Susan Kelechi Watson Talks Stepping into The White House for Netflix’s The Residence

Susan Kelechi Watson was immediately drawn to the role of Jasmine in the Netflix series The Residence seeing her as someone incredibly dedicated to her job. The project offered the exciting opportunity to learn more about the day to day reality of being an Usher at The White House in getting to speak to someone who had previously held the role. This cemented a lot of the details but especially the level of professionalism and how this often comes first over personal emotions.

Since she loves playing comedy she was excited by the tone of the show but did find a challenge in playing the straight woman within the mix of comedic styles. She worked to ensure that her comedic style and approach for Jasmine matched the feel of the character overall.

Given the whodunnit element of the series after Head Usher A.B is found dead she made sure to capture the sense of how suddenly nobody is able to trust anyone as they all discover that everyone has secrets and possible motivation. It was important to everyone that they keep the mystery going right until the reveal in the final episode.

Filming the final reveal at the end of the series was an enjoyable challenge with the fact it bought all of the characters and cast together in one space as Uzo Aduba’s character Cornelia Cupp gradually unfurls the events of what really happened. As a result they all had to be incredibly present for each other as she noted that you never knew where the camera might suddenly be looking.

Watch the full conversation below:

Q&A on the Netflix series The Residence with actor Susan Kelechi Watson. Moderated by Mara, Webster, In Creative Company.

Inside the White House's staff residence and the lives workers share with the First Family.