For many people watching Nurse Jackie last season, Merritt Wever was an unknown actress -- until she started stealing scenes from the show's title character. The New York City native has been on television before, playing Matthew Perry's assistant on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and because of her success on Jackie, Wever's schedule is filling up fast. Just last month, she appeared opposite Annette Bening in an L.A. stage production of The Female of the Species and this weekend, viewers can catch Wever twice -- in Noah Baumbach's Greenberg, which opens in theaters today and Nurse Jackie's second season premiere on Sunday.
Talking to Movieline today, Wever discussed her busy schedule, the most valuable lesson she learned from Edie Falco and the reason it was hard to return to Nurse Jackie for a second season.
How did you first get into acting?
I went to really good New York City public schools that had arts programs. So in junior high, I got into the drama department. From there, I went to a performing arts high school in New York City called Laguardia and I just kind of fell into the professional side by happenstance.
I've been to a few high school musicals in Manhattan that were incredible.
Yeah and it depends on which school you go to. For some of them, you have to audition to get in and it's very strict and conservatory-like in all honesty. I got a pretty good conservatory-like theater education in high school which is a pretty impressive thing to be able to get for free in New York City.
Not only are a lot of Nurse Jackie's cast members New York-based, but a lot of them come from theater, like Eve Best, Anna Deavere Smith and Dominic Fumusa. What do you think having such strong theater actors brings to the show that other television series don't have?
I just think that working out of New York, the talent pool is so incredible, especially with all of the theater that is done here, that you can get quality actors that bring so much to the show. The guest stars are a big part of every episode so I think that is just one of the pluses of shooting in New York.
Do you get recognized much on the street?
Well, not too much. It definitely happens but not too much. I don't know if more people will watch this season and that will change but it happens every now and then. It hasn't been invasive at all. I try not to anticipate it or worry about it.
Your character, Zoey, had such a great arc the first season of the show, going from the anxious, easily-rattled newbie to one of the most stable staffers at All Saints Hospital. What's in store for Zoey this season?
She's continuing that trajectory. She's no longer the newbie. She's no longer green. She's a lot more comfortable and she's kind of itching to get her hands dirty. She is really eager to be as immersed as possible. I think she'd love to be hardcore if she could be. [Laughs]
So many of the show's reviews last year cited your performance as one of the best parts of the show. Was reading that much praise strange?
It was! In some sense, praise and criticism should go in one ear and out the other. I think I saw Edie on a talk show say something like, "If you believe the good stuff then you have to believe the bad stuff too." Maybe it wasn't her who said that but I think that's an interesting way of looking at it. And it's hard to really watch or know a show when you're in it, so reading other people's assessments can sometimes get complicated or tricky. I'm wondering if I'm actually going to even read reviews this year. It was hard enough to watch the show last year and go back and play the character again. I sometimes wonder how helpful it is as an actor.
How was it hard to return to Zoey after watching the show?
I felt like I was imitating someone I had seen on TV. I had actually never had the opportunity to watch myself at length before and I'm just not used to it so it felt a little surreal. I felt a little wonky for the first few episodes, I think, returning for the second season. And it's hard when you're making a TV show because you want to watch it to see what it is that you made and to see other people's work and to see how everything fits together. But it's a little strange if you're not used to watching yourself work.
Your character has so many tiny mannerisms that you see especially when she approaches Jackie, Dr. O'Hara or any of her superiors. She doesn't really want to bother anyone and doubles back --
The scurrying.
Right. How much of that are you consciously putting into the character and how much of that is Merritt?
I don't -- I think that's something that is consciously added. I really hope that I don't scurry around with abent back and lean into people normally. I think the writers are just really good and it was in there even if it wasn't written explicitly, I think there was room for it. I think that the writers and I were both interested in the same things about the character and I'm lucky because she could have been written really boringly but they've given me a lot of room and space and they let me be a bit of a weirdo, which I really appreciate.
What have you learned from sharing so many scenes with Edie Falco?
Just to -- it's the same thing I think I learn when I work with any actors that I think so highly of -- and it's just to relax and take it moment by moment. Stay as open and free and receptive as you can.
I know that a lot of viewers were disappointed that Mo-Mo was written out of the show last year. Will he return even for a quick scene this season?
Oh, I'm sorry! He doesn't. His actions are explained in the first episode. I'm sorry. There is a new character and Thor (Stephen Wallem) is around a lot more in this season and he is really, really great. He is sweet and he's funny. But I'm sorry that people are going to miss Mo-Mo. It must be hard to not like a character and then not have him anymore.
Last month you were onstage with Annette Bening for The Female of the Species. Do you prefer stage or television?
I don't have a preference. I like them both. They are both difficult in very different ways. And they both feed you in different ways. One of the things that I appreciate about doing stage is that the performance, the character's arc or journey -- whatever word you want to use -- is completely your own. Nobody is editing your performance. So you have a lot of responsibility but you also own it. Sometimes, in TV and film, the actors don't necessarily get to shape their own work at the end of the day. They're there when the footage is assembled but not when it is cut together. So sometimes, you're not so responsible for telling a story when you're working on a film. I think that's different on a TV show though. The nature of doing episode after episode and following storylines enables actors to make the story more their own than they could in a movie.
Nurse Jackie is in its second season and it looks like it's going to keep going for awhile. Do you still stress out about how much you are or are not working?
Yeah, you know, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop so I don't take for granted that we are going to be coming back. I don't know how long it will last and I think that when you've been an actor without job security for long enough, it's very difficult, even if you can probably bet that you'll have a job for a few years, it's very difficult to take any comfort in it. There's still the anxiety. I'm still auditioning and things like that but I think it'll be important to do projects other than Nurse Jackie because otherwise I might start associating acting with Zoey.
Have you found that you're getting auditions for a lot of eager-to-please roles now?
I haven't -- not quite. I think maybe last year there was a little of that but I just finished doing a play in L.A. and I realized a couple weeks into rehearsal that I had a lot of Zoey still in my body and in my voice. A lot of the things I was doing, I was doing like I was Zoey. So I think it will be important to do other things.
Do you feel spoiled that you get to shoot in New York? Do you like Los Angeles?
I don't drive so Los Angeles is problematic. The weather is nothing to scoff at even though I do miss the seasons. But I've been spoiled in more ways than one with this job.