Natalie Dreyfuss on Why CMT’s ‘Still the King’ is Her Dream Job [Exclusive Interview]

Actress Natalie Dreyfuss has graced our television screens as a teenage prostitute, a witch, and now, as a bank-teller with a love for the paranormal.

You might know Dreyfuss from her roles on such shows as The Secret Life of the American Teenager and The Originals, and next up, you can catch her as Leia on CMT’s Still the King, which airs its Season 2 premiere tonight at 10/9c.

I recently spoke with Dreyfuss about her role on the comedy and what it was like to join the cast.

Dreyfuss was a ballerina as a child, but she didn’t begin her acting career until she was about twenty years old. “I was actually a preschool teacher, and I just missed performing. I took an acting class and was hooked after that,” she said.

“I just felt like with dance it was always about trying to fit a mold, and acting was kind of about breaking the mold. That’s what was attractive to me about it,” Dreyfuss noted.

“I didn’t think that I would pursue it professionally. I just wanted to try it. But after a while, I got representation, and it all kind of happened quickly. So far it’s just made me really happy.”

The chance to work on Still the King was something Dreyfuss simply couldn’t pass up.

“It’s a great show. Travis Nicholson created it, and he’s an amazing man — really talented. He plays my love interest on the show. Working with him has just been an absolutely joy. And Billy Ray Cyrus is hilarious, wonderful, kind. It shoots in Nashville, which has just become one of my favorite cities,” Dreyfuss said.

“This one has just been an absolute dream job. I say it all the time to Travis that he’s just created this amazing space and wonderful group of people. I come to work with bells and whistles,” she continued.

Dreyfuss even chose to celebrate her 30th birthday with the cast and crew while filming in Nashville. “I threw a party, and I invited the entire cast and crew to come and party with me because I love them all so much. There was nothing I would want more than to spend my dirty thirty with the crew!”

On top of that, playing the role of Leia is a chance for Dreyfuss to explore a different side of herself.

“She’s adorable. She is a bank teller, and a nerd, and obsessed with paranormal activity,” Dreyfuss laughed. “So I get to wear my glasses and my cardigans and chase corp circles and aliens. It’s really sweet. It’s a fun stretch from what I normally do.”

“I’ve done a lot of stuff, and I’ve played very different kinds of characters, because I have the kind of look that can change really easily — kind of a chameleon. This one is the first one that I’ve really gotten to embrace my nerd side, which is great because I’m such a nerd in person. One of my favorite television shows of all time is Battlestar Galactica. I recently worked with Tricia Helfer and I lost my mind I was so excited,” Dreyfuss admitted.

“We did a project together called Bedtime Stories. It’s a festival piece,” she continued. “I’m so excited to see it. It’s going to be really fun.”

Dreyfuss is also finding the time to catch up on a popular television show in the midst of her busy work schedule. “I’m right in the middle of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s so addicting. I’ve been downloading it and watching it on the plane because I’ve been traveling back and forth to New York, and it’s so addicting. And terrifying,” she laughed. “It’s terrifying me to my core.”

“The performances are so phenomenal, though. Elisabeth Moss is blowing my mind. I think she’s so incredible.”

Be sure to catch Natalie Dreyfuss on Still the King, airing Tuesdays at 10/9c on CMT. The one-hour season premiere airs tonight.

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