True north: playing Amber

Actor Cassidy Freeman explores the creative process behind her latest role: Amber, a main character in the hit HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones.

I play Amber Gemstone: a pretty smart woman, though she may not come across that way at first. She’s calculated and has a really clear idea of the kind of life that she wants. Earlier on, there might have been some concern about the roles that women play in The Righteous Gemstones, but what’s interesting is that as the show goes on, you start to see that their characters are actually much more layered than you would have assumed.

I love Amber, she has such a true north. She’s a team player but if she gets cross, the shit’s going to hit the fan. I remember a scene in the pilot in which Amber’s friend is giving her shit about having a lot of money, and Amber tells her that the devil has gotten into her. After that scene, Danny (McBride, creator of The Righteous Gemstones) came up to me and said: “I’m scared of you.” I think it’s so great that we don’t know what Amber is capable of, and that makes her mysterious.

Danny McBride as Jesse and Cassidy Freeman as Amber

I enjoy working with Danny immensely. It’s an absolute dream job and I say that with full authenticity. It’s a very free creative space in which to do what I love to do. Danny really let me take Amber as I wanted. He asked me about my own history with religion to make sure he wasn’t offending anything and that he was providing a safe space in which to play.

What’s incredible about Danny’s creative process is that he really chooses his actors very carefully. Not only for their talent but for who they are, their essence, their values. Each one of us comes to set very prepared and ready and supporting of each other, which creates an environment that is amazing and so giving.

Something that I love about Amber is the history that they gave her. She came from a simple upbringing and as Judy Gemstone (played by Edi Patterson) says, she’s a ‘poverty person’. She operates almost on an arc, where she’s very calculated about the life she wants to live and protective of her it. But what gives her character depth is that while she’s protective, it’s not at the expense of her own values. I love trying to think of what Amber would do in certain situations.

I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and it’s always an uprooting when your job takes you to a different city. What I enjoy about that is that we’re somewhat confined and we rely on each other, it feels a bit like summer camp. We’re very deeply rooted into each other’s life, I live with two of the other actors when we’re shooting and I think it only helps with our ability to be free with one another onset. Danny lives year-round in Charleston and he’s been so welcoming into that community. It doesn’t feel strange now, it feels really homey.

I have an affinity for accents, I’ve played a wide range and have listened to tapes to train in the past. This one came pretty naturally to me though... a lot of my family is from the South and I’ve grown up listening to those accents all my life. British Cassidy is real different to regular Cassidy, as is Gemstones Cassidy, aka Amber. It’s just another facet that enables me to create a character different to myself.

“At one point you can be laughing at a fart joke and then all of a sudden you want to cry and you don’t know why.”

Danny has said about this show in particular that there’s a real depth to it. At one point you can be laughing at a fart joke and then all of a sudden you want to cry and you don’t know why. It’s very relatable and layered. I think a lot of people think they know what Danny and his comedy is like. He’s one of the most intelligent, well-read, thoughtful humans I’ve worked with, it’s so inspiring to see the way that his brain works. Edi Patterson (Judy Gemstone) is a writer on the show as well and to know that we have such talented people creating these storylines is very encouraging.

There is sometimes a feeling that when something you’ve been working on finishes, you must jump to something else immediately. I’ve learned in my career that opportunities will present themselves and that there’s a lot to be learned about taking a breath and getting clear about what you want your next adventure to be—it’s going to take your time and your energy and your life after all. When this show came onto my radar there was no question that it was what I wanted and when you have that clarity it’s that much more rewarding. Plus I really enjoy my life when I’m not working, so it’s a win/win situation.

Season One of The Righteous Gemstones airs in the UK and Ireland on Sky Atlantic in autumn/winter 2019.