(Mädchen Amick) as Wendy Beauchamp in Witches of East End. Photo copyright of Lifetime.
There is an old adage that states “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” but sometimes it is the male who takes a swipe at those closest to him. In the Lifetime supernatural fantasy TV series Witches of East End, sisters (and witches) Joanna and Wendy Beauchamp lived for centuries in the magical realm of Asgard with their father King Nikolaus and Joanna’s son Frederick. At one point, the sisters were cursed by the king and banished from their home, which ultimately led them to enter the mortal world. Their misfortune was, in fact, a good thing for actress Mädchen Amick , who was cast as Wendy.
“I had worked for Lifetime in the past on other projects and the network asked me to do a quick guest-star part for them in the Witches of East End pilot,” recalls Amick. “I read the script and immediately said, ‘Sure, it sounds like it would be fun.’ The pilot was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, so I went there and had a blast. It wasn’t, however, until after the pilot was put together that I was asked to be a regular part of the series, which has turned out just great for me.”
Since arriving in the mortal world, Wendy and Joanna (Julia Ormond), as well as Joanna’s daughters, Ingrid (Rachel Boston) and Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum), have lived multiple lives. The two sisters parted company when, in the early 1900s, Wendy’s attempt to kill an evil and powerful warlock led to Ingrid’s death. In the show’s pilot episode, Wendy arrives in the secluded seaside town of East End after 100 years of being estranged from her family to warn Joanna that she and her two daughters are the targets of an approaching threat.
(L-R): Wendy (Mädchen Amick), Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum), Joanna (Julia Ormond) and Ingrid (Rachel Boston). Photo copyrighf of Lifetime.
“When I first started work on the show, I wanted to make Wendy an interesting character who was very carefree, even though she’s bringing with her news of a looming danger to her family,” explains Amick. “Wendy is a free spirit who likes to have fun with everything she does, and I must have been on the right track with the character, as the show’s creative team has wanted me to continue with Wendy’s sense of quick-witted lightness.
“Having said that, when you’re introduced to Wendy in the first season, you get to see her immaturity and the fact she doesn’t believe that there are consequences to her actions. Wendy doesn’t really feel much remorse when she does something wrong. However, as she becomes reacquainted with her family and takes on some of the responsibility of helping raise both her nieces and teach them magic, you get to see her slowly mature throughout season one.”
As a witch, Wendy possesses a number of powers, some unique only to her, including the ability to transform into a cat. The curse that Wendy’s father cast upon her as well as her sister and nieces is a form of immorality that gives them nine lives to live. Having previously suffered such fates as being stabbed to death and eaten by a crocodile, Wendy now only has one life left. When she is reunited with her family, Wendy learns that her sister has not told Ingrid or Freya that they are witches. She decides to take it upon herself to teach the girls that they can embrace magic and still live their lives.
Wendy (Mädchen Amick) performs a little magic! Photo copyright of Lifetime.
“I definitely feel that between Joanna and Wendy, they are co-parenting,” says Amick. “My character ends up being the parent that doesn’t like to punish the girls too much and wants to be the fun one, so Wendy has to walk a fine line in her relationships with both girls. With Ingrid, specifically, I think Wendy feels more responsible for her emotionally. She understands that Ingrid is hurt deeply by certain things and is quite remorseful, so she takes on a very nurturing relationship with Ingrid. As for Freya, she and Wendy are more kindred spirits. Freya is basically a younger version of my character, so Wendy really understands her, knows exactly what she’s thinking and why she reacts the way she does.
“Funnily enough, the biggest initial challenge for me in playing Wendy was the whole concept of magic and how to film it so that it came across as being grounded and real to the viewers,” adds the actress. “It’s a lot of fun to show that side of these characters, but I also feel there’s a responsibility to it.”
In season two of Witches of East End, the Beauchamps take on a number of new supernatural- as well as familial-related challenges, including the surprise arrival of Joanna’s son Frederick (Christian Cooke). Although last year was by no means worry-free for the witches, Amick teases that season two will take a bit of a darker path, which, in turn, will impact all the characters.
A blast from the past! Sisters Joanna (Julia Ormond) and Wendy (Mädchen Amick). Photo copyright of Lifetime.
“The main thing with Wendy this season is that because she’s on her last life, the stakes are so much higher for her,” she notes, “and that means Wendy needs to take things more seriously. At the same time, she has to live life to the fullest because this could be it. Every time Wendy puts herself in harm’s way for her family, she’s literally placing her life on the line. So in season two, she definitely has a different attitude towards the world around her. There’s also a love interest that my character is going to take more seriously as well as a big villain connected to our characters’ past and the world they come from that’s coming for them.
“There are some really great flashbacks, too, that happen this season, and one, in particular, which I think is in episode six, where we see quite a bit of my character’s past. There’s someone from her past that comes into the present and whose arrival she’s very thrown by. As a result, you get to better understand Wendy’s attitude towards falling in love and how much she’s been hurt.”
What about Wendy’s relationship with Frederick? “That’s a whole different thing for Wendy to deal with,” says Amick. “He’s family and she was very close to him. Wendy loves her nephew dearly, but there was a huge betrayal that occurred, which we saw in last week’s episode [The Old Man and the Key]. So she is really tormented by her feelings, but seems pretty steadfast in not trusting her nephew. Of course, it’s not helping that Frederick is pulling at Joanna’s heartstrings, so Wendy sees that he can manipulate his mother very easily.”
Wendy (Mädchen Amick). Photo copyright of Lifetime.
Prior to Witches of East End, Amick worked on a variety of made-for-TV movies as well as appeared in such series as Fantasy Island, Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, ER, Law & Order, Californication, Damages and Longmire. As for the big screen, her credits include Sleepwalkers, Love, Cheat & Steal, Wounded, Four Corners of Suburbia and Priest. Two of her earliest acting jobs were a guest-spot in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Dauphin, and the regular role of Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks.
“The people working on Star Trek actually wanted to hire me for a bigger role for that particular episode, but I was also filming the pilot for Baywatch” says the actress. “At the same time, I had gone in and met with David Lynch [Twin Peaks co-creator/executive producer/writer], who asked me to do his new show. So all that kind of came together and I guess destiny happened, but I just loved being a part of Star Trek. I grew up watching the show and was so excited to do anything on it.
“As for Shelly in Twin Peaks, she was really challenging for me to play. As a child growing up, I was raised to be a strong, independent woman and to stand up for myself, but the Shelly character was a victim. So every time there was an abusive scene involving her and the character of Leo Johnson, I had to struggle not to react instinctively.
Mädchen Amick as Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks.
“Several cast members, including myself, recently got together at a wonderful Twin Peaks event and screened the deleted scenes from the series that David Lynch had put together. There was a particular scene where Denis Da Re, who played Leo, hits Shelly on the back of the head. When I saw that, it brought me right back to the day of filming and how I had to fight everything in me not to turn around and hit him back.”
Sci-Fi gal, troubled soul, empowered witch – for Amick, variety is truly what “spices up” her acting career. “When I’m in the middle of a three-month movie shoot on a heavy drama, I can’t wait for the chance to do a comedy,” she muses. “Because I’m so restless, this is the perfect career for me as it allows me the opportunity to jump into other peoples’ skin, tell different stories and try to really understand what a director is trying to convey to the audience. Again, it’s quite a big challenge, but it’s also what makes this type of work so incredibly fulfilling for me.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, all Witches of East End photos copyright of Lifetime, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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