I think I wouldn’t have become an actor if I hadn’t gone to the conservatory at Boston University for theater. But then I went to Crossroads for high school and I discovered theater and discovered acting, and I really loved doing it. I guess it’s the perfect blend of art and math and science, which, to me, was really appealing. When I was growing up I always wanted to be an architect, for whatever reason. While she spent 12 years playing forensic anthropologist and straight-laced FBI collaborator Temperance Brennan on Bones, she’s on the other side of the law as recovering addict Angela on Animal Kingdom.ĭeschanel spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her nearly two decades in Hollywood - including following in the footsteps of her younger sister, Zooey Deschanel (their parents are both in the industry their father is the Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and their mother is Twin Peaks actor Mary Jo Deschanel), working with occasionally difficult co-workers, the Bones lawsuit that has made her wary of signing contracts, and deciding to return to the small screen after a hiatus. Two years after her Fox drama ended, Deschanel now finds herself headed back to television in a recurring role on TNT’s crime family drama Animal Kingdom. 'Bones' Creator Hart Hanson Explains How He Grappled With Goodbye (Guest Column) 2 on the call sheet for Bones, behind former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel star David Boreanaz, where she’d spend the next decade-plus of her life. A couple of pilot seasons later and she was the No. While her earliest credited parts include small roles in not-so-indie films including Cold Mountain, Glory Road and The Alamo, Deschanel’s big break came after being cast in Stephen King’s ABC miniseries Rose Red. “I remember somebody laughing at me, like, ‘OK, if you never want to make any money, then great,'” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
The actress, who is best known for the 12 years she spent starring on Fox procedural Bones, chuckled on the phone while remembering those early career goals. When Emily Deschanel graduated from theater school, she planned to spend her career doing off-Broadway shows and the occasional indie film.