The Vampire Diaries got a shake-up for season six with the introduction of multiple new characters — particularly a coven of witches with more family drama than a Shakespeare story. One of those new characters, Dr. Jo Laughlin (also known as Josette Parker), is portrayed by the actress Jodi Lyn O'Keefe.
Dr. Jo, twin of Kai Parker (Chris Wood), the psychopathic, power-hungry antagonist of the season, is introduced in the first episode of the season with a brief appearance as a teacher to Elena (Nina Dobrev) and then again at a party making friends with Elena's somewhat guardian Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis). As the season progresses, Dr. Jo becomes a bigger presence, as she is revealed to be a key part of Kai's story.
It's a complex role in a chaotic season of the hit CW show about vampires coping with evil, romantic problems and growing up, but it's not O'Keefe's first show-biz rodeo.
The actress, who also designs high-end jewelry for her own line Q Jewelry Design, began her career as a model at the age of eight and landed her first acting gig in 1995, portraying Maggie Cory in the long-running NBC show Another World. She next appeared in several movies, including Halloween H20: 20 Year Later, a 1998 installment of the popular horror franchise featuring killer "Michael Myers," and then the popular 1999 romantic-comedy She's All That, in which she portrayed mean-girl Taylor Vaughan. One of the biggest roles O'Keefe had in her early career was as Cassidy Bridges in the CBS crime show Nash Bridges, which ran from 1996 to 2001. Since then, O'Keefe has appeared in several shows and movies, with her biggest credits being as Gretchen Morgan/ Susan B. Anthony in Fox's show Prison Break from 2007-09 and as a character in the 2013 film Frozen Ground, starring John Cusack and Nicolas Cage.
Currently, in addition to her work on TVD, she also portrays a character on the VH1 drama Hit the Floor. Despite her busy schedule, O'Keefe took some time to talk to TheCelebrityCafe.com about her two current roles, as well as her career in general and what else she has going on.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: How did it feel being the new girl when you joined the cast of The Vampire Diaries (TVD)?
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe: It's always really intimidating because this is a family of people that have been together for five years and they're all really tight knit, they're basically like a big family. It's always hard to be the new kid on the block.
TCC: Has being on the show introduced you to new and different fans?
JLO: Yes, absolutely. It's kind of unbelievable how many people that show reaches.
TCC: TVD has a huge social media presence. Do you experience that presence in any way?
JLO: Yeah, I do. I feel like I get comments daily now, which is interesting. There are a lot of TVD fans, so it's made me step up my social media game, for sure.
TCC: In particular, has there been any feedback about you and Alaric being the new couple on the show?
JLO: Daily. I hear "Jolaric" comments daily. Everybody is so excited. They love us as a couple. They're so happy that Alaric finally gets some happiness in his life. They think he's been kind of given a raw deal and they're happy that he's found love after all the tragedy he's been through. Everything has been overwhelmingly positive. It's been an absolute pleasure hearing what fans have to say about it.
TCC: How would you compare yourself to Dr. Jo?
JLO: I think we have a lot of similarities, honestly. I think that at our core, we're pretty similar. She seems to be a sort of strong-hearted, take-no-nonsense woman on a lot of levels, and I'm not confrontational, but I think that I also have a lot of those qualities.
TCC: Like with Prison Break you joined Vampire Diaries late in the game. What is it like coming onto a show with an established fan base versus being there from the beginning, as was the case with Nash Bridges?
JLO: I think that this time around was fairly easy because the fans [of TVD] are so loyal and they love the show so much that they're just excited when they see a new person show up. They know that new and cool things are going to happen. They seem to really love their guest stars there. So it's actually a nice feeling working over there. With Prison Break, I was really worried because it was really hard to show up and be the bad guy because the fans loved those two boys so much that, God forbid you should do those two any harm, people got really upset. And that was my whole job was to do harm.
TCC: Speaking of doing harm... it seems a lot of your characters tend to be mean, unlike Dr. Jo. How do you feel about taking on that new kind of role?
JLO: She is the direct opposite of anything I've ever done before, so it's been really fun. It's been interesting to walk in the good guy's shoes for a while. I'm enjoying it.
TCC: A lot of the women you've played have also had two sides to them: They are tough but vulnerable at the same time. How do you portray that complexity?
JLO: That's the duality of everyone. It's that everybody's got their vulnerable side, whatever it is, we all have that inside of us. And [speaking about Dr. Jo] I think you'd be vulnerable in a world of supernatural creatures just by being a person. And when she was first introduced, we didn't realize that she had any kind of supernatural anything and then as we go along, you watch her adjust to then having a supernatural ability. So her vulnerability is she's kind of one step behind always.
TCC: Now, about your career in general, you've had roles in various mediums across different genres. Was that intentional?
JLO: It's something that we all try to do. We all try to dip our toe into all the different genres. I would always love to do a little bit of everything and that's the dream, just to be able to do it all.
TCC: How do you compare working in television with working in movies?
JLO: Well, with television you usually have a longer time period to familiarize yourself with your character and spend more time in their shoes because you shoot months and months out of the year. And then when you're working on film you have a finite amount of time — three months normally — to take it in, jump into who you're going to become and then before you know it, it's over. With television, I think you have the luxury of sitting with that character for a longer period of time.
TCC: Do you have a preference for any one genre or entertainment platform?
JLO: Funny enough, all I want to do is fall on my face and make people laugh, so if I could do some more comedy, that would be great.
TCC: Do you have a favorite comedic actor?
JLO: Oh my god, there's so many. I can't even — I mean years ago when I got to do a pilot with Christine Baranski (The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory, Cybill), I was beyond happy. I worked with her and Bernadette Peters (Ugly Betty, Smash) and I thought I had won the lottery. You know, any kind of sitcom work, any kind of comedy movie work, anything, there's so much that I would like to get my hands on and there's so many comedy greats. I mean I grew up watching Mel Brooks. That is my favorite thing in the entire world, that kind of slapstick sort of thing. I could talk to you for hours about it.
TCC: What role of yours so far would you say has been the most significant to you?
JLO: It would have to be Prison Break for sure. I was a huge fan of the show before I joined the cast and I felt like it was my birthday and Christmas combined into one. And I don't think I've ever had a better time. It was really physical, which made me really happy. I got to do most of the stunt work myself and it was the direct opposite of my personality on every level, so I was so far removed from myself that it was the most significant for me.
TCC: Did you have to train for the stunt work or did you already have experience?
JLO: I've kind of been always handed a big knife and a big gun for my whole career, so I had a pretty good stunt background already just from all the years of doing it. I'm usually either the cop or the bad guy or just doing something really physical, so I was pretty well prepared already.
TCC: What do you think the reason for that is?
JLO: Well, they're more fun, so that's a good reason. But I think it has to do with my size as well, because I'm pretty tall. I'm almost 5 feet, 10 inches and I think they like to put me up against men in fight scenes, which is interesting because of my stature.
TCC: Through your many roles, you've worked with some interesting people. Is there anyone you were particularly fond of working with?
JLO: Yeah, I was really excited to work with 50 Cent [in Frozen Ground] because I'm from New Jersey, and I was really excited to have scenes with him when we were filming in Alaska. That's who I went nuts for.
TCC: Is there anyone in particular you want to work with in the future?
JLO: Years ago [when] I got to work with Christine Baranski, that was one of my favorite, favorite moments and I would love to have any chance in the world to work with her again.
TCC: Is there someone who specifically inspired you to want to be an actress?
JLO: Natalie Wood. I watched old movies with my grandfather when I was a kid and anytime I saw her on screen, I just, I thought that was so far out of my realm of possibility, but I was always in a trance when she was on screen.
TCC: Amid your acting jobs, you design clothes and jewelry. How did you get into that and when do you find the time?
JLO: There's not all that much time in the day but I kind of find it at night when the hours are quiet. It started with my painting and sketching and it just sort of evolved into the T-shirt line, which just really opened the door for me to make my jewelry and it's just another stepping stone for me. The T-shirts were short lived. They came and they went.
TCC: What's it like seeing people wear your jewelry pieces on red carpets and such?
JLO: It takes my breath away. It's the first time in my life where I didn't have to ask permission; Something that's in my mind ends up in my hand and then it ends up in someone else's hand and it's the best feeling I've ever had.
TCC: Getting back to The Vampire Diaries, did you like the supernatural genre before joining the cast?
JLO: Absolutely. I'm a sci-fi girl at heart so anything supernatural, I'm into. And I'm also just the biggest zombie movie freak you ever met, so I'm more than happy to do it. I was actually really excited when I found out that TVD was casting new roles this year because it's my niece's favorite show, let's start there. And then all of my girlfriends love it, they love it, so it was cool to think that I might have a chance to be a part of that, something that they actually love and watch. My sister called me and said "finally you're on a show that I like, finally."
TCC: How did you get the part?
JLO: I auditioned like every other woman in LA.
TCC: When did you find out you were chosen?
JLO: I think it was a few days later. I went into the audition and then I went back in to do a few chemistry reads with the other possibilities for casts and after the chemistry read, I got a call from my manager that I was about to go to Atlanta to start my new job and he was like, wherever you are, you need to get back here because you have to go to work.
TCC: Any hints on what's in store for Dr. Jo the rest of this season?
JLO: I can't tell you a thing. Literally, I'm not allowed to say a word. I wish I could.
TCC: What about the fact that her powers are gone. Do you think losing them permanently will have an effect on her?
JLO: Well, she spent most of her adult life without them, so you wouldn't think that it would. But at some point we're gonna see it, because she was introduced to them again and then now all of a sudden, it's taken away. So she'll have to deal with the fact that it was there for a moment and then gone again.
TCC: Which of your previous characters would have the best chance at beating Kai?
JLO: Oh, Gretchen, for sure.
TCC: Now tell me about the other character you currently play, Lionel Davenport on VH1's Hit the Floor.
JLO: She's a former movie star and she comes back on to the show in order to — she's trying to win back her ex husband and she flounces in in little dresses and sort of causes trouble everywhere she goes, which has been so much fun and now this year, she's actually the owner of the Los Angeles Devils. She has sort of blackmailed her way in into becoming team owner, so it's a new role for her. She's no longer a movie star, she's someone in control, so there's more drama that comes from that.
TCC: How does Lionel compare to Dr. Jo?
JLO: Well they're both so different. I get to do so many things at once right now, which is great. I'm lucky enough to have no hours of sleep and I get to play these two radically different women which is great for me. I mean they could not be more night and day. Lionel's very self centered and concerned about what's happening to her and Dr. Jo is really concerned about helping people, she's a doctor to her core.
TCC: What's next for Lionel?
JLO: Lots of mayhem, lots of drama. Becoming team owner, it's a new world of responsibility and it's gonna get interesting and probably a little sticky.
TCC: What would you say to fans of The Vampire Diaries to encourage them to check out Hit the Floor?
JLO: The dancers on the show are so incredibly talented and phenomenal. And it's such a guilty pleasure. It's like every drama that you want — I'm pregnant and having your baby but you're married, that kind of thing. It's awesome. I would call it like a really good soap opera at night. It's totally my guilty pleasure and I get to work with these fantastic, talented people all day long. And these girls, when they get out on the floor and dance, they will blow your mind, so if you're interested in that at all come and watch us.
TCC: How has working on both been? Were you concerned about your schedule?
JLO: No. Actually, I was working on hit the floor already. I did a season for them already and our seasons are fairly short. We do ten-to-twelve episodes a year so I was looking for something to do between Hit the Floor's end and their next start after the hiatus. And then Vampire Diaries came along, which was something I wanted to be a part of, and then it turned into a much larger role than any of us had anticipated and I was in most episodes. And then their season is so much longer than ours that we got a month or two of overlap between Hit the Floor and Vampire Diaries. The best problem you can have as an actor is too much work because you go through so many dry spells of no work at all, or a very little amount of work, that you'll never catch me complaining that I'm not getting sleep at night. It just won't happen.
TCC: Do you have anything new planned for the future?
JLO: No. What I have planned for the future is a long nap. I'm working on two jobs at the same time right now, there's just no time for sleeping.
When the time for that nap comes, it will be well-deserved. But for now, fans can continue to see Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Dr. Jo on The Vampire Diaries — which returns April 16 from a month-long hiatus for five more episodes of the season — at 8 p.m. ET, and can catch her this summer on season three of Hit the Floor.
Fans can follow her on Twitter at @JodiLyn_Okeefe