Spotlight On: Amy Acker

For an actress who is now one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood, Amy Acker arrived quietly enough with her debut work in the children’s television series Wishbone playing a variety of characters. Her next television work was a step-up with an appearance in the mini-series To Serve and Protect which co-starred Craig T. Nelson, Amanda Detmer and James Franco. Then with a few more quick career hops working on the films The Accident with Sarah Clarke, Groom Lake with William Shatner and Catch Me If you Can with Tom Hanks, Amy landed squarely on the television radar when she was cast as fan-favorite Winifred “Fred” Burkle on Joss Whedon’s series Angel.

Amy Acker as Illyria on Angel

From that moment forward, Amy was a major player in the cult fandom world having played both Fred and the demon god Illyria on Angel. Amy’s acting range was perfectly showcased playing such polar opposite characters: Fred, the super intelligent physicist wooed by the rogue demon hunter Wesley Wyndam Pryce, and Illyria, a fearless demon with super-human strength and abilities. Amy’s dexterous portrayals of both characters, sliding between them with ease — so much so that the fans never forgot who they were looking at even when the Illyria would try to imitate Fred — was flawless. It was amazing watching such perfectly nuanced and distinct performances.

Then, after Angel ended in 2004, it was not long before Amy was snatched up by another iconic television producer, J.J. Abrams, who cast her as an arch-villain in his spy series Alias. Playing Kelly Preston, a Prophet Five assassin, Amy’s ability to portray two vastly different sides of the same character came into play yet again. She was a double-agent who befriended Rachel Nichol’s character and then betrayed her. Working alongside the nefarious Sark and Sloane, played by David Anders and Ron Rifkin, Amy’s capacity for instant transformation was mesmerizing. She effortlessly slid between docile obedience and inhuman psychotic behavior.

Later that same year, perhaps sensing that Amy and Rachel made an interesting on-screen pairing, both were cast in the film Mr. Dramatic. Another on-screen chemistry exploited a second time that same year was Amy and Alexis Denisof when they both guest-starred together on How I Met Your Mother alongside former Buffy alum, Alyson Hannigan. Amy’s chameleon-like ability transcended mere versatility, thus, making her in constant demand.

Right after her guest-starring arc on Alias ended, Amy was snatched up by Tim Minear, who had written for Amy in Angel, to appear in his television series Drive, which co-starred Nathan Fillion, another Whedon-verse alum. Alas, the series was cut-short before much could be gleaned about Amy’s character, though many suspected that she was again going to play another seemingly innocent victim who may or may not have been the evil-mastermind behind it all.

Amy as Dr. Saunders on Dollhouse / Fox

With brief stops on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Ghost Whisperer, and Private Practice, Amy was a busy actress. But the lure of the Whedon-verse pulled her back when she was cast as Dr. Claire Saunders in Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. Playing Claire Saunders was another emotionally complex role for Amy as she played the doll Whiskey who became the faux Dr. Saunders only after she was brutally attacked by another doll known as Alpha. She was playing again a character embedded within a character and she played both simultaneously with ease.

However, much to Joss’ chagrin, he only cast her as a recurring character and, after Dollhouse was picked up for a second season, he had to share Amy with another network as she had been cast to star in ABC’s creep-fest Happy Town. In Happy Town, Amy plays Rachel Conroy, the wife of Deputy Tommy Conroy, played by Geoff Stults (best known for his role on October Road). Exactly how complex this role will be remains to be seen, but if the writers have been tracking Amy’s career, they know she can play more than just the naïve wife.

But, very much like a jealous lover, Joss Whedon would not let go and finding that Amy had a few spare months on her hands, he quickly cast her to co-star in the dark thriller The Cabin in the Woods, alongside Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Dollhouse alum Fran Kranz.

Last but not least, adding another notch to Amy’s runaway career, she also made a brief appearance in the climatic first season finale of Human Target, playing Katherine, the woman for whom Christopher Chance gave up his bad-boy ways. Fans were not exactly certain if her character truly died in the finale, but hopefully Fox will green-light a second season and we will see more of Amy as Katherine.

If there is one thing to be said about Amy, it is that she can play anything. Thus, it will be an intriguing surprise to see what her character on Happy Town reveals to be. Happy Town, starring Amy Acker, premieres on ABC on April 28th.