Kerry Frances: From Knives Out to Wake Up Dead Man—How Ryan Johnson Changed Her Career Without a Single Audition

Kerry Frances joins the show to discuss her role in Netflix's latest blockbuster "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery," revealing an extraordinary career story that most actors only dream about. Both her role as Tammy the morgue girl in this third Knives Out installment and her original role as Sally (Frank Oz's assistant) in the 2019 film were written specifically for her by writer-director Ryan Johnson and offered directly—no auditions required. Kerry shares the surreal experience of her very first movie being a major theatrical release that became a cultural phenomenon, and the hilarious moment when she admitted to Ryan that she didn't know who Frank Oz was, leading to a friendship with the legendary puppeteer and director. She discusses working with an all-star ensemble cast including Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Daniel Craig, and Josh O'Connor (with whom she discovered she shares a birthday), and praises the intelligent writing that refuses to dumb down content for audiences.Beyond her acting success, Kerry is launching her career as a writer, director, and producer with remarkable momentum. Her first short film recently won her Best Actor at an Oscar-qualifying festival (Holly Shorts), and she's currently in meetings shopping five feature scripts and two pilots to studios and networks. Kerry discusses the current state of television, expressing her belief that we'll see a resurgence of 22-24 episode seasons and sitcoms following economic patterns, and shares her theory that sitcoms typically emerge near the end of recessions. She also reveals her music career, having placed an original song in her recent rom-com "Us and Ourselves" and released a Christmas single, both available on streaming platforms. As a self-described "business-minded opportunist storyteller," Kerry is navigating Hollywood without a traditional talent agent or manager, relying on the relationships she's built and the quality of her work. Her final wisdom: "You've got to be on your own team. You have to be your biggest cheerleader" and do the inner work—therapy, somatic healing, and building a strong foundation—to show up as your best self and make your dreams come true.