‘Sleepy Hollow’ – Nikki Reed and Jessica Camacho Interview on Betsy Ross and Agent Foster

Nikki Reed and Jessica Camacho WonderCon 2016
Nikki Reed and Jessica Camacho at the 2016 WonderCon (Photos by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Season three of Fox’s supernatural series Sleepy Hollow introduced viewers to Jessica Camacho as Agent Sophie Foster and Nikki Reed as a Betsy Ross unlike any Betsy Ross we’ve seen before. Reed and Camacho were among the stars of the series to make it to the 2016 WonderCon to speak with fans about the show currently airing on Fridays at 8pm ET/PT. The series newbies even teamed up to talk about being a part of the Sleepy Hollow world during roundtable interviews at the event which was held Easter weekend in downtown Los Angeles.

How much fun has it been to play Betsy Ross and what did you do to get ready for her?

Nikki Reed: “That’s a good question – what can you do to get ready? I think as any actor would approach any role, any historical figure, you do as much research as you can and then you step into Sleepy Hollow and you realize that it’s all worthless. [Laughing] They’re going to create the character they want to create and she’s definitely far from a woman sitting in a rocking chair stitching a flag. It’s hard to even imagine. Although somehow they definitely made that work by last night’s episode it totally became believable that Betsy was doing that. But, it’s one of the joys of being on Sleepy Hollow. It’s really fun to research and then you wonder where you can apply it.”

When you got the part, were you itching to do the flag scene?

Nikki Reed: “Sure, but I knew it was coming. I knew they had to at some point so I was kind of waiting for the big reveal myself which was only two days before the episode. I mean, that’s how it works on TV. You don’t really know how or when. If you saw how many emails I’ve sent to Raven going, ‘Okay, just tell me a little bit. But at this point where do you think their…’ We get no information.”

Do you see the Founding Fathers as our first action heroes in a way?

Nikki Reed: “Certainly in this world. I would like to imagine [Betsy] really existed in this way.”

Jessica, what’s it been like to have Agent Foster come into the Scooby gang fold?

Jessica Camacho: “Oh, gosh, it’s so awesome. I’ve learned so much and it’s just been so exciting. For me, it was a nice parallel. It was nice to play a character who was so unfamiliar with the world that she’s just been thrown into and that’s kind of how I felt when I first got on set. It was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’ll do the best I can but I don’t know what I’m doing.’ So we got to share that experience and just as she was nervous and scared, I think I was too. That’s very human, but you still have to prove yourself. You still have a job to do. And so it was fun for me to discover her strengths, discover her weaknesses, and kind of move on from there and see her progress throughout each episode. See how we learn more about her. It was really cool to learn about her supernatural connection for me because that’s what drives her. That’s really what pulled her into this world and really why she wanted to stay. So, it’s a blast.”

The episode that aired on March 25, 2016 seemed to imply that we wouldn’t be seeing Betsy Ross anymore. Is she going to stay connected to Ichabod’s story and will we ever see her in the present day?

Nikki Reed: “We did imply that but we will be discovering […]when we air the next episode that we might see her again. And, there is a bit of a past and future collide. Yeah.”

If Betsy were to come to the present, would she adapt as well as Ichabod?

Nikki Reed: “That’s a good question. Do you think Ichabod adapted well? Yeah, I do but I think that one of the things we’ve been trying to find with Betsy is I think there is a more contemporary feel to her than with Ichabod. So, I think she would adapt well. In fact, if that were to happen I would holding onto any bit of the past that I could just to save her from transitioning too quickly.”


Speaking of the past, how do you like the costumes?

Nikki Reed: “It’s the best part. Absolutely. My father actually is a production designer. His wife is a costume designer. I grew up around a lot of very creative people who are a part of the ‘making of’. I have an immense amount of appreciation for what it takes to create a world. And then what we do, not to diminish it, is a very small part of the big picture. Watching these costumes, watching these people help me create this character, it’s mind-blowing. It’s literally two weeks if not more to make each costume of Betsy’s. I go in for multiple fittings. I’ve never had a job like this where sometimes I get called in a couple of times a week to try on the same dress again and again and again because it’s tailored literally down to… I mean, no pressure, girls, you can’t gain a pound or lose a pound. It is tailored exactly and you know they’re heavy. I don’t want to exaggerate it but maybe 20, 30 pounds. I don’t know. It’s a lot to carry around and it takes two people to get me dressed. It’s a lot of work. There’s a 30 minute padding time just to put my clothing on, which is wild but totally necessary. There’s 10 layers.”

And she actually does action scenes.

Nikki Reed: “By the way, thank you for saying that, any scenes I’ve done that required action in any way – one actually in a big episode that the scene was cut out which was unfortunate because we shot it probably for 11 hours, this huge sword fighting sequence and climbing, fighting, me and a 250 pound man who’s 6’5″ and I did it all in Betsy’s wardrobe, literally. My husband was like, ‘I think it’s dangerous.’ ‘No, no, it’ll be fine. I can manage this.'”

Watch the full interview with Nikki Reed and Jessica Camacho: