Anna Daniels
For those of a certain age, the name “Keri Russell” likely triggers a wave of images from the late ’90s and on — a few of which probably come in the form of dramatic and/or romantic moments from the television series that made Russell a star back in 1998. The show was the WB hit Felicity, which also helped establish the then up-and-coming writer who co-created it, The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams. Russell starred as the titular character Felicity Porter, who abandons her plans to study pre-med at Stanford University in favor of following her high school crush Ben Covington, portrayed by Scott Speedman, to school in New York. Felicity ran from September 1998 to May 2002.
Prior to scoring the lead on Felicity, Russell had but a handful of TV credits to her name, as well as an appearance in Disney’s ill-advised sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. Though Felicity lasted just four seasons — and survived one of the more ridiculous TV “scandals” in history after Russell cut off her trademark curly hair — the young actress certainly carried the weight of Abrams’ romantic college dramedy, so much so that she’d end up taking home a statue as Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama at the 1999 Golden Globes ceremony.
Actor and director have obviously kept in touch over the years, as Abrams was quick to bring Russell on board for a small but vital role opposite Tom Cruise in his franchise-saving 2006 offering Mission: Impossible III. In the three-quel, Russell played Lindsay Harris, the captured agent whom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt was trying to save in the film’s early moments. While Russell’s Lindsay didn’t make it out of that rescue mission alive, Abrams was a bit kinder to Zorii Bliss, who somehow escaped from Kijimi before it was decimated by one of the First Order’s planet-destroying blasters.
Written by: Looper
