When Karen looks at Matt Murdock, in the first episode of season 2, she sees a hero. She sees a lawyer that is changing the world, a man who if disabled, but is not disabled. She sees someone that she aspires to be like and that is a possible future for her, that is positive and caring and loving – something that she’s possibly never had at home. And then as things start to shift in their relationship, I shift how I see Matt Murdock. So instead of me trying to manufacture some kind of emotion, I just look at him and see something different and create what I see in him.
One of my favorite scenes in the second season is what I call the ‘study date’ scene. And what I love is that is starts in one place and ends at the other extreme. Its this cute date, having Thai food on the couch, flirting, ‘lets stay up all night, I’ll hang out, we’ll get this’. And at one point Karen feels so comfortable, she sort of reveals that she kinda thinks what the Punisher is doing is effective. And tries to say ‘I don’t believe in it or agree with it, but it does work’ and it kinda works better than what Daredevil does! And she doesn’t know that she’s crossed that line for him, but she does know that shes crossed it for most human being. That most human beings would not be comfortable with that philosophy. And in an instant, the whole energy of the room changes.
And it just means that before that moment, Karen looks at Matt and sees her future, and after that moment she looks at Matt and sees that future drifting away. Just floating away, disappearing.
And for me, that’s what the essences of acting is. instead of trying to manufacture that change within me, I just see the change and let it change me. Let it affect me. So tht it can be as genuine and authentic as possible, so that from action to cut, I can be alive as Karen Page.
I would love for Karen and Matt to end up together. I really like them as a pair. I think that if they can finally be honest with one another, it can be special, because I think very few people would understand someone like them. Someone who has to chase danger. And I think they'd be a good foil. I think Karen would be able to understand what he does to the extent that he does save people, but not as far as Elektra, where it tips him over to this dark, depressive place. And it’s the same for her, that he can understand her need for justice but he pulls her back from that edge, that the Punisher brings her to, which is that murder is okay.
I like that they compliment each other without doing each other in.
- EJ PODCAST #100 – DEBORAH ANN WOLL September 2016