Podcast #539: VICTORIA SMURFIT of NBC’s “DRACULA”

Victoria Smurfit
Victoria Smurfit

Victoria Smurfit plays the role of Lady Jayne Wetheby on NBC’s new drama, “Dracula.” While the character of Lady Jayne may not appear in the book, Smurfit was able to make the character her own. The show is set in the 19th century, late 1800s, and it has a very regal look to it. The style, the glamour of the men and women set this apart. We got to speak with Smurfit about the specific characteristics that make up Lady Jayne:

 

“Lady Jayne has so many secrets as Dracula/Grayson has. She is one-part society queen, heralded as the lady who always gets what she wants. Meanwhile, she works everyday at the office, which is the Order of the Dragon. Some of the people of the Order think she just works there. However, those who are higher know that she is the master huntress. She loves it, and I love Lady Jayne. She’s all satin and leather, you know. You never know what she is going to get into. Although, I would never mess with her, but if you took her out on a night out, she’ll take care of you.”

The complexities of both Lady Jayne and Alexander Grayson/Dracula (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) will be further explored in the episodes to come. One does wonder, for a woman who is a slayer/huntress, how has she not been able to pick up on something about Grayson?

“That is one of the biggest challenges about playing Lady Jayne. How has she not caught on that Alexander is the King of the Undead? Ask any woman in the world, and they will tell you at some stage in their life, they will date the bad guy. You KNOW that he is the guy who you don’t want to have a relationship with, but you do it anyway. It’s that compelling charisma. Lady Jayne is arrogant in her belief within herself. She looks at these other society princesses and considers them idiots, because all they do is wear a gown. As far as she is concerned, she has this secret that she is a working woman. Within that is her flaw that allows her to believe that she has finally found this man who if worthy of her. Her radar gets extremely foggy because of that. There will be moments that come up where people become curious, and think there is something not human about him. At each stage, Dracula/Grayson will shoot down those suspicions, and uses Lady Jayne to do it. He really manipulates her over the next couple of episodes. It was really cleverly done.”

We spoke more with Victoria about the character of Lady Jayne, the glamour and the settings involved in the filming of these episodes, as well as working with Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Follow Victoria Smurfit on Twitter: @victoriasmurfit.

To download the full podcast with Victoria Smurfit, click on the player below:

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