10 Quick Questions for Carrie Preston

Photo Collage: MOA Staff; (Source: Shawn Flint Blair) Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Carrie Preston’s quirky character Elsbeth Tascioni — from The Good Wife and The Good Fight — takes the lead in a new CBS series, Elsbeth, premiering Feb. 29. The character transitions from

lawyer to investigator, and, “We will see what it’s like to watch the attorney, Elsbeth, become a police detective. That’ll be a fun thing,” says Preston, 56, who also stars as charismatic

office administrator Lydia Crane in the Oscar-nominated film, The Holdovers. She shares how she’s taking care of herself in her 50s, how Carol Burnett inspired her and how she loves spending

time with her husband, actor Michael Emerson (best known for his TV roles on Lost and Person of Interest) and their rescue dog, Chumley.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s it been like playing Elsbeth off and on for the past 14 years?

I love this character so much, and every time I’ve played her in the past, I always treat it like this is the last time — and so I relish every moment of it. It’s like the gift that keeps on

giving. I get to play it again and deepen the character. It’s always a little bit like being shot out of a cannon because she’s not like the other kids, and it’s always exciting to figure

how she is going to meet whatever challenge comes her way.

Elsbeth is quirky and unconventional. Do you find any part of her in you?

All of my characters have a little bit of me in them, for sure. I am nowhere near as genius as she is. I like to think I’m creative like she is, and I also like to think that I am a positive

person, and she is a very positive person. She’s not ruled by any kind of frustration or anger — she’s ruled by eagerness and excitement and passion and a desire to learn or to embrace

something new. So that always makes it infinitely fun.

Her sense of style is also unique. What’s your style?

I do like a mixed pattern. I’m not afraid of color. ... If we have to wear these things called clothes, let’s do something interesting with them. So I take chances sometimes with clothes,

and I have a very eclectic closet, and whatever I’m seeing on the day is what I try to put together. I just don’t wear as many bows as [Elsbeth] does.