After stirring the hearts of fans as Amy Abbott in Everwood for four seasons Canadian actress Emily Van Camp has traded in her wholesome character for the likes of Amanda Clark, her new villainous alter ego that has viewers awaiting Revenge on Sunday nights.
Ready to enter into season 2 after an amazing first year run on ABC, Van Camp recently discussed her beginnings with the show and how she became involved with the series. “I read the script for Revenge and I loved it, so I went and met with [Revenge executive producers] Marty Bowen and Mike Kelley to hear their thoughts on the project,” she said. “We talked and talked about it, and then I went through a whole audition process to win the role. When I tested for the part, Marty called my agent and said, “I just don’t know if she can go dark. I didn’t see that in our meeting. She really doesn’t give that off.” When I heard that, I thought to myself, ‘OK, great. Let’s go in and I’ll try to prove it to them.”
Van Camp’s auditions for the role of Amanda Clark, the determined daughter of the late David Clark who seeks revenge against those that put her innocent father away was a success, but as the actress shares, terrifying. ” [The director of the pilot episode] Phillip Noyce was there for that session and I was incredibly nervous. The whole situation was terrifying, but I just went in and I worked hard at showing off the darkness of the role. It was great. A couple of weeks later, I had signed up and was getting ready to film the pilot. It’s been amazing ever since.”
Rather than tap into her life experiences to bring Amanda, who goes by the guise of Emily Thorne, to the small screen Van Camp researched the part. “A lot of research goes into a role like Emily. It’s a lot less about drawing on my own personal experiences, but drawing on more of the pool of research that I had to do. There was a lot of thinking and a lot of developing the character, which was so much fun for me. I was ready to do that. I really wanted to tackle something different and I really wanted to be challenged. I was really excited.” Adding, “There’s an immense amount of pressure that came with this role. I never really experienced anything like this before, but I just had to take it day by day. It’s so much about remembering that it’s about the process and just enjoying every moment of being on set and getting to play this great character.”
Mainly seen in television over the course of her career, Van Camp also discussed why appearing in a TV production is important to her. “I love building a character that hopefully has longevity; that I can take through a long journey. I love feeling connected to my characters in that way and TV really allows that. I feel like I’m constantly practicing my craft, but I also love the stability of it. I love this character. It was really important for me to choose something wisely because I know how long you can be connected to a show. This is the character that I know I will have so much fun with for a very long time.”
Season 2 of Revenge with Emily Van Camp will kick off this fall on September 30th at 9pm. Watch the teaser below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42gblsuw5wQ&version=3&hl=en_US]
