Sensitive and intense, in both thrillers and romances, Keri Russell has shined in title roles since she was 22. The proof in three fictions: “Felicity”, “The Americans” and “The Diplomate”.
By Pierre Langlais
Published on October 31, 2024 at 4:04 p.m.
Keri Russell is one of those rare American actresses who has been able to bounce from one cult series character to another. At 48, thanks to The Diplomat, she is a hit with an audience who may have never heard of Felicity, the shy student who made her known at the end of the 1990s. A look back at three iconic roles of a discreet series star.
From 1998 to 2002, she played Felicity Porter in “Felicity”
Keri Russell was only 22 when she landed the title role in this student romance co-created by JJ Abrams (Lost). However, this is far from being his first appearance on the small American screen. Like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake or Ryan Gosling, she participated in the Mickey Mouse Club, the famous children's show, in the early 1990s.
Still round face, gentle smile, worried blue-gray eyes and thick curly hair, she delicately captures the entry into the adult life of her character, a young Californian who leaves on a whim – and of the heart – to study art in New York. An intelligent and introverted heroine to whom she gives an infectious warmth, like the intimate staging of the series.
Keri Russell already shines through the restraint of her acting, her ability to express the emotions of an indecisive young woman in nuance. In 1999, she won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress, beating out stars Gillian Anderson. (X-Files) et Julianna Margulies (EMERGENCIES).
From 2013 to 2018, she played Elizabeth Jennings in “The Americans”
After a forgettable detour into cinema – including, in particular, a supporting role in Mission : Impossible 3 (2006) –, Keri Russell makes her return to the series in this exciting thriller about a couple of Soviet spies infiltrated in Reagan's America. His features deepened, his curls disappeared, his body tensed.
In the eyes of Elizabeth Jennings, we perceive the unfailing determination of a “patriot” who rejects American values altogether, unlike her husband, the more sensitive Philip (played by the Welshman Matthew Rhys, who has since become her husband to the city). For six seasons, Keri Russell plays this communist spy who buries her emotions under the disguises of her aliases, and surprises with her nervousness in fight scenes.
Under the Siberian coldness of the role, she nevertheless lets Elizabeth's fragility emerge, the violence of a past which constitutes her, her budding love for Philip, her thwarted feelings towards their children, designed to perfect their panoply of an ideal American family. Even though she plays a “villain”, we can’t help but be moved. A tour de force which confirms the refusal of the actress' braggadocio.
Since 2023, she has played Katherine Wyler in “The Diplomat”
The heroine of the Netflix geopolitical drama, ambassador of the United States in London, is not the type to make tons of it either. She has little taste for evening dresses, artificial postures and big speeches. If she sometimes agrees to « play Barbie diplomat », it is only to advance its pawns on the global chessboard.
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“The Diplomat”, on Netflix: between geopolitical and marital crises, an irresistible season 2
The story of Katherine “Kate” Wyler is that of a woman a priori without ambitions, who has long remained in the shadow of her husband, an influential diplomat (Rufus Sewell), and who gradually gets caught up in the perilous game of resolution of international conflicts. To play her, Keri Russell simultaneously summons the charm of Felicity, her sensitivity and her gift for empathy, and the intensity of Elizabeth Jennings, her determination, her authority.
The character of Kate Wyler, which earned her a new Golden Globe nomination last January, also allows her to combine the two genres that suit her best: thriller and romance. As in The Americans, the political tensions of The Diplomat echo the vicissitudes of the couple's life. The role of maturity for an actress who, barely out of adolescence in Felicity, already showed astonishing confidence.
The Diplomat, season 2, October 31 on Netflix .