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Keri Russell has been thinking about the vice president — in ‘The Diplomat’ and real life

This article contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “The Diplomat” on Netflix.

In “The Diplomat,” Keri Russell plays a career diplomat covertly being primed to assume the role of vice president — without having to win over an electorate. In real life, one week before election day, Russell has just returned to her home in Brooklyn after casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris to be elected the next U.S. president.

“It feels emotional,” she says over a video call, her “I Voted” sticker visible on the upper right side of her cream-colored sweatshirt. “It’s so cool to be standing with everyone in your community, all different ages and all different backgrounds. And to get the chance to possibly elect the first female Black president is f— awesome.”

Time will tell if that comes to fruition. But on “The Diplomat,” a female vice president has indeed become president.

The first season introduced Russell’s Kate Wyler as a seasoned foreign service officer who has her sights set on taking a post in Afghanistan but is reluctantly enlisted by the White House to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in order to quietly prep her to become vice president.

The new season, now streaming, has Kate facing the woman she’s been tapped to push out, Vice President Grace Penn, played by Allison Janney. Just as Kate had warmed to the idea of assuming the position — after learning of the VP’s questionable deal makings on foreign affairs — the plan becomes moot in the closing minutes of the season when the president dies. To make things more complicated, the president died while being briefed on the VP’s practices by Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), Kate’s husband and a respected veteran diplomat.

Russell spoke with The Times about what the finale sets up for Season 3, currently in production, the silly handoff Janney gave Russell before a scene and what it was like to work on the upcoming season in the run-up to the election. Continue reading Keri Russell has been thinking about the vice president — in ‘The Diplomat’ and real life

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Gallery Update

GALLERY LINKS:
– events The Diplomat Season 2 New York Premiere – October 28 2024
– events Arriving at Good Morning America – October 30 2024
– events Leaving LIVE with Kelly and Mark – October 30 2024
– events Netflix’s FYSEE Showcase Photocall For “The Diplomat” – November 2 2024
– Scans from 2024 C Magazine – Winter 2024-2025
– Photoshoots from 2024 C Magazine – Winter 2024-2025
– Scans from 2024 C Magazine – Winter 2024-2025
– Photoshoots from 2024 The Wall Street Journal – October 2024
– Photoshoots from 2024 Los Angeles Times – October 2024

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Keri Russell Starts the Day by Bouncing Around in Her Underwear

Keri Russell is often dodging bullets on screen, but in real life, one of the most dangerous things she does—which is, arguably, kind of dangerous—is ride her bike around Brooklyn without a helmet.

“I’m not biking through Manhattan up Fifth Avenue like a bike messenger, weaving in and out of traffic. I’m riding on a bike path through bucolic Brooklyn Heights,” she says after noting that her family gives her grief about it. She says it’s her only vice. “I’m not doing cocaine, up all night on Friday nights. I ride a bike at 6 a.m. without a helmet, to let my hair blow in the breeze and feel like a teenager. Please give it to me.”

The actress, who famously let her hair down as an intrepid New York college student in “Felicity” more than 20 years ago, is known for portraying imperfectly powerful women in powerfully imperfect marriages. She put her stamp on prestige TV with FX’s “The Americans,” playing a Russian spy who fooled the neighbors alongside her agent husband, portrayed by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys. The show put a stamp on her personal life as well: She and Rhys are in a long-term relationship and together have an 8-year-old son. Russell has two children, ages 11 and 17, from a previous relationship.

Continue reading Keri Russell Starts the Day by Bouncing Around in Her Underwear

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‘The Diplomat’ Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix Ahead of Season 2 Premiere

“The Diplomat” has been renewed for Season 3 weeks ahead of the show’s Season 2 premiere.

The Netflix political drama is premiering its second season on Oct. 31. Production on the third season is now underway in London and New York. The news was officially confirmed by Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria on stage at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference in Los Angeles.

Keri Russell leads the cast of “The Diplomat,” with Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory Kinnear and Ato Essandoh also starring.

“After an amazing summer shooting in the UK, we brought London home to NY,” said series creator Debora Cahn. “Best of both worlds — filming in Brooklyn. We love doing this. We’re so excited to get to keep going.”

“The Diplomat” originally debuted on Netflix in April 2023 to strong critical and audience acclaim. Russell was nominated for both an Emmy and Golden Globe for Season 1, with the show itself picking up a Golden Globe nod for best drama series among several other accolades.

In addition to creating the series, Cahn serves as showrunner and executive producer on “The Diplomat.” Russell executive produces in addition to starring. Janice Williams and Alex Graves also executive produce.

The official description for Season 2 states:
“A deadly explosion in the heart of London shatters US Ambassador Kate Wyler’s world (Russell). Struggling to rebuild the lives that broke and the team that split apart, Kate’s worst fears unfold: The attack that brought her to the UK didn’t come from a rival nation, it came from inside the British government. As Kate chases the truth, her only real ally is her almost-ex-husband Hal Wyler (Sewell), very much alive, and very much involved. She faces a fraught marriage, a complex dynamic with British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (Gyasi), and a threatening visit from Vice President Grace Penn (Janney).”

Source: https://variety.com/

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Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell Talk Starring in New Dylan Thomas Play and Praise Taylor Swift for Introducing the Welsh Poet to a ‘New Generation’

Mathew Rhys has been an “unabashed” fan of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas for as long as he can remember.

He cemented his love of the writer — best known for his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” — when he portrayed him in the 2008 biopic “The Edge of Love.”

“When you tell most English people that you love Dylan Thomas, they go, ‘Grrr,’ because it’s such a cliché,” Rhys says. “But I’m unabashed that I’m a lifer.”

He’ll play Thomas once again on May 14 in a one-night only stage reading of “Dear Mr. Thomas: A New Play for Voices,” a production by Christopher Monger about Welsh’s time in New York in the 1950s when the 92nd Street Y organized four U.S. tours for Dylan. He wrote the play “Under Milk Wood” during that time while also becoming a rock star-like celebrity known for his drunken escapades and womanizing. He famously stayed at the Chelsea Hotel before dying at a nearby hospital in 1953 when he was just 39.

Keri Russell will play Welsh’s assistant and mistress Liz Reitell. Rounding out the cast are Kate Burton, Gopal Divan, Betsy Zajko and Taylor Trensch.

I caught up with Rhys and Russell over Zoom from their New York home to talk Thomas, Taylor Swift referencing him in the title track of “The Tortured Poets Department” album and what other plays they’d like to collaborate on. Continue reading Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell Talk Starring in New Dylan Thomas Play and Praise Taylor Swift for Introducing the Welsh Poet to a ‘New Generation’

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