Category Articles & Interviews

Keri Russell and Will Arnett are comedic gold together — at least that’s what we took away from our sit-down with them at the Television Critics Association fall previews.

Mitch Hurwitz: Running Wilde is not Arrested Development, but you should still watch

Envision lots of laughter as the stars of Running Wilde — Fox’s new comedy about a spoiled sycophant with endless resources trying to woo his former pal — hijack TVGuide.com’s interview. Really, we’ll let them take it away… Continue reading Will Arnett: Running Wilde “Designed to Reveal What a Hypocrite Keri Russell Is”

Let’s face it: calling a celebrity “real” is a huge cliché—but we just couldn’t help ourselves with Keri Russell. She arrives—early—at a bakery near her Brooklyn, New York, home, her hair in a loose bun, toting packages bound for the post office. When I offer to pay for her scone, she scoffs.

The 33-year-old star of TV’s Felicity grew up in Texas, Arizona, and Colorado, and moved to this quiet corner of Brooklyn in 2007 with her husband, Shane Deary, a carpenter, and their son, River, now 2.

She’s passionate about children’s-health issues and recently teamed with Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser in Extraordinary Measures, based on the true story of a couple whose two youngest children are diagnosed with a rare, fatal disease; as the clock runs out, they and Ford’s character start a biotech company to find a cure. Over breakfast, the self-deprecating star talks about the importance of downtime, her favorite new way to exercise, and fighting for better health care for kids. Then, she’s off to the post office. Continue reading The Realness of Felicity Star Keri Russell

Motherhood has made a definitive impact on Keri Russell as an actress. “Reading a script like this, you definitely are more vulnerable to those kinds of feelings, or maybe they’re easier to access, (where) before you had kids you’re sort of on the outside experiencing it,” the mom to 2 1/2-year-old son River (with husband Shane Deary) tells iVillage about her role in Extraordinary Measures, which hits theaters on Jan. 22. In the emotional drama, Russell stars as Aileen Crowley, who, along with her husband (played by Brendan Fraser) works with a researcher (Harrison Ford) to cure their children’s rare genetic disease.

Juggling her career and mommy duties has its challenges, but Russell has struck a rhythm. “Luckily, right now the schedule I get to keep with film really allows me to do both,” says the 33-year-old actress. “I get to work really hard for three months but then I get to be home for four months where I get to put him to bed every night. I like getting to be in the adult world a little bit and then getting to be in the mom world and cook dinners. And for me that balance is what makes it nice.”

And would Russell ever consider doing a doing a Felicity reunion, the ’90s show that first made her famous? “Two of my really close friends were on that show and we just saw each other recently and sure, I’d get to hang out with my friends,” she says.

The Measure of Our Success
By Marian Wright Edelman

The background: Edelman is an incredibly accomplished person: She was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi bar; she worked with Martin Luther King Jr.; and now she leads the Children’s Defense Fund. This is a love letter to her three sons in the form of 25 lessons.

Why she chose it: In the introduction, Edelman discusses her worries that her children were brought up in a too-privileged era. “Giving up and ‘burnout’ were not part of the language of my elders…you did what you had to do and you got up every time you fell down and tried as many times as you had to to get it done right,” she writes. That really hit me—I have such a huge fear of failing. I read the book ten years ago, as a young adult, and I found the lessons inspiring. Now, as a parent, I see them in a whole new way. Continue reading Books That Made a Difference to Keri Russell

In “Extraordinary Measures,” Keri Russell stars with Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford as a remarkable mom. Based on a true story, the film chronicles the lives of John and Aileen Crowley, a New Jersey couple who fought to find a treatment for an enzyme deficiency that threatened to kill two of their children. Doubling as executive producer, Ford plays a scientist helping to develop a life-saving drug.

The 33-year-old actress, who launched her career on the popular 1990s TV series “Felicity,” explores new dramatic terrain portraying a mother of three. To prepare for the role, Russell, who became a mother two years ago, visited the Crowleys at their Princeton home and spent a day with Aileen. The couple’s daughter, Megan, and son, Patrick, were born with Pompe disease, a rare condition characterized by the accumulation of a complex sugar known as glycogen in the body’s cells. Continue reading ‘Extraordinary Measures’: Keri Russell grows into the role of mom

Keri Russell knows celebrity cuts both ways. A decade ago when she was a Hollywood It girl and star of TV’s Felicity, she hacked off her then-iconic tresses and suffered a backlash that would have made Kate Gosling’s extensions stand on end.

By those standards, the 33-year-old Russell reports she is now comparatively anonymous — a development about which she couldn’t be more pleased. At last, no one has an opinion on how long — or short — her curls are. Continue reading Russell stays under the radar

Keri Russell, star of ‘Extraordinary Measures,’ on raising kids in NYC, her favorite Brooklyn spots.

Q. After living in California for so many years, why did you make the move to Manhattan?
A. I just wanted a break for a little bit. I wanted to change. I’m so glad I did because, for the first time, ­really, because I was working, I got to be with girlfriends. I got to go to birthday parties and go out dancing, and just read books all day. I did not work, and I did not have to read scripts. I just acted like a kid. Continue reading Keri about new movie and her son

Keri Russell plays the leading lady in the April 5th (Blu-ray pack) and April 7th (DVD) releases of Bedtime Stories, a romantic adventure that also stars Adam Sandler. In anticipation of the film, we offer this Q&A wtih Russell who was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on the movie and the cast. Continue reading Bedtime Stories: Keri Russell Interview

Keri Russell has been acting more than half her life. The 32-year-old Fountain Valley native started working in front of the cameras when she was 15 as a member of the Disney Channel’s “New Mickey Mouse Club.” Since then she has starred in multiple television and film projects from “Felicity” to “Waitress.” And Russell has loved every minute of it. Continue reading Keri Russell doesn’t have to wait for work after ‘Felicity’

FORGET about Bond Girls, the new breed in town is the Adam Sandler Girl. They’re a slightly more wholesome collection than 007’s conquests, but no less sassy. The latest member of this exclusive group is Keri Russell, who was hand-chosen by Sandler himself to play the romantic lead in Bedtime Stories, Disney’s Christmas film. Continue reading The mouseketeer that soared