Annie Wersching on Shredd & Ragan

Shredd and Ragan: Annie.
Annie Wersching: Hello.
Shredd and Ragan: How are you? Welcome to the show.
Annie Wersching: I’m great, how are you guys? Thank you.
Shredd and Ragan: Not too bad, not too bad. 24, brand new season starts on Sunday, two hours of 24 on Sunday. I can’t wait. Yeah, good deal. You know, there was this bridge show – we’ll start off with that – the bridge show where everybody went to Africa. You weren’t part of that, right?
Annie Wersching: I was not. I did not get to go to Africa unfortunately.
Shredd and Ragan: No, we didn’t see anybody from the normal show outside of Jack Bauer, really. We were introduced though, to a new – 24 is always ahead of the curve. We had black presidents first on 24, now they’ve got a female president taking office on 24, and Jack has just been taken into custody as season 7 gets under way, right?
Annie Wersching: Right, yes, and then I actually pull him out of – I’m an FBI agent and I pull him out of the senate hearing that he’s in to help us with our particular crisis of the day.
Shredd and Ragan: I would think that you’re almost at the opening scene, right?
Annie Wersching: Yeah, yes pretty close to it, yeah.
Shredd and Ragan: So you’re a new agent and you’re going to be on the show for a good portion of the season?
Annie Wersching: Yeah, I’m in a good amount, and a lot of stuff with Jack. I’m sort of paired with Jack out in the field, sort of partners and running around with guns and things. It’s very exciting.
Shredd and Ragan: Annie Wersching is on. She’s a new special agent for 24, Renee Walker.
Annie Wersching: Yes.
Shredd and Ragan: Which debuts this Sunday, it’s the Shredd & Ragan show at the edge. So Annie, what is your character – like how do you interact with Jack? What’s your role in this?
Annie Wersching: Well, I’m an FBI agent so I’m used to doing things by the book and by law. I’m out with Jack in the field so it gets a little interesting seeing the way that he does things and trying to balance the way you’re supposed to do things, and it’s sort my whole struggle for the season is whether I’m supposed to follow the rules or do things the Jack way. So it’s very interesting. It takes on all sorts of dynamics.
Shredd and Ragan: Jack’s a maverick is what you’re saying?
Annie Wersching: What?
Shredd and Ragan: Jack’s a maverick is what you’re saying.
Annie Wersching: Yes!
Shredd and Ragan: Now are you responsible for Jack at all? Because I know he’s in trouble as we get started, and obviously there’s a major crisis, we’re hearing bio-terrorism, and if you’re going to be working with him, are you going to be like responsible for him because he’s still awaiting trial or something?
Annie Wersching: Yeah I mean, that’s kind of the thing is I’m vouching for him in certain situations and it doesn’t always go exactly my way, and I have a beef with him, and it goes through so many different phases. But yes, I definitely am sort of responsible for him.
Shredd and Ragan: So if I’m watching with some friends on the two hour premiere this Sunday on Fox 8 O’clock, could I have a drinking game and every time Jack says damn it, Renee I need you to trust me. We’d drink?
Annie Wersching: Yes, you would definitely have a very good evening.
Shredd and Ragan: So when his call is damn it, Renee, what’s your response?
Annie Wersching: Damn it back, Jack.
Shredd and Ragan: Okay, all right, that’s good.
Annie Wersching: I don’t know, I don’t think I ever say that.
Shredd and Ragan: We had the woman who plays Chloe on the show, and she was going back and forth with Shredd because he’s a big 24 fan. And so he yelled damn it Chloe and she’d yell damn it Jack and they’d be back and forth over and over again. We had some fun.
Annie Wersching: She’s interesting isn’t she?
Shredd and Ragan: She’s wonderful, yeah.
Annie Wersching: She’s a little out there, very interesting.
Shredd and Ragan: Are we going to see her again and some of our other favorite characters from past seasons?
Annie Wersching: Yes, yes, Chloe is back, she’s not in the beginning episodes but she does show up. Bill Buchannan, he’s in there eventually for a little while, and Tony Almeida of course, big bad guy this year back from the dead.
Shredd and Ragan: Okay, all right, interesting. Annie Wersching is with us from 24, agent Renee Walker, the season premiere is coming up Sunday on FOX 8-10 PM. Not bad, not bad, Annie, let me ask you something about a show that’s been on for long like that and then a newcomer comes into it. Your first couple days of shooting, is it a little strange like a new job maybe?
Annie Wersching: Oh yeah for sure, I was really, really nervous. In my audition process I was supposed to have read with Kiefer [Sutherland] a couple of times and that never ended up happening, so my first time meeting him was actually my very first scene shooting. I was terrified.
Shredd and Ragan: Yeah, I could imagine, I could imagine. You’ve got to fit into all the personalities that are on that show.
Annie Wersching: Yeah and you know, they’ve been together for so long, they’ve all been together for seven years, the cast and crew, and it’s a huge family and they’re so welcoming and it really was just an amazing, amazing experience. It was really fun.
Shredd and Ragan: I’ve been watching the show for years, but as a new season starts there’s always people that have heard a lot of the buzz and they feel like they can’t watch it because they haven’t been watching it. If you come in now on a new season, you can pretty much follow along, can’t you?
Annie Wersching: Oh you can definitely follow along if you start with the new season. And also, they’ve changed a lot of things this season. It takes place in Washington D.C. and the CTU is gone, and a lot of new stuff. They’ve really revamped it, but kept the core of the show.
Shredd and Ragan: There will probably always be some stuff that the long time fan will have a clue that maybe a newcomer might not know, but probably not that important.
Annie Wersching: Yeah, I mean maybe just a long time fan, which I am one of, you know the history between the characters a little more, but as far as following, you should have to problem picking it up.
Shredd and Ragan: Annie Wersching is on. She’s playing special agent Renee on the new 24 which starts this Sunday. Shredd and Ragan Show at the edge. Annie, physically what did you have to do? Was there any moment where bullets were flying, you had to run, you’d jump in a helicopter?
Annie Wersching: Oh gosh, all of that. A lot of shooting, a lot of gun training, a lot of helicopter stuff, a lot of running. I never anticipated so much running. I had some fights, got to hit a guy in the head with a shovel, you know just your normal, everyday activities.
Shredd and Ragan: Did you have to work with someone to hit a guy with a shovel or did it just come from past experience?
Annie Wersching: Yeah no, it was a whole choreographed fight.
Shredd and Ragan: I would think the helicopter stuff would be a little dicey, right?
Annie Wersching: Yeah, I mean again, they have a crew. They have these pilots that have been working with them forever and it’s all about safety, safety, safety, but it was definitely – there was an adrenaline rush happening. There was some that we did with the door open where you’re hanging out over looking at stuff down below. That was a little scary.
Shredd and Ragan: Annie Wersching is on. She’s special agent Renee on the new 24. Shredd and Ragan Show at the edge. Annie, I was wondering what you can tell us about the plot for the season. I know that they don’t like to give too much away.
Annie Wersching: Right, well it’s definitely an interesting season for Jack. We reluctantly pulled him into help us, and there’s definitely a lot of issues doing things by the law or the Jack Bauer way and a lot of conflict in that. It’s just a really great season. They’ve changed so much but kept it so great.
Shredd and Ragan: Is terrorism involved at all in this one?
Annie Wersching: Oh of course. You’ve got to have terrorists. You don’t have a 24 if you don’t have terrorists.
Shredd and Ragan: And I know there’s already a plot going on. We saw in 24: Redemption about a guy that was having problems with drugs, and he’s friends with the son of the new president and there’s all kinds of stuff going on there. Is that kind of leading into how everything –
Annie Wersching: Yeah definitely, there’s all sorts of – you know it’s interesting because there’s so many different little story lines. So I mean, I would see actors at the stage and have no idea – I mean besides reading it, but they’re doing a whole other show basically, the people in the White House. There’s a whole thing in the White House with their son, and the first husband, and there’s a lot of really interesting different plot twists.
Shredd and Ragan: You know what’s amazing about 24, it’s a very intense show. I find my heart pounding afterwards. I can’t go to bed right after watching it. It’s just intense. And as soon as you think the story is coming to an end where it looks like okay they’ve solved this problem, something else happens and it goes in a total different direction.
Annie Wersching: Yeah, that’s what makes it great.
Shredd and Ragan: Yeah I mean, it is one of my favorite shows. Annie, last thing we have for you – you did a lot of shooting in Washington, right? Didn’t you? A little bit?
Annie Wersching: Yes we did.
Shredd and Ragan: Yes, did you get a chance to do anything else while you were in Washington? I mean, tour of the White House, Smithsonian?
Annie Wersching: Oh I did a lot of stuff. I had never been there and I was so excited. I went to lunch at the White House, we toured NCTC, which is sort of the real CTU.
Shredd and Ragan: They let you in there?
Annie Wersching: They did.
Shredd and Ragan: Is there any similarities to that and the TV show?
Annie Wersching: You know, what was kind of eerie was their actual set – I mean it’s not a set – their actual space where they worked looked very similar to the CTU in the show. The CTU in the show was designed before that one was designed so that was kind of –
Shredd and Ragan: It’s almost like they were watching 24 saying man, I wish I had a computer screen right there.
Annie Wersching: Absolutely.
Shredd and Ragan: And do they really have the cool satellite stuff where they can zoom in on somebody driving down a highway?
Annie Wersching: Oh yeah, they’ve got it all.
Shredd and Ragan: That’s freaky. Hey Annie listen, thanks for coming on the show and look forward to another great season of 24, thanks for coming on.
Annie Wersching: Thank you guys so much.
Shredd and Ragan: All right, take care.
Annie Wersching: Okay, bye.