People always say that life is short and that you need to make your mark when you have time on this earth. The inhabitants of Woodstone Manor might beg to differ, especially since they are learning about empathy, tolerance, and family better than most found families on your typical sitcom. In CBS’ Ghosts, Hetty Woodstone is one of the more uptight spirits who haunts the halls of her former home, but Rebecca Wisocky is afforded the opportunity to give Hetty a redemption like no other. Even in death, we can still learn how to respect and love our fellow man.
When Samantha and Jay (Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar, respectively) decide to transform Woodstone Manor into a bed and breakfast, Hetty is the most mortified, and she doesn’t want strangers traipsing about her family’s historical home. What Hetty doesn’t expect, however, is how much Samantha and Jay bring new life to Woodstone.
Since Hetty died long before many of her roommates, she has the most time to catch up on which gives Wisocky ample room for comedy. The first thing I knew I had to ask Wisocky was how she found Hetty’s particular voice. Wisocky explained that this step was integral in her finding the character, and when you re-watch episodes, you can see how her tone can inform her body and speech patterns. It’s a perfect example of how an actor can use the tools of his or her own body to bring a character alive.
Wisocky can telegram so much with the tiniest movements. Hetty is a character who can communicate with her eyebrows or the tilt of her chin. She truly is an actor’s actor, and you can tell doing strong, character-driven work is important to her. We talk about a lot of things in our conversation from ensemble work to the relationship between Hetty and Brandon Scott Jones’ Isaac to our favorite kind of cheese. Hey, even ghosts can like a good blue cheese.
The first season of Ghosts is streaming now on Paramount+.
