Photo: Matt Baron/BEImages.
You probably have the best hair in Hollywood. Any chance you want to share your secret?
"Thank you! I don’t wash my hair very often. Maybe once or twice a week. But, I don’t have very oily hair, so I’m fortunate to not have to wash it very often. I do think the natural oils really contribute to making it shiny and manageable. If you over wash your hair — or if I over wash my hair — I can’t do anything with it."
Did you know your hair has a Twitter account?
"I’ve never read it, but I heard that it has one, which I think is hilarious."
Between acting and promotional work you're quite the busy woman. What tips do you have for staying fresh, well-rested and glowing all the time?
"I think Ponds Luminous Finish BB+ is really great for me. As women we do put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and I think that pressure can sometimes lead to the things that we don’t like about our appearance, like looking tired, wrinkles, and all the rest of it. I've always believed in keeping it simple and low maintenance, and I do think that the Ponds product is a great way to do that. It's one product, and it does all the things you want it to do: It’s great coverage, it has SPF, it makes me feel like my skin looks how I want it to look, and over time it helps even out skin tone. All the things I want without having to use a bunch of serums and creams and all the rest of it."
Sounds perfect for the busy girl!
"Yeah! Listen, as women in this day and age, we’re all tackling a lot and trying to accomplish a lot, so for me it’s about keeping the things that I can keep simple, simple."
Before the Emmys this year you did a big juice cleanse. What advice would you give someone who's considering doing one, or who's doing one for the first time?
"I think you need to not feel like you’re depriving yourself if you’re just doing juices. I'll usually do some solid foods as well, even if they're just raw. But, if you’re doing juices you should really have something every two hours. Also, don’t torture yourself! If you’re doing juices, make them delicious. Put things in them that taste good to you so you’re not having to hold your nose and swallow it down."
That's great advice! We'd love to switch gears and talk about your career. How is playing Rayna James on Nashville different from playing Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights? Do you feel connected to either character more than the other?
"It’s very different actually. There are similarities as well, but what’s different to me playing Rayna is this is a woman who has a very big life and is very high profile and in the public eye. It’s interesting to play what that projection does to people. What was important to me was to also show her as a real woman going through all of the conflicts that we go through as women that can be tiny and universal and in our everyday lives, but then also having a very public persona. I just think it’s always interesting to see people behind the scenes and to see who they really are and for me, the important thing is to make the character relatable."
So, portraying the kind of woman you would believe in?
"Yes. I’ve been really fortunate and I’ve had such amazing opportunities, especially in television."
What do you take into consideration before accepting a role?
"For me, it’s important to always feel like I’m being challenged and playing a character that I’m going to be able to do something different with as an actor — put a different voice out into the world. But I also think as a woman I want to play characters that are representative of contemporary women in this day and age telling those kind of stories that real women can relate to. So it’s important to me to make my character feel very authentic, and make her feel very real, like we’re telling a true story."
Is there anything you’re particularly excited about for the upcoming season of Nashville?
"Well, my character had to start in a coma, so that was challenging, but what I like about being able to come out of that coma (spoiler alert!) is that now I really feel like we’re going to get to see the character really take on her life and know that it’s her life she’s living — I think that’s inspiring to see and fun to play."