When Merritt Wever auditioned for “Nurse Jackie,” she blew star Edie Falco away. Falco had casting approval for the Showtime series and says, “She’s never predictable. I can’t take my eyes off her.”
Wide-eyed first-year nursing student Zoey Barkow (Wever) has hooked herself up to Jackie (Falco) like an IV machine as she attempts to pump the naughty nurse’s wisdom directly into her bloodstream.
We caught up with Wever to see what she had to say about Zoey, who knows nothing of Jackie’s secret addiction to either pain pills or extra-marital affairs, and what it’s like to play Falco’s sidekick.
NYP: Every character on “Nurse Jackie” has his or her oddity – but Zoey is really unique. How do you do it?
MW: The writers have just been really good to me. I felt really lucky every time I got a script. It was like it was my birthday. Like they were giving me little nuggets of stuff.
NYP: That sounds like something Zoey would say. Any real-life similarities?
MW: I can be nervous or, I don’t know, excitable. I don’t think I’m quite as optimistic. (I hate to disappoint you.)
NYP: Did you know anything about nursing or what a real ER is like before the show?
MW: No. I spent a couple hours in an ER in NY before we started shooting after the pilot got picked up. And I realized that Zoey is completely brand new – on the pilot it’s her first day of work – and that I didn’t really need to see anything or know anything. Part of what’s so great is that it’s all absolutely new and exciting and interesting.
NYP: Zoey has already had some crazy stories – she found a detached human ear in the toilet on her first day – what other shenanigans can we expect?
MW: In one of the episodes coming up she sees a program on TV about the pupil of the eyes and realizes that she should pay extra attention to the patients, the people around her, for little things that may be indicative of a worse problem.
NYP: So she’s a hypochondriac?
MW: She wants to do everything and know everything and learn everything. She’s just very happy to be there.
NYP: In episode 5, Zoey drops a bomb that her dad was incarcerated for manslaughter. Does Zoey have secrets like Jackie?
MW: I think so. I have a feeling that stuff… will be revealed – more next season. I do think there are surprising things about Zoey and it’s interesting for me to think about how she turned out to be the way she is.
NYP: Zoey has called Jackie a Saint, but the viewers know she’s not.
MW: I don’t think Zoey thinks Jackie is anything but [good]. Zoey hasn’t seen any of the extracurricular behavior, yet. Nothing has happened so far to kind of shift Jackie’s light.
NYP: That’s not how the the Nurses Association felt when they protested after the first episode.
MW: The Nurses Association has been upset by the portrayal. But I never really thought of “Nurse Jackie” being about nurses in general. It’s just very intensely and particularly about this one woman. As far as the good and the bad in her, I think that’s what makes it such a good show to watch – why you’re interested in Jackie and why you care about her.
NYP: Well the show got its second season pick-up after only 2 episodes – what was your reaction?
MW: It was really cool! It was really great to hear. You want to work on something that people watch and that people like. I also think having 8 foot high pictures of Edie’s face on every bus in Manhattan may have helped.
NYP: What is it like working with Edie Falco? Did you watch her on ‘Sopranos’?
MW: She’s really fantastic. I’ve seen every episode of ‘Sopranos.’ Edie is equal part and the best parts of lady and broad. She made me feel comfortable – you definitely learn a lot working with her.
NYP: Aside from the obvious (Falco), what is it about “Nurse Jackie” that makes it so good?
MW: It’s really cool to have a show with so many women on it. Most of the main characters are females and to have so many female writers and showrunners — it’s not how things usually are and I think that’s worked into the show.
NYP: And who’s your all-time favorite TV character?
MW: At this very, very moment? Columbo.
NURSE JACKIE
Monday, 10:30 p.m., Showtime