Keri Russell on ‘The Diplomat,’ Powerful Women, and Loving the Mess

Kara Swisher (0:00)

I wanted to be a spy, actually.

Keri Russell (0:02)

Who doesn't?

Kara Swisher (0:03)

I really did. I could still be one, and you don't know it.

Keri Russell (0:05)

You could still be one.

Kara Swisher (0:06)

I could still be one.

Keri Russell (0:06)

You have a great cover now. You would have been so good, actually.

Kara Swisher (0:10)

Maybe.

Keri Russell (0:10)

Negotiating.

Kara Swisher (0:11)

Maybe. It would have been a war with like-

Keri Russell (0:14)

Everyone.

Kara Swisher (0:15)

Like Luxembourg.

Hi, everyone. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is On with Kara Swisher and I'm Kara Swisher. Today, I'm talking to Keri Russell. She's the star and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Netflix series The Diplomat, created by West Wing and homeland veteran, Debora Cahn. Season 4 premieres today. And spoiler alert, if you haven't seen the series yet, we'll be talking about seasons 1 through 3 Keri plays ambassador Kate Wyler, a career Foreign Service officer who's plucked from the background and appointed ambassador to the UK, a high-profile role that initially seemed softer and more ceremonial than she'd prefer. But Kate's experience and diplomacy skills are quickly tested as she faces one geopolitical crisis after another. At the same time, she's navigating a complex marriage to her husband, former ambassador Hal Wyler, played by Rufus Sewell, who is a charming and ambitious political strategist. Keri has received three Emmy nominations for her role in The Diplomat. Prior to this, she had an acclaimed six-season run as the star of The Americans, where she played a 1980s Cold War KGB spy living undercover in the US with her husband, played by her real-life partner Matthew Reese. Keri's big breakout, of course, was Felicity, a network drama about an earnest and bright college student coming of age in New York City.

I really want to talk to Keri Russell because I think she's one of these enduring actors who has really enveloped roles that she's been in. She's very poignant in many ways and at the same time, portrays really complex women, which I think is really important today. Our expert question today comes from none other than former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. So stick around.

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Kara Swisher (3:52)

Keri, thanks for coming on On.

Keri Russell (3:53)

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_3 (3:54)

So explain how we met.

Keri Russell (3:57)

I wrote you a fan letter. You wrote me a fan letter.

Kara Swisher (3:59)

I wrote you a fan letter.

SPEAKER_3 (4:00)

I did, but it was on aol.com.

Kara Swisher (4:02)

And I thought it was fake. That's right. I thought it was fake. And I didn't respond. And one of your showrunners for The Diplomat said, Keri wrote you a note and you didn't respond.

SPEAKER_7 (4:15)

And I said, that's not a real Keri Russell.

Keri Russell (4:17)

Yeah, I wrote, I think I wrote you and Scott. I wrote Pivot, the fan. I just said, you guys are great.

It was a couple of years ago or last year or something.

Kara Swisher (4:25)

Yeah, yeah, a couple of years ago.

Keri Russell (4:26)

And from my AOL account.

Kara Swisher (4:28)

I know, is that, you still have your AOL?