Hollywood actor Keri Russell says she was ‘blown away’ by Indian talent Adarsh Gourav

Russell, who has appeared in projects such as Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Waitress (2007), August Rush (2007), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), worked with Gourav on Extrapolations, a drama series focusing on the near-future impacts of climate change.

“I have a very small part in the episode. My episode takes place all in India. I’m the only English speaker in it. I just have a few English lines. That actor (Gourav) is so good,” says Russell, who was last seen in dark comedy, Cocaine Bear.

The 46-year-old continues, “I did not know him before that. From the first scene we did, we were shooting at night, and we had to do this crazy action thing… I went up to the director and I asked, ‘Who is that guy?’ And he said, ‘Well, he’s done a bunch of projects in India’. He is so good. I was blown away by him. I haven’t seen the project, but I hope that it turns out well. It is a really important subject”.

When it comes to coming to India, she is yet to fulfil her wish. “I have never been to India, the closest I’ve been is Indonesia, but I have not been to India. I would love to go,” she exclaims with excitement.

Talking of her work slate, the actor was elated to come out of the Covid-19 experience and get on the set to shoot dark comedy, Cocaine Bear, set in the mid ‘80s telling a story of a series of mishaps after a bear high on drugs goes on a rampage.

“I was on the phone talking with Elizabeth Banks discussing a completely different project. Next day, she called me back and said, ‘Hey, I’m directing this crazy movie, do you want to read it?’ I read this insanity that this movie is. We were in the middle of Covid-19 — the height of everything that was so hard for everyone in the whole world. It felt like the right time to do such a crazy, fun, ridiculous, funny movie,” she says, adding, “it felt so good to laugh like that after everything that we had been going through.”

And that makes it relevant. “It was so hard for all of us in the past few years. Now, it just feels good to laugh. These days to go to a movie theatre, which we don’t do as much anymore, as we could watch things at home, in your bed or on your couch, is a different experience. And this is what makes people want to go and see with a big group and hear everyone really laugh and be together and get scared and get grossed out,” she concludes.