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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 28 March 2017

Holly Taylor shines as Russian spies’ all-American daughter

FRAZIER MOORE stark counterpoint to Eliza- disguises as the cloak-and-
AP Television Writer beth and Philip, her mom dagger couple (Keri Russell
NEW YORK (AP) — Learning and dad, who, behind their and Matthew Rhys) carry
and keeping secret that masquerade as modern out their subterfuge right
your parents are Russian circa-1980s Americans, are under the nose of FBI coun-
spies would be a lot for any Soviet-born KGB officers terintelligence agent Stan
teenager to handle. That’s doing their undercover Beeman (Noah Emmerich),
been the heavy burden best to help bring down the who, as luck would have
for Paige Jennings on FX’s U.S. it, lives across the street in
Cold War-era thriller “The This powerful series, which their Washington suburb.
Americans.” airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. But it’s Paige who has
The responsible, good- Eastern, has no shortage emerged as the show’s
hearted Paige strikes a of action, intrigue and wig pivotal figure. Propelled by
Holly Taylor’s winsome por-
trayal, she has blossomed
as the series’ moral center.
And she represents the se- In this image released by FX, Holly Taylor portrays Paige Jen-
ries’ biggest question mark nings in a scene from “The Americans,” airing Tuesdays at 10
p.m. EDT.
as “The Americans” races Associated Press
toward its sixth and final
season next year: What The relationship between in their own highly regi-
path will this all-American Paige and Matthew Bee- mented way, run wild.
girl choose as, more and man (played by Danny Fla- This sets off highly charged
more, she becomes impli- herty) is sweetly innocent moments between Tay-
cated in her parents’ mis- thus far. But it could always lor and her co-stars Russell
sion to make Russia great go further. “Some of the and Rhys.
again? (This week’s epi- things, I had a stand-in for,” “After the scene where
sode offers a new clue.) Taylor volunteers, with no they told Paige they were
Now 16, Paige was first details. “I have to do the spies, all three of us sat at
seen on the premiere of kiss itself because you see the table and couldn’t
“The Americans” typing a my face. But anything that even talk, we were just so
theme for class on a top- goes past the kiss is not me. exhausted from bringing
ic that made her mother I’m not comfortable doing out those emotions.
seethe: How the Russians that, for now, and the pro- “But I never feel uncom-
cheat on arms control. ducers respect my bound- fortable or nervous doing
“In season one, I was just aries.” a really emotional scene
kind of sitting there,” says Growing up in New Jersey, in front of them,” she says.
Taylor, a fresh-faced young Taylor started dance les- “When you have to break
woman with sparkling eyes sons when she was 3, and down and cry, they’re
who, at 19, scarcely looks at age 11 began a two- there to help you. They’re
older than the character year stint dancing in the so open and generous and
she plays. “It was good the kid-centric Broadway musi- welcoming. I’m really lucky
part wasn’t really big in the cal “Billy Elliot.” to have that.”
beginning. As they amped After that, she decided to This season “The Ameri-
it up, that gave me the try performing for the cam- cans” has gained an un-
chance to learn.” era. sought burst of relevance
Then, two seasons ago, “That seemed like a logical as America suffers a re-
an increasingly suspicious next step,” she says. “But I lapse into Cold War-style
Paige forced the issue. was so shy. So I took a few heebie-jeebies.
“I’m not stupid,” she said as acting classes and began Even so, Taylor’s show re-
she confronted her parents to have more fun with it. I mains laser-focused on the
in a memorable scene. “I thought, ‘I can actually do long-ago ‘80s. And despite
know there’s something this.’” her not having been born
going on.” After a round of auditions, until 1997, so is she.
“We serve our country,” she landed the part of “All the writers are so tal-
her mother said. And that Paige. ented, just reading the
didn’t mean the USA. “I’m so proud to play her,” script I feel like I’m THERE,”
At her insistence, Paige in- Taylor says. “Usually the she says. “And once I get
creasingly has been taken teenage girl on a TV show into wardrobe and get on
into her parents’ confi- just butts into everything set, I’m in the character
dence. At the same time, and gets everyone an- who lives at that time.”
she clashes with them — in noyed. But I think Paige is “Still, as a viewer, you relate
particular, over her choice complex, and her story line ‘The Americans’ to yourself
of boyfriends. A puppy- makes sense.” and what you see going on
love romance has sparked As everybody knows, it’s around you,” she allows.
between Paige and the the teen who typically reb- “That’s what people are
anyone-but-him boy els on TV. But in this case it’s finding out about our show
across the street: the son of Paige who tries to follow now. And that’s cool.”q
FBI agent Beeman. the rules while her parents,