood, you must roll with what opportunities are there, and that's how actress Stephanie Faracy has amassed an impressive five-decade career in show business. While drama was always her first love, it was comedy that came calling at first. Some of her earliest roles were in Laverne & Shirley, The Last Resort, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Goodnight, Beantown, and Heaven Can Wait (1978). That's not to say dramas didn't come her way with appearances on Trapper John, M.D., Magnum P.I., and The Thorn Birds. The Hocus Pocus (1993) star spoke to Bleeding Cool about her latest project in the crime drama Scarpetta, based on the popular Patricia Cornwell series of novels, joining the cast as a fan, working with showrunner Liz Sarnoff and star Nicole Kidman, who plays the title character; coordinating her role of (Kay's assistant) Maggie Cutbush with her younger counterpart, played by Georgia King; her career longevity, and a season three update on her Netflix rom-com, Nobody Wants This. Scarpetta follows the life of Kay Scarpetta, a renowned forensic pathologist and medical examiner, who investigates murders and solves cases in the present day and the past, working with her familiar crew while trying to balance work and life with her sister (Jamie Lee Curtis) and niece (Ariana DeBose).

Scarpetta Star Stephanie Faracy on Embracing Her Rare Opportunity in Drama

BC: What intrigued you about Scarpetta, and were you already familiar with Patricia's books?

Faracy: Yes, I was familiar with the books. I always admired that she had created such an independent and smart woman in these books. I was aware of it already and excited to jump into that world.

What's it like working with Liz Sarnoff as a creative?

Oh, she's fantastic. She's a great writer. She loves to collaborate with actors. She's a real writer. She indeed loves working with actors, and her language reflects that, and she's very supportive of that process. She understands acting, too, which is a great thing; I know this about her, but she studied with Stella Adler in her younger years, so she really understands acting, and she can talk to actors well.

What did you enjoy about playing Maggie Cutbush, and what does this role allow you to do that maybe you find yourself not doing enough?

That's great, Tom. I think what I love first about Maggie is that it's a drama, and I started in drama. My early education was at Yale School of Drama, and I came up that way. I didn't even know I could be funny, so "funny" hadn't entered my mind at all in my work, and it was all about feeling, Lee Strasberg, and the method. I learned acting that way, so I was very connected to being a dramatic actress.

Comedy happened when I came out here to California. I thought of comedy more like farce. I understood it that way, that you talk quickly, and it doesn't mean much. That's how I knew how to find funny, and one of my first pictures that no one saw was When You're Coming Back, Red Ryder? (1979). I gained 30 pounds, and it was a picture that had never been seen in the world, but completely dramatic. After that, I stumbled into comedy and stayed there for a long time, but really, my heart is in drama. I love drama, I love thinking, gently letting emotions wash over you, and playing in that world.

What did you like about working with Nicole and the way she carries herself on screen?

Well, she's a great actress. I know she's an international star and all those things we know about her, but what's fun to have as an experience is to be near her, understand, and feel what a great actress she is, so, to play there, you're just like, "You get to be race cars, you get be the finest cars, you get anything deluxe in the world. That's what it's like working with her.

Did you talk with Georgia to coordinate about your incarnations of Maggie, and to make sure they were in sync?

We had only one conversation on the phone, and I told her, Tom, how I ended up, what I felt my character was coming into that world, and what her hopes and dreams were. I was living out what and how 30 years had happened to me, and she could be the dream of when I first came there, and who I wanted and imagined to be, and how my dreams would come true. That collaboration of us speaking about that seemed, and in two seconds, we understood each other, and we were on course after that in a beautiful way. Then there were a couple of things I went back to that, we have a line that repeated about polyps and that I can't smell, and I asked if I could see the footage of how she did that, and then I matched that.

How do you attribute your career longevity?

I think of willingness and openness. I'm truly interested in life; sometimes acting has been a part of it, and sometimes it's just been loving life. If you're always doing that, whatever gifts fall into your hand will be kind of blessings of the moment, but you're always loving life and interested. I can get happy about a tree [laughs]. It's crazy that I can, but I can think leaves look beautiful one day, and how a tree is growing. I stay interested while we're all here, and playing this game.

Is there a type of role or perhaps a genre that maybe you haven't had a chance to explore, or maybe do more in your career that you'd like to explore?

Well, first, this right now, that drama and suspense [in Scarpetta], I've really not been in that world. It was more thoughtful, so I really love this, Tom, because I'm getting to think, be smart, plotting, calculating, seeing ahead, and being ahead of others. A lot of times in comedy, I played the fool. Maggie is nobody's fool, and so that's fun to play. Anytime I can play more of that, I really like it.

I understand that you're probably in the middle of filming the third season of Nobody Wants This. I was wondering what it's like being on that series, and how filming's coming along for this upcoming season?

I'm actually filming both [Scarpetta and Nobody Wants This] at the same time, right now. They literally started on the same day, Nobody Wants This. Well, it's true of both sets. It's beautiful, people, wonderful connection. One just happens to be a comedy, and one happens to be a drama, but the people are lovely, and we just have a wonderful time together. There's such an appreciation for each other. It's just a pleasure to walk on the set.

Season one of Scarpetta, which also stars Bobby Cannavale, Rosy McEwen, Amanda Righetti, Jake Cannavale, Simon Baker, Hunter Parish, Anson Mount, and Anna Diop, is available on Prime Video. The first two seasons of Nobody Wants This, which also stars Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, and Jackie Tohn, are available on Netflix.

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