Annie Wersching has been appearing on TV screens for well over a decade now. She started her career with a variety of one-off guest spots on an assortment of shows, before landing a recurring role on General Hospital in 2007. But it was Wersching’s turn as FBI Agent Renee Walker on 24 that broke her into the mainstream. Viewers can now tune in to find her as Lily Salvatore, the long lost and now very recently rescued vampire mother to brothers Stefan and Damon, on the hit CW series The Vampire Diaries.

Enstars recently got the chance to chat with Wersching about joining The Vampire Diaries cast, her career, and a whole lot more.

Heads Up: The conversation does delve into spoiler-alert territory!

Enstars: You’ve done a ton of work over the years. What role do people most recognize you from?

AW: Well, I think obviously 24 is the one I'm probably most known for, even though it's older...Although, Mama Salvatore is heating up on Vampire Diaries. [laughs]

ENS: Did that experience on 24 kind of prepare you for being on shows with really passionate fans?

AW: Yeah, I think in general...sometimes fans can be so--especially when there's likes a guy on the show that people can be so in love with--literally they think that they'll marry that person someday. [laughs] There are legitimately people that think that. And I dealt with that a lot with Kiefer. And so I've dealt with some crazy Kiefer fans, I think I can deal with any of them.

ENS: That sounds intense.

AW: I mean, they're everywhere. These [characters] come into their homes. And they feel incredibly close to them and some, not many, legitimately get mad at me if I'm like "kissing their man.”

ENS: And speaking of intense, the fan reaction to Nina Dobrev leaving Vampire Diaries has been pretty extreme.

AW: Yeah...I was like, "You guys haven't even seen the finale yet! You don't even know in what way this is going down. So why don't wait on your freak out until you at least know what you're upset about?”

ENS: She announced her departure just as your character is becoming more prominent. Have you felt caught in the middle with fans?

AW: I mean it's hard, because the Nina leaving thing right is so sort of heated, as far as there are a handful of people reacting...I completely understand being upset, you know? It's a character they've loved for years. But some people are just being straight out mean to anyone involved [laughs] and that's not exactly fun...And there's been this hiatus and Mama Salvatore has just kind of gotten going and this episode coming up is a HUGE episode for my character, the next three of the five really are. And so, I was really excited for people to see these, so I just hope that the negative stuff happening with Nina leaving doesn't sort of overshadow that. But I'm excited. I think it's good for the show to mix it up a little bit.

ENS: Can I ask if you’re coming back next season? Or is too early to say?

AW: I think so. We're still trying to figure that out, but there's some interest from both sides...so hopefully.

ENS: You’re also playing a major character on the Amazon show Bosch, which ALSO has an established fanbase because it’s based on a book series and your character, Julie Brasher dies in the books but doesn't on the show.

AW: Right! [laughs] Yeah, that was one of the enticing things about joining Bosch...there's already going to be thousands and thousands of people who want to see this come to fruition as far as coming to the screen. So I LOVE that they have a huge fanbase. But yeah, Julie Brasher was in only, gosh, a half or a third of the book City of Bones. And I was originally supposed to make it not past episode six. And I think they just really enjoyed what was happening with Brasher and they liked Brasher and Bosch together and they said, "Oh, we changed our minds [laughs]...that was pretty cool.

ENS: And Michael Connelly, the author of the books, is really involved with the show so that kind of lends that decision not to kill Brasher a bit of legitimacy.

AW: Yeah. He was actually the one who spilled the beans to me, telling me that I wasn't going to die. Totally nonchalantly. We were having like a photo day, you know where they take pictures of your character for different things. We were walking out, heading out the door to lunch or whatever and he was like, "So you excited you're living?" I didn't even know what he was talking about...He's like, "Yeah, you excited that Brasher's not going to die?" I was like, "WHAT?!" So he didn't know that I didn't know yet.

ENS: So I want to touch on the video game The Last of Us, in which you voiced AND did the motion capture for the character Tess.

AW: Yeeeaahhh!

ENS: It feels like video games are becoming more thematic and so they’re now another venue for actors.

AW: You know my Last of Us experience was absolutely incredible. I had never even auditioned for a video game before and this particularly one, Neil Druckmann, the director, he held the auditions live in-person. So for me, it was just like a regular audition...and then once we go into film it, you're in a big soundstage with something like 90 cameras in the ceiling and different places and you have props. And my roots are in theater, so it was kind of like doing a play, except that you're wearing these crazy-a** tight outfits with dots all over them...but if you can get past that part, it's similar to the theater experiences that I've had.

ENS: I’m glad you brought up working in theatre, because when I was looking at your filmography, it seems like you started booking screen roles a little later than most. Were you focusing more on theatre when you were starting out?

AW: Well, I went to school for musical theatre, so I suppose technically I should have gone to New York. I went to Chicago briefly afterwards and then started touring with the musical Anything Goes and then Anything Goes closed out in Los Angeles and I was there and I was like, "Let me see what this is like for a second" and I loved it so much I went back to Chicago, packed up my things and moved out there. But yeah, it took a little bit for me.

ENS: Why do you think there was a delay?

AW: I think I fared better once I was more of a woman than a girl, just because of how I carry myself. I'm very silly and kid like, but as far as how I present myself on screen and stuff when I was young...I don't know, I think once I was able to be more of a woman as opposed to a girl I had a little more gravitas on screen.

ENS: You’re kind of known for playing strong and driven women. Do you feel like you’re being typecast in those roles?

AW: I don't think so. I mean I play these strong women, but I've also played a lot of crying women [laughs] and people that are vulnerable. I feel like I've gotten to be really well rounded and far away from typecasting.

ENS: Do you think it’s maybe because strong characters are more memorable so fans just associate you more with that type of role?

AW: Yeah, I think so. I mean any character that's made a pretty big impact on the characters that they've already known on their show that they love, I think fare pretty well. I was pretty lucky that fans took to Renee Walker pretty quickly and so far they're doing the same with Mama Salvatore, although we'll see what they think of her as she causes a little bit of trouble coming up in Mystic Falls.

Tags
Interview, Vampire diaries, The vampire diaries