Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Mr. Robot’s Ashlie Atkinson

Award-winning actress, playwright, and director Ashlie Atkinson has made a name for herself in Hollywood with the buzzworthy roles she’s brought to life on the stage and through the screen. This year, she joined the cast of the award-winning drama Mr. Robot in the series’ final season. Her character, Janice, has quickly become a fan favorite. Pop Culturalist caught up with Ashlie to chat about joining the cast and about her experience.

PC: You joined the final season of Mr. Robot. What can you tell us about your character and her arc this season?
Ashlie: Janice is a chatty taxidermist with an unusual sense of humor. It’s revealed pretty quickly that I’m a sleeper agent for the Dark Army. It’s sort of assuming the mantle from Irving [Bobby Cannavale] of last season, which are some pretty huge shoes to fill. But I mean, no pressure. [laughs]

PC: Speaking of pressure, how familiar were you with the series before you signed on? Was there any added pressure, given that it’s the final season?
Ashlie: I’m a massive fan of the show. My husband has not allowed me to tell him any major plot points of my character or the other characters throughout this entire process. It’s nice to get to watch with him and be like, “Remember that day when I came home and I was like, ‘Oh my god. You’re going to lose your mind. That was this episode.’” I’ve never actually joined a show as a series regular after it started.

There’s been big breaks in between seasons to accommodate everyone’s schedules and the fact that Rami Malek became a movie superstar. There was a year or two between Season 3 and Season 4. That’s pretty unusual. So even though it’s only four seasons, these cats have had a long time to be friends. You walk in and you’re like a new roommate. It was super exciting because I’m such a huge fan of the show. It felt like a really natural fit. I didn’t have to do any research. I already knew everything I needed to know about the show. So it was really exciting.

PC: Did anything surprise you about the experience?
Ashlie: Honestly, if anything surprised me, it was the openness of this group of people that had been working together for so long. The show is really dark. It’s a condemnation of a lot of elements of a modern American society as we’re living it now. I think there’s a potential for the experience of making Mr. Robot to become darker and darker. But instead, I think it really became about people collaborating and the fact that none of us get through anything alone. We’re making something that feels vital at this unique hour in American history.

So I was really surprised at how much laughter there was. Christian Slater and Rami Malek are two of the nicest dudes to head up a call sheet. And I’ve worked with some really nice people in the past, but they were delightful. It’s so fun. You’re at the table read and you quickly realize that Christian is so magnetic. He’s the sort of guy that everybody wants to make laugh. He has this really positive, gentle energy.

I’m really interested in directing, but holy shit, am I super-duper interested in Sam Esmail’s directing and Tod Campbell’s cinematography. There were days when I didn’t work when I would ask if I could come and sit in a chair at the video village and just watch. Somehow, I was lucky enough to shadow Sam Esmail.

PC: What has been your favorite part about playing Janice and what’s been the most challenging?
Ashlie: My favorite part about playing Janice is her joy. She’s actually really joyous, and that is such a messed up thing to say. I know it is. I remember I always really loved joyful, evil characters. It’s sort of like chaotic, joyful evilness that I saw growing up. This is going to date me, but I don’t even care. The ones that come to mind are Jack Nicholson’s Joker [Batman, 1989] and also Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham [Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991]. They just like loved what they did. It’s like they never had to work a day in their lives. They were just loving their job. And I think that’s what Janice is like. She just really likes her job.

The hardest thing about Janice is I’m often in a completely different headspace than everyone else in my scene. Janice has this childlike joy. So there’s a lot of me leaving while we’re shooting because I’ll start to catch the energy of the room.

To keep up with Ashlie, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Catch the finale of Mr. Robot on USA Network.

Photo Credit: Emily Assiran // Makeup: Tommy Napoli // Hair: Ben Martin // Stylist: Lisa Tinglum