**ELOSHI** coat.
[Beth Riesgraf](https://www.instagram.com/bethriesgraf/?hl=en) speaks with conviction and plenty of charm—qualities no doubt picked up from years of industry experience, and essential for her career as a budding director. After appearing on shows such as _Stranger Things_ and _68 Whiskey,_ Riesgraf recently returned to our screens as Parker in the second coming of _Leverage: Redemption,_ nearly a decade after the original’s cancellation.
Speaking with _Flaunt_ over zoom, Riesgraf shared the experience of reviving the beloved series, her directorial debut, and the perks of being a creative self-starter.
**PINKO** suit.
**KING AND TUCKFIELD** top.
**When did the whole process of reviving _Leverage: Redemption_ begin?**
The show finished, and then shortly after, the show won a People's Choice Award. And so, from that point forward, even when they found out the show was being canceled, fans were rallying for it to come back in some way, shape, or form. I think this whole time, we all thought, ‘Well, maybe it's possible?’ So, there's been talk of many versions of the show for the last few years. But then, I got a call from Dean Devlin, our executive producer, and he said, ‘Amazon wants to launch IMDb TV with our show, and they're really excited. Our audience has grown exponentially because of all the international distribution, so it makes total sense.” And so, it took me a minute to realize it was actually happening because there’s been such a build up for so many years. I think we lost hope at one point, like, ‘Ah, it’s probably not going to happen.’ But then seeing that the demand was still there, and that it was happening was a reality all of a sudden. So that's how that came to be. And of course, we all called each other and celebrated and freaked out a little bit.
**I know some actors and actresses are wary about revisiting a role or a series, so what was it like for you to revisit the role of Parker?**
It was pretty exciting. I mean, it's cool because the role of Parker was written so long before this drive to make shows with female leads that are really interesting and not one dimensional. All this stuff was happening before, meaning Parker was written before this big movement felt like it was happening. So, knowing that she was this character that was dangerous, exciting, an adrenaline junkie—all those things—it was such a gift to play her.
I remember a writer making a joke and saying, ‘You know, when you leave the show, it's gonna be all doctors and lawyers and housewives.’ I have nothing against any of those as characters. I think that's great. But meaning like, yes, I would go out \[to audition\] and it was a lawyer or the wife of a doctor, and it's like, okay. What can I bring to this? Then I would see all these parameters in place, so even if I wanted to make her more dimensional, and have different layers, it's not really what they wanted. I did struggle with that for a minute. I was like, man, I was given such a gift with this other character, now I get what everybody's talking about.
Well, now, all these years and years later, I was like, oh, great. How am I going to pick up where we left off and also show the character’s journey that no one really saw? How has she grown? But now we're going to find her again in a new unit of time in this world. What about her has stayed the same? What has evolved? What has changed? Looking at it from the perspective of somebody who lives in a world where the conditions are so extreme, the adventures are extreme, what they do is heightened in that world, it was fun to play with all of that and bring her back. It's great.
**ELOSHI** coat.
**Did you approach playing Parker differently than before?**
I did in some ways because of COVID. I didn't have access to the physical training in the same way. I was working out from home and not seeing anybody. I had trained with Apollo Robbins to learn sleight of hand—he’s this master magician extraordinaire on all things con artist-related. I remembered some of the things that he had taught me, and I started just brushing up on all my skills in the ways I could. But other than that, I went back through and watched the episodes. I had my character notebooks that I had saved and all my journals, and I just went back through and then thought, ‘Okay, I'll use my imagination to think about, where she's been and what she’s been doing.’ I talked to the writers a bit about it and got a sense of where they were going to pitch the story coming back, where everybody was, and then from there, built on the things that we knew had already been established. Then I found ways to play with all of the different characters, scenes, and interpersonal relationships.
**How has filming been? I know you’re now shooting in New Orleans. How has that been?**
It was definitely different. Just from a practical sense—all the pods, all the protocols—that was really intense. I think we had over 400 COVID tests while filming. It was a lot, but totally worth it. Everybody took the protocol really seriously, and that's why we never got shut down. So, we were able to shoot within the parameters of the pandemic, but we didn't have 100 extras, we got 10. There were things like that—the scale of certain things couldn't be as large or as populated for practical purposes. But other than that, New Orleans was fantastic. It was really strange to be in a city that's so known for partying, and to see it so quiet. It was a strange, strange sensation. And we weren't able to shoot on many locations there. We had certain exteriors that we owned, and we could reshape and shift for each episode. But for locations we didn’t have as many options, so we were like, ‘How are we going to be creative and still claim that we're in the city without being able to take advantage of everything?’ I think we did a really good job.
**How did it feel to be reunited with some of your old cast mates?**
It was really fun. It was a luxury to go into a room knowing you know mostly everybody in there and that you already have chemistry. There are so many things going into a new job that you hope will be great, right? And you never quite know until you're in the trenches with everybody on set, how everyone's personalities and quirks are going to be. With something like this, you walk into a room and all bear hug. I mean, we had been tested and had our shields on, but were like, ‘We’re here, ah!’ So, the pressures were so different. There was none of the worry of ‘Is it going to work?’ There was so much relief, and then just joy at the fact that we got picked up, and got to do this again with everybody.
**ADIBA** gown.
**SANNAI** top.
**Speaking of pressure, I know you recently made your directorial debut. How did it feel doing that with a show you're so comfortable with?**
It felt really great. I don't think I could have asked for a better first television directing experience because it's such a collaboration. You hope you'll have the support of the cast, the crew, the producers, the network, and everybody involved. And on this, I did have that. Most of the crew, or a better portion of the crew, worked on the show previously, and they always saw me with my camera around my neck, they knew where I came from—I started as a photographer—and that I have a passion for filmmaking. I was always bugging them with questions, so this was nothing new to any of them. I think that was really a lot of fun. I saw the pride in their eyes. I hustled and worked my ass off and shadowed. When I was acting on any show, I would ask to sit on production meetings and ask questions. Can I come on that scout? Can I be in that fitting? How do you design that dress? What are you doing? I've always been fascinated with every single department. A lot of those guys knew that about me, but even still, I’ve been trying to rally for myself for 15 years to get a shot at it. So, I felt like I earned their respect and that they all knew how badly I wanted it because of how hard I worked to get there. It felt like being surrounded by all of this support and family, in a way, that wanted me to succeed. I totally felt that energy the whole time I was working with them.
**So, this was a long time coming for you? How long have you seriously considered directing?**
I started out as a photographer in high school. So, the year they decided to have photo club, I joined it. I was president of the photo club and then kept shooting. When I came to L.A., I always thought, ‘Well, I'm just going to do all this stuff, and eventually it will click. I'm going to work with guys who know how to light photos really well, or model for that person. And then I'll shoot a short film over here and join up with other artists and collaborate.’ That's a lot of what I've been doing, even before acting took off for me. I was a part of this company called WeSC, it’s a Swedish apparel streetwear company, and we toured around. I exhibited my photos internationally with a group of other artists, and then they would have us do these collabs with companies and sponsored me essentially to direct a short film for The Standard Hotel in collaboration with them. So, it's something I've been working at and doing on my own even before getting into the unions or anything like that.
**What’s next for you? Do you hope to pursue more directorial endeavors in the future or continue with tv and film?**
I directed two episodes that are going to drop in a second batch of eight in October. I absolutely want to do more directing. I would love to do more episodic, I would love to do other shows, and that's currently what we're looking for now. And I also have a few of my own projects that I'm working on. I have one indie feature with my partner, Jon Fletcher. So really, we're just at the development stage and trying to get all the ducks in a row to do something. But I've always been a self-starter and a self-creator. Generating content is something I really love to do, and I'm lucky enough to have a lot of friends who are amazing at what they do, whether it's photography, drawing, painting, etc. I love collaborating with people and getting ideas for something in a way that maybe isn't the mainstream path, but I find myself always wanting to be working on something.
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Photographed by: [Tyler William Parker](https://www.instagram.com/tylerwilliamparker/?hl=en)
Retouching: [Bermudezstudio](https://www.bermudezstudio.com)
