00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - It's so good to chat with you.
00:04 Congratulations on your final season.
00:06 What a ride it's been, huh?
00:08 - It's been crazy.
00:09 - It's been wild.
00:10 So looking back on the last few seasons,
00:14 what would you say is your rose and thorn of "High Town"?
00:17 So let's start with your rose,
00:18 which is like favorite moment,
00:20 either a scene or behind the scenes.
00:23 - Oh, behind the scenes for sure.
00:25 Probably being directed by Rebecca
00:28 because she's the showrunner,
00:30 she's the executive producer,
00:31 she's the brains behind the operation.
00:34 And so when she was directing the finale,
00:37 it was just like this incredible full circle moment
00:41 where I got to like finish this very personal show
00:46 that I love so much with the woman who like created it
00:51 and was also a mentor of mine.
00:53 And so it was just a very meaningful,
00:56 meaningful way to get to the end of season three.
00:59 And then my thorn.
01:01 - Or like your most challenging moment.
01:03 It doesn't have to be like, "Oh, I hated this."
01:05 - Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
01:07 My most challenging moment.
01:08 I think like shooting on a boat is pretty hard.
01:11 (laughs)
01:12 It's really hard.
01:13 It's rocky.
01:15 Everybody gets sick out there.
01:17 I think like it's tricky when you're out there on a boat
01:21 with like one operator and you're in the middle of the ocean
01:25 and it's, that's, it was challenging.
01:28 It was challenging.
01:29 - Did you get seasick?
01:30 - I did, but I didn't tell anybody I did.
01:34 - Oh, they're gonna find out now.
01:35 It's time. - Yeah, well, we wrapped.
01:38 - Yeah, it's time to release it.
01:40 Okay, this season, Jackie, is like an absolute mess.
01:44 So in your, I mean, at the beginning at least,
01:47 what triggered, in your opinion, her kind of downward spiral?
01:51 Was it like one inciting event
01:53 or do you think it's been a compilation?
01:54 - Definitely a compilation, right?
01:56 I mean, like what are we
01:57 but the accumulation of our experiences?
01:59 So it's, I think a lot of things from season one,
02:04 season two, especially coming out of like, you know,
02:07 all of that stuff with her dad,
02:09 I think that sort of was maybe the beginning
02:11 of a pretty big stumble.
02:13 It's never just one thing that can trip Jackie up
02:18 or maybe pushes her off the wagon.
02:21 - Yeah.
02:22 - She's also very passionate about helping people.
02:25 - Yeah.
02:26 - But by wearing her feelings so openly on her sleeves,
02:31 she actually ends up kind of getting in her own way.
02:34 - Yeah.
02:35 - And so I think, you know, tripping over and over
02:37 and not being able to kind of get out of that cycle
02:40 probably just, you know, sent her over the edge.
02:43 - It just caught up with her.
02:45 - It just caught up with her.
02:46 But then we get to see her come out of that.
02:47 We have to figure out how does she find her redemption?
02:50 How does she find like the meaning
02:52 and the clarity through it all, you know?
02:54 - The first two episodes, I screamed,
02:56 "No, don't do that," to her at least 14 times.
03:00 So if you could give Jackie one piece of advice
03:03 coming from Monica, what would it be?
03:05 - Shh.
03:07 Just stop talking.
03:11 Maybe shut up and listen.
03:12 Yeah, stop talking.
03:13 - I kind of love that advice.
03:15 I know.
03:16 I feel like my mother did that to me.
03:17 - That's what somebody told me to do
03:18 when I was making some dumb decisions
03:20 is stop talking so much and just listen.
03:24 - That's great advice for everyone.
03:26 Okay, so I Googled your character
03:28 just to see what comes up first.
03:30 I always like to do that.
03:31 And just so you know, the first site describes her
03:33 as hard partying, fiery lesbian cop.
03:37 And you know why that's so strange to me?
03:39 You would never see a straight character
03:41 described as hard partying, fiery heterosexual.
03:45 - I know, but now we totally have to put that in the bios
03:48 just so it can pop up when you Google it.
03:50 - Exactly.
03:51 And it did, let me tell you.
03:52 But on that note, how does it feel to portray
03:56 one of television's few leading LGBTQ characters
04:00 who is also Latina?
04:02 That's a great thing in my opinion.
04:04 - I mean, it's me.
04:06 I'm a queer Latina person.
04:08 So I get to be playing a character
04:10 who is reflecting my own community.
04:14 I didn't get to see a lot of examples like that
04:16 when I was coming up.
04:18 So to be included in that,
04:21 a very small pool of characters who represent my community
04:26 is such an honor.
04:28 Very, very cool.
04:29 And even cooler is that in Rebecca's show,
04:33 it's not about that.
04:34 It's really focused on this investigation
04:38 and in the circumstances of the world
04:40 and the underbelly of Cape Cod.
04:42 And not about my identity.
04:45 - Not at all.
04:46 - Not at all.
04:47 And so that's a reflection of the direction
04:50 that we're going in.
04:51 And I'm very proud of Rebecca for doing that.
04:53 - I know, that's what's so magical about it.
04:54 It's very organic.
04:55 It's not like, "Hey everyone,
04:57 now you're tuning into a show about a hard partying lesbian."
05:00 Which is, you said something interesting.
05:04 Growing up, did you have any shows
05:06 that reflected how you felt?
05:08 'Cause I definitely did not.
05:09 - No, neither did I.
05:11 I don't think so.
05:12 I can't think of any.
05:14 I was usually, I was trying to read a little bit more
05:17 and searching for maybe some unknown movies
05:20 that would reflect somebody like me.
05:22 - Yeah, I mean, you've changed
05:25 how this generation watches television.
05:27 And to be part of that is incredible.
05:30 Okay, let's talk a little bit about Jackie's dating life
05:33 at the beginning of the season.
05:34 I would also describe that as a bit of a wild ride.
05:38 So if you had to write Jackie's dating profile,
05:42 how would you describe her?
05:43 How would you write that profile?
05:45 - How would I write a profile?
05:46 I don't know.
05:47 You know what, I've never actually done this before.
05:48 I have no idea.
05:49 - I mean, it's like long walks on the beach,
05:52 that kind of thing.
05:53 - Yeah, yeah, open from seven to nine.
05:56 - Oh my God, I hope you don't write her dating profile.
06:00 - Oh, sorry.
06:01 Down for a good time.
06:02 - Might arrest you.
06:06 - Might arrest you, but only consensually.
06:09 I turn in around 4 a.m., something like that.
06:13 - Oh, that's great.
06:14 - But when she gets sober, she's like Diet Coke,
06:16 Diet Coke on the rocks with a twist.
06:19 - Oh, I love that.
06:20 Oh, that is good.
06:22 On the flip side, how do you think Jackie would describe you?
06:24 Like, would the two of you be friends?
06:26 - Probably, probably, yeah.
06:31 I'd probably be like her older sister.
06:36 - You need to shut up and listen.
06:37 - Yeah, I'm gonna be like, stick with me, kid.
06:39 We'll show you how we get it done.
06:42 - I know that she's, like I said, she's a mess at first,
06:45 but what would you say that you and Jackie have in common?
06:48 Like, what's similar about the two of you
06:50 and what's so different?
06:51 - I would think what's similar is that we feel intensely.
06:57 And yeah, I think our passion is very similar.
07:02 What's very different is...
07:05 - Well, now I'm so happy to say that I can, you know,
07:10 not act on all of my reactions.
07:13 I'm now more successful than not in this point in my life.
07:17 Jackie is still at the phase
07:19 where she's sort of just reactive, you know?
07:21 She feels something, she wants to do something about it.
07:23 There's no like, there's no thinking, playing the tape out
07:26 and evaluating the consequences of her choices.
07:28 That's not where we're at.
07:29 - Consequences mean nothing to her.
07:30 - There's no such thing as consequence, yeah.
07:33 There's now, only now.
07:35 - So, you know, looking at the ending,
07:37 if you could write Jackie's happy ending
07:40 or not happy ending yourself, what would you write?
07:42 - It's already been written exactly the way
07:44 that it should be.
07:45 - That's great.
07:46 I was gonna ask you, like,
07:47 if you can tease her ending in three words
07:49 without giving anything away.
07:51 - Finally fully formed.
07:52 - That's great.
07:54 Or shut up, shut up and listen.
07:57 That's too many words.
07:57 - Yeah. - Yeah.
07:58 - I tried, I tried.
08:00 (laughing)
08:01 - Get out of here.
08:02 Oh, sorry.
08:03 - Exactly.
08:04 Okay, finally, what's next for you after "High Town"?
08:07 I'm sure you know, there's always the Chicago Fire audience
08:11 that always wants you back.
08:12 Would you ever revisit that?
08:13 Or is it time for something new?
08:15 - I am a diehard "Wolf" fan.
08:18 I love the "Wolf" family.
08:19 I love all the "Wolf" shows.
08:21 I'm in and around that world in some capacity.
08:24 So, never say never.
08:26 But I'm directing a lot as well.
08:28 That's, I've got a few directing gigs coming up.
08:31 I'm doing a couple of shows on "Stars"
08:33 and directing gigs.
08:36 So, and I'm trying to like, you know, audition
08:39 and maybe book some more acting jobs too.
08:41 - I think that'll happen.
08:43 - Yeah, a few balls in the air.
08:44 - All right.
08:46 Monica, it was so great to chat with you.
08:48 Now we've learned that you should never
08:49 write a dating profile.
08:51 - Yeah, gosh.
08:52 - Maybe you should make a drinks menu.
08:53 That might work.
08:54 - Oh, thanks.
08:55 (laughing)
08:55 (upbeat music)
Comments