Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with God Friended Me’s Violett Beane

Violett Beane thrilled us as speedster Jesse Quick on The Flash, broke our hearts with her gut-wrenching performance as Lily Kendall on The Resident, and brought all the scares as Markie Cameron in a deadly game of Truth or Dare. This fall, she’s stepping into the shoes of Cara Bloom, an online journalist who moves to New York City to find the mother who abandoned her at a young age in. Along the way, she’ll cross paths with Miles Finer (Brandon Michael Hall), a young man who’s friended by someone on Facebook calling themselves God. Together, they’ll pay it forward helping others while trying to figure out who’s behind the God account. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Violett about her new series, God Friended Me.


PC: Tell us about God Friended Me and your character.
Violett: The show is about an atheist who gets friended by someone calling themselves God on Facebook. Being the atheist that he is, he denies the request several times. Eventually, his curiosity is piqued, and he accepts the request. Immediately, he starts getting sent friend suggestions for people. He sort of becomes a force of change in these people’s lives.

I play Cara Bloom. She’s an online journalist who is one of the friend suggestions that Miles receives. You’ll see in the pilot that she’s dealing with the fact that her mother left when she was young. She moves to New York City to find her, and even though she does find her, she doesn’t know how to take the next step. Miles and the God account help her do that. She decides to stick around and help find out who’s behind the God account.

PC: What drew you to this project?
Violett: When I was reading this script during pilot season last year, it was one of the only ones that I read that made me feel good at the end of it. There are a lot of dramatic shows that are out there that are about death, violence, or what have you. I think there’s enough of that in the world right now. I think we need a show like this that once you’re finished watching, you’ll feel a little better.

PC: How much of yourself is in Cara?
Violett: I would say that there’s a good amount of me. Like Cara, I don’t let things go. I like to get to the bottom of things. I feel like we’re both pretty stubborn people. I’ve been able to bring a lot of myself because of our creators, Bryan Wynbrandt and Steven Lilien. They have been so communicative since the beginning. They were in my very first audition. They’re so excited to show the world this show. We’re constantly chatting with them about our characters and where we want to go with them, which is amazing. I’ve never had that much say in a character. I really appreciate that.

PC: What can you tease about Cara’s relationship with her mother moving forward? How does that relationship, or lack of, influence who Cara is as a person?
Violett: When a kid goes through something traumatic at a young age, it shapes the person that they’ll end up being. In my personal experience, I’ve had something similar happen. It did the same thing that it did for Cara. It gave her motivation and her drive. What you’ll see is if it’s possible to move on from the past and if it’s possible to have a relationship with someone who’s burned you. I think it’s a really special relationship. Working with Rachel Bay Jones, who plays Susan, Cara’s mom, is so fantastic. She’s so talented. We actually got to see her in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. She did that show for almost four years. We got to see her before we got to work with her. It was really special to see her on that stage giving such a commanding performance. She’s a wonderful lady.


PC: Over the course of the season, we’ll see Miles and Cara paying it forward. Who was that person for you in your career and life?
Violett: All of my friends and family. They’re always there for me and have always supported me in everything that I wanted to do. I hope to give back to them and that we can just be there for each other.


Photo Credit: CBS

PC: You’re also known for your roles on The Resident and The Flash. Did you bring any lessons you learned from those sets to God Friended Me?
Violett: Totally! Every set that you walk on, you learn something new. From the very first thing that I did to now, it’s so, so different. When I was doing The Leftovers in Austin, I knew absolutely nothing about anything. I didn’t know how to find my marker, which all it is is a piece of tape on the ground where you stand. [laughs] I’ve come a long way. With this set in particular, I’m really taking the time to learn all the aspects of every department. I feel so lucky to have a crew that’s willing to teach. Our camera operators alone are so fantastic. I’m constantly asking them questions. It’s really helpful to know all the aspects.


PC: What has Cara taught you?
Violett: She’s taught me not to back down. Being a journalist, she’s extremely interested in people’s stories. She’s taught me that everyone has a story to tell and wants to tell it if you’re there to listen to it.

PC: How is she different from other characters you’ve played?
Violett: Well, she’s not a superhero. [laughs] She’s definitely more grounded than that. She comes from a spiritual side of things. She’s whimsical in that way. She believes in the connectivity between all of us.

PC: Besides Cara’s story, is there another “Friend” that we’ll meet later in the season that you’re excited for audiences to see?
Violett: Honestly, all of the friend suggestions have been pretty cool. We have some amazing guest stars. I don’t think anyone will watch episode two and not cry. It’s really, really heartbreaking, and then heartwarming. Our guest stars did such an excellent job on that one and I’m excited for people to see it.

PC: Can you tease anything about the guest stars that we’ll see this season?
Violett: Well, they just cast Cara’s dad. I got to work with him and he’s phenomenal. You’ll meet him pretty early in the season.

PC: CBS premiered the first episode on social media. Have you had anyone reach out to you or seen the response?
Violett: A lot of the feedback has been really positive. One lady said this was exactly like her life story. I was like, “You’ve been friended by God on Facebook? Tell me more.” [laughs] I don’t know whose life story she was relating to, but I love that. When people say that they watched the first episode and saw a family member in a different light or they were able to connect with their long lost sister, for me, that’s why I’m doing this show. If people can see the connection between our characters, coming from different backgrounds and religions, and seeing them get along and accept each other, hopefully, that’ll carry on to their lives as well.


PC: We know you’re busy working on God Friended Me, but do you think there’s a chance that we’ll see you reprising your role as Jesse Quick on The Flash?
Violett: Yeah! It’s certainly possible. The creators mentioned more speedsters coming back this season, so it’s absolutely possible!

Make sure to follow Violett on Twitter and Instagram, and catch God Friended Me every Sunday at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

Photo Credit: Lesley Bryce