Pop-Culturalist.com

Rising star Emma Milani is giving audiences something to talk about with her breakout performance in Fox’s Monarch.

The musical drama tells the story of the country music dynasty created by the Romans. But when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, the heir to the crown will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Emma about Season 1 of Monarch, the parallels she drew between herself and her character, and more.

PC: You’re one of the stars of Monarch, and the series has been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Emma: There’s something for everybody. There’s the family aspect where they can sit down together and watch it. There’s country music, pop music, and so many things that people can relate to. I would say country music is probably the biggest draw. A lot of people grew up listening to country music, so it probably feels good to have a show that revolves around that.

PC: Were you a fan of country music before signing onto this project? Did your relationship with the genre change as a result of being a part of it?
Emma: I didn’t listen to country music a whole lot before Monarch, which is super funny. I always say that the most country music I ever listened to was Hannah Montana. But I have roots of love for it. My dad listens to a little country, but my love for it has grown exponentially after being a part of this show. I love country music. I listen to it all the time. That and rock and roll are my two favorite things. It’s mostly older country music that I love now. I was talking with Trace [Adkins] on set one day, and I was humming a John Prine song. He was like, “How do you know that song?” I was like, “I love it.”

PC: There’s a huge reveal involving your character. How early on did the writers clue you in on where your character’s storyline was headed? How will that impact her moving forward?
Emma: I knew from the start. That’s something that I wanted to know as an actor. Melissa London Hilfers, the creator of the show, asked me when we first started. She was like, “Do you want to know everything?” I was like, “Yeah, I want to know everything.” But Ana doesn’t know any of it, so it was a huge, huge discovery.

PC: You’ve handled that journey with so much nuance. How did you create the space for yourself to dive into Ana’s journey? What was that preparation like?
Emma: Thank you. A lot of it was relating Ana’s journey to my own life. I never had a family member who was involved in the industry. I never had my foot in the door from the start. So trying to be an actress and wanting to become an actress was really the same journey for me. I was somebody who had no idea how to get started and had no help in that way. My dad’s a businessman. My mom’s from Poland and was a homemaker, so I didn’t know how to get started and had to figure it out. A lot of the time, it was really hard. You face a lot of rejection. We have similar journeys, so I felt for her. I understood what it felt like to feel lost and not know if you’re going to find your way or not.

PC: With Season 1 almost at its conclusion, which has been your favorite scene and song to film this season? Which was the most difficult?
Emma: My favorite song was the one that I did with Trace called “Half of My Hometown,” because everything that Trace touches turns into gold. He’s eternally country, and I thought it sounded really good. I was happy with it.

Episode 9 was my favorite to shoot because Monarch is primarily centered around Nicky, Gigi, and Luke. I thought nine was really fun because we got taken out of that and experienced our generation with Ana and Ace (Inigo Dominic Pascual’s character). You got to see more of that teenage angst. That was probably the episode that I had the most fun shooting because it was so different.

PC: There’s such great chemistry that comes off the screen between you and the rest of the cast. How were you able to build that bond?
Emma: We spent a lot of time together. Most of us weren’t from Georgia. Trace and Beth [Ditto] are both from the South, but none of us lived in Georgia, so we didn’t really know anyone there. We didn’t have any friends there. We became each other’s family. That was who we had. We got together all the time. We just became super close. Then from there, it was relatively easy to feel comfortable and have fun with the people you’re working with.

PC: This is one of your biggest roles to date. Did anything surprise you about the experience thus far? What was the biggest takeaway?
Emma: Everything surprised me. I’m shocked every day and excited by it. I learned something different from every single person who I worked with. I’m still taking it all into account as we speak and as the episodes roll out. I’m still coming to terms with the reality that this is a thing that I did.

PC: If we’re lucky enough to get a second season, where do you want to see Ana’s storyline head? If you could pitch a song to the writers, which would it be and why?
Emma: That’s a tough one. Inigo and I always say that we wanted to do “In Spite of Ourselves” by John Prine. We would sing that all the time on set. John Prine is one of my favorites. That would be really cool.

PC: Where would you like to see Ana’s storyline go moving forward?
Emma: That’s a tough one. I’d like to see Ana come into herself more with respect to her music. I’d like to see her do more rock and roll with country and start building her pop star self that they’re trying to create.

PC: As you look ahead, do you have a dream role?
Emma: I don’t have a dream role. I want to start doing film. I hope that Monarch gets picked up and we keep doing that. That way on my off time I can start doing film. I’d really love to start doing something a little bit gritty and raw and have that contrast. I love playing a sweet sixteen-year-old country singer, and I relate to it totally, but I’d love a challenge and to be able to show people I can do both.

To keep up with Emma, follow her on Instagram. Watch Monarch every Tuesday at 9/8c on Fox.

Photo Credit: Fox