The Showtime crime drama Ray Donovan is just about to finish up its third season. The 12-episode run has been full of the usual Donovan family drama and Hollywood fixings, but a central storyline this season has revolved around Mickey Donovan's (Jon Voight) latest illegal venture, using a group of hookers to push cocaine. Oh, and there are some not so very forgiving mobsters connected to the scheme.

One of Mickey's coke-dealing hookers is played by Christy Williams. Her character Michelle also strikes up a romance with Mickey's illegitimate son and Ray Donovan's (Liev Schreiber) half brother Daryll (Pooch Hall) who helps out with Mickey's ill-advised venture.


(Photo : Michael Desmond/SHOWTIME)

Enstars recently caught up with Williams to discuss her tough character Michelle, the chaos the Donovan clan has gotten themselves into and more.

ENSTARS: How would you describe your character Michelle to someone who hasn't been watching this season of Ray Donovan?
Christy Williams: Michelle is a hooker who Mickey Donovan persuades to start working with him. My character is with a group of other hookers including Fairuza Balk who plays Ginger. We start selling cocaine for him. It's your normal family affair. (Laughs) As the season goes on you'll see them get in over their heads with the business they're running.

In the third episode you shot a topless scene, was that at all nerve-wracking?
When I booked the show I knew what I was getting into with this character. Plus, at some point in your career it's usually going to be expected of you to be vulnerable in that way for a character. Shooting it was actually less nerve-wracking than afterwards with realizing, "Oh, my friends and family and just everyone are going to see this." Quite honestly though it's not that nerve-wracking because I separate myself from my character. I don't see it as me. I see it as Michelle going topless. It's not too hard to do that. It's always a little bit nerve-wracking because it takes some bravery, but overall the crew and the cast I was working with were just amazing and it was the best possible experience. It was a very safe environment that they created for me. It was all very professional so it really wasn't too bad.

How did you prepare for playing MIchelle?
Well, a lot of imaginary work. (Laughs) Cause I don't have the references that Michelle has. I really have none of the references in my own life so I did a lot of research learning about the lifestyle through a lot of reading and watching documentaries and other resources I was able to find that related. Most importantly for me was connecting with the script and learning how to bring it to life as realistically as possible. With my process if I don't believe in the script myself, in the imaginary world of the character in the story, then I can't expect the audience to believe in it. So just getting the imaginary work in so well so I could step into that character and really hopefully make her a real person that people would be able to connect with.

What was it like working with this cast?
I feel so lucky because it's really a collaborative environment on set and that's a testament to the writers and the stars. Jon Voight goes above and beyond to make sure everyone feels included in the creative process of making scenes better. I've learned so much by seeing the way he leads the cast. He's always looking for input from everybody so it was a really creative process for everyone. If you had ideas, they were welcome as long as there was time. It was a very special experience. Jon pointed out to me that I should take note of it since it was a very special crew and cast. There isn't a lemon on that show. There's just good quality, good creative vibes so I feel very lucky to have been able to learn so much and to have some input as well.

Was there anything a member of the core cast said to you that really resonated with you?
Yes, definitely! What popped into my head as soon as you asked that is that there was one day where we had been shooting all morning and it was a pretty rough go. It just wasn't going smoothly and when we sat down for lunch I remember Jon saying to the small group of us that were around the lunch table, "Look guys, the most important thing is to keep it positive and make it about the work." That's something I think about all the time now and even just within my daily life. You just have to keep things positive and make it about putting out good work. I think that's some of the best advice I've ever heard because at the end of the day that's the basics. That's all you can do when you're trying to work hard on something.

Which scene has been your favorite to shoot and why?
I would say in Episode 9 ["The Octopus"] there was a scene that I shot with Pooch Hall and we had so much fun. It was a quick little scene, but it's basically him asking me to do something for him and I'm dealing with the problem of what he's asking. It's hard to describe without giving it all away, but you'll see what I mean. It's just really fun. Pooch and I had so much fun and we're great friends so it was great to work together on all the scenes we've had together actually.

Are things going to pan out well for Michelle?
There's going to be a lot of drama as you would expect on a show like Ray Donovan. I can't tell you what will happen to Michelle. I'm sworn to silence, but there's definitely going to be some crazy stuff happening to her.

In a few words tease what's coming up for the remainder of this season of Ray Donovan.
It's getting intense! Watch out for the Armenian Mob! They're coming for us! Hookers, blow and we're getting in deep. It's going down.

Ray Donovan wraps its current season on September 27 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.

Tags
Ray Donovan, Showtime, Television