Paget Brewsteris best known for her role as Emily Prentiss on the crime proceduralCriminal Minds.
In December,The Signal, an Audible Original out now via Fresh Produce Media, was released.
COLLIDER: I’m a huge sci-fi junkie, so this is right up my alley.
Image by: NImesh Niyomal Perera
PAGET BREWSTER: Oh, thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that because I was so excited when I auditioned for it.
I just read the first episode, and I was like, I believe!
Image via CBS
I’m a believer.
I need to do this.
I’d never done an Audible Original before.
Image via Paramount+
I’d never done a scripted podcast.
I loved doing it.I thought the story was fascinating.
I don’t know what’s out there.
Image via Paramount+
Its fascinating to me.
I also know that you’ve done some voice acting in cartoons, correct?
BREWSTER: Yeah, in animated features like DC [Justice League: Gods and Monsters].
I started doingGodzilla[The Series] in 1998.
It was an animated show on Fox.
I think that was my first animated job.
Because I thought, Wait a minute there.
But it’s a totally different thing.
Almost all of the other work that I do, my husband and I record at home.
We have a home studio, and he’s the engineer and records my voice.
So, this was the first time I’d gone to a studio throughout the pandemic.
It had been a year since I’d been recording in a recording studio, and Ilovethe studio.
Paget Brewster Explains the Ins and Outs of Audio Podcasts
That’s really, really neat.
I’ve always wondered how different these audio dramas are from animation work.
BREWSTER: It’s definitely changed.
You could hear the director, and everybody would read the script from beginning to end.
If the director wanted another take of a line, they would say, Okay, stop.
I’m sure he’s done a bunch of Audible Originals.
His voice is exceptional.
He’s so talented.
He’s just remarkable to watch and just has incredible control over his voice.
Watching him work in person was like a master class.
You don’t have to keep their line clean.
It feels a little awkward, but I understand why it works.
It’s its own way of performing, and so it was exciting.
It was exciting to learn something totally new, and I hope I pulled it off!
You listened to it.
Did you feel that we were present with you?
BREWSTER: Oh, that’s really cool.
I didn’t think of that.
I really enjoyed it.
I want to keep listening to it.
BREWSTER: Oh, that’s the most flattering thing you could say.
I’m touched and impressed that you listened to it, and I really, really appreciate it.
That’s just great.
Thank you for saying all that stuff.
There was such a tension and need for that difference to be demonstrated.
BREWSTER: No, that was in the script and written byEric Buchman.
I was really impressed by that because I think he did have such a clear idea.
There were a couple of other writers,Gabriel UrbinaandSarah Shachat; they completely knew who Veronica Chapel was.
That’s not something I figured out.
They had everything in the script, which is why I wanted it so badly.
So, how do you make the decision?
Even though I was right, was there another way to see it?
Is something else going on that, in being right, I’ve closed my eyes to?
It’s just a fascinating human… Is it a failing, or is it conviction?
I personally have struggled with it, so maybe I was the best person to cast.
I don’t know.
But it was definitely in the script, and I’m so glad that you noticed that.
I also have found myself very much guilty of that.
As the eldest daughter syndrome, I feel like that happens to me a lot.
Whats your process with taking on that kind of information?
For an actor, mostly, it’s, Am I pronouncing this word correctly?
Then, what are we?
Are we like a way station for other species that there has not been a full disclosure of yet?
Are we a pit stop?
Are we a rest stop on the way to another galaxy for interstellar travelers?
They were so well-versed.
I certainly don’t; I don’t have a doctorate in astronomy or science.
It was a great atmosphere.
So, you’ve got this new chapter withCriminal Minds: Evolution.
This show is just so beloved.
What does that mean to you for it to be this beloved with everyone just absolutely mad over it?
WhenCriminal Mindswas canceled at CBS, I still felt like, There’s no way this is over.
There’s no way this is over.
It plays in 73 countries.
All of us immediately said yes.
We said, If it’s us and it’s our showrunner, yes.
And it’s still owned by CBS.
Paramount+ is where a lot of CBS shows are.
We knew how fortunate we were.
We knew how excited we were about getting to do the show again and in a slightly different way.
I have nothing against it.
It’s just a different forum than streaming.
So now that we’re on Paramount+, the writing can be a little different.
There are a couple of swear words here and there, but none of us are naked.
We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.
We’re honoring what the show originally was.
It is a long-running show.
We’re hoping, fingers crossed, that they’ll pick us up again.
So, our fingers are crossed that we get Paramount+ Season 4 forEvolution.
And I’m so glad you like the show!
I’m so glad.
The Signal, an Audible Original Podcast,is available to stream on Audible now.
you’ve got the option to catch up on past episodes ofCriminal Minds, now on Paramount+.
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