SAN FRANCISCO — Keri Russell has been working most of her life, but she can’t remember a time when acting was more fun thanks to her work on the FX series “The Americans” and in the big summer blockbuster “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”
“I am enjoying acting more now. I feel more comfortable now with acting than I ever have,” Russell says. “It’s really interesting. I love ‘The Americans,’ it’s so bizarre and weird. And, it was so special to get to work with (‘Apes’ director Matt Reeves) again. I just feel like things are getting better. I hope things keep getting better with age.”
Russell, who is 38, seems like she should be older because she started working when she 15 on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club.” She made a huge splash at age 21 as star of the college drama “Felicity,” which was co-created by Reeves and J.J. Abrams.
It wasn’t the special effects and big battles that attracted Russell to “Dawn.” She was more interested in the human drama that she knew Reeves would bring to the story, such as her character being a member of the medical community that couldn’t stop the epidemic that wiped out most of the world’s human population. Russell’s character also deals with the death of her daughter and trying to connect with the son of the man she loves.