Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
For the most part, actors are typically either great at dramas and all right at comedies or great at comedies and okay at dramas. There’s not much room in between the two. Katie Findlay is not a typical actor.
Findlay is one of those performers you don’t realize you already know, and she’s proven for years that she’s more than capable of carrying a high-stakes drama. Now, with Season 3 of Man Seeking Woman, Findlay is also proving that she’s just as accomplished at handling comedies. So who is this talented actress? What was it like working on How to Get Away with Murder? And what’s it like starring in such a ridiculous FXX series? Decider had the opportunity to talk to Findlay about some of her new and most iconic roles. Consider this your “meet cute” to Findlay’s work.
The Killing: Season 1 – 2 (2011 – 2012)
Though she wasn’t alive for most of it, Findlay was one of the characters who held The Killing together. Findlay starred as Rosie Larsen, the teenage girl who was found dead in this crime drama about murder investigations. Findlay injected the role and the resulting show with just the right touch of humanity, making this a crime drama we cared about.
[Stream The Killing on Netflix]
The Carrie Diaries: Seasons 1 – 2 (2013 – 2014)
One of Findlay’s first roles was on the CW’s reboot of one of the most beloved comedies in recent history — The Carrie Diaries. The teen soap followed a high school-aged Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) as she navigated life and found her way to friendship and the city. Findlay played Maggie Landers, Carrie’s sarcastic and confident best friend. Findlay’s assured and perfectly arrogant performance added some needed levity into a show that could often become too obsessed with recreating Sex and the City.
[Stream The Carrie Diaries on Netflix]
How to Get Away with Murder: Season 1 – 2 (2014 – 2015)
Perhaps Findlay’s best known role is on this Shonda Rhimes masterpiece. Findlay tackled the role of Rebecca, the snarky and suspicious friend of Lila who eventually became Wes’ love interest. Findlay injected the role with a genuine sense of danger. During Rebecca’s Season 1 story arc, you were never completely sure how much she really knew or when she was going to flee.
Rebecca shockingly met her end at the beginning of Season 2 at the hands of Bonnie and Frank (but mostly Bonnie). When asked about Rebecca’s arc, Findlay said she was ready for the character to die at any moment. “I was truly ready for that possibility, and then, after a while, none of really knew what was going to happen, so we got lulled into this weird dreamland where we weren’t quite sure what was coming. Any of us could die. Any of us could abruptly murder someone,” Findlay said. “I’m still revealing the fact that I had apparently not murdered anyone.”
Rebecca’s innocence is a point of pride for Findlay. “The internet and I got into a lot of fights while I was Rebecca,” she said. “They’re like ‘She’s side-eyed, she’s obviously a huge bitch’ and I’m like if that’s all it takes for you to hate somebody, we need to talk about your value system,” she joked.
[Stream How to Get Away with Murder on Netflix]
Lost Generation: Season 1 (2017)
In go90’s latest series, Findlay tackles the EDM scene. Findlay plays Hannah Cooper, a young woman who travels to Berlin following the disappearance of her childhood friend. “When she’s there, she gets drawn into this whole new life with this big, sexy group of expats who all live together in an apartment,” Findlay said. “It ends up being part of the dance music scene in Berlin which is a total 180 from what her life was before. And madness ensues.”
Though Findlay has no experience with EDM in her day-to-day life, she said she had a lot of fun playing the young musician for the new series. She said that filming the series was “kind of intimidating but also kind of fun because it meant that I had a bunch of support in hopefully learning to sound like that and pretend to be a rockstar,” she said. “If you know me in real life, you know I’m a huge dork, so to have a room full of supportive people who were willing to act like I pulled it off is edifying and good for my heart and it was really fun.”
[Stream Lost Generation on go90]
Man Seeking Woman: Season 3 (2017)
This season, FX’s most bizarre comedy is changing up its format, and it’s all thanks to Findlay. The actress plays Lucy, Josh’s (Jay Baruchel) new longtime girlfriend, who is, according to Findlay, very independent, very particular, and kind of high strung with aspirations of being a career woman in graphic design. “It’s really like a new relationship,” Findlay said about her filming experience. “I walked in knowing about Lucy and what they had trusted me with, and the evolution of Lucy and Josh has happened naturally like it would. That was a lovely experience.”
When asked what it was like acting in Man Seeking Woman’s extremely absurd premies she said, “I think the show is just so well written that it lends yourself really so easily to stepping into those type of situations and playing them like they’re real. It’s way more fun when you take it seriously, when you walk into a room and it’s on fire, full of monsters it feels way better to act like it’s normal. It feels funnier to act like its normal.”
