FX Networks’s THE AMERICANS comes to a conclusion after six seasons on Wednesday, May 30. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, married KGB spies, with two children, posing as ordinary Americans in Reagan-era U.S.A. Russell, who won a Golden Globe and was twice nominated for Emmys for her work as Elizabeth, reminisces about her time with the series.
ASSIGNMENT X: Do you have a favorite episode or scene from your time on THE AMERICANS?
KERI RUSSELL: My favorite scenes are always the emotional marriage scenes, always, just because that’s the stuff I’m most interested in. But some highlights – I love, still, beating up Margo Martindale [who plays Claudia, Elizabeth and Philip’s KGB handler], just because it was so wild. People on the street, like tough construction guys, are still saying to me, “Yo, you really kicked that lady’s ass.” And I just think that’s so funny. But I love the emotional big fights we have. There are so many moments in this season, it’s so great.
AX: What’s the most interesting thing that you’ve learned in working on THE AMERICANS?
RUSSELL: Well, to be honest, just learning about some of the Russian history in the war [WWII]. As Americans, we don’t learn any of that. Even the amount of people, the amount of soldiers, that the Russians lost compared to Americans in World War II, is devastating. It was something over fifteen million. And our numbers were something like four hundred thousand. It’s unbelievable. There’s such a history. And we don’t ever learn that. So parts of that were interesting. Continue reading Keri Russell chats the sixth and final season