Nathalie Kelley Sheds Light on Her Controversial Exit: 'I Wasn't Up to the Challenge'

[Snarky Oracle!]

Nathalie Kelley Sheds Light on Her Controversial Exit: 'I Wasn't Up to the Challenge' of Playing Cristal


Rebecca Iannucci

© Courtesy of The CW

The role of Dynasty‘s Cristal Flores has proven hard to keep — but Nathalie Kelley is shouldering some of the blame for her abrupt departure from the show.

As fans of the CW reboot will recall, Kelley played Cristal for the drama’s entire first season, only for the actress to suddenly announce during the summer hiatus that she wouldn’t be returning for Season 2. (“I’ve got my life back,” she notably said at the time.)

Kelley’s version of the character was then killed off to make way for “the real Cristal,” played by Ana-Brenda Contreras… who then exited after Season 2 for personal reasons and was replaced by Daniella Alonso.


In an interview with TVInsider, Kelley — who now stars on ABC’s rom-com The Baker and the Beauty — offered more details on her exit, explaining that the role was more of a creative challenge than she had anticipated.

“I signed on before I ever read the script. There was a basic outline. I think I wasn’t up to the challenge of a nighttime soap,” Kelley said. “I wasn’t prepared for that genre. It wasn’t something I had experience in… I can say that as an artist, I didn’t dig as deep as I could have. I felt limited and I felt stuck.”

Kelley did add, however, that she was dissatisfied with some of the Season 1 material, noting that “the writing was boxing me in a little bit.” When the show ultimately seemed to decide “the best thing they felt they could do is start afresh,” she was let go from the series.

“That’s obviously a hard phone call to get as an actor… It took me by surprise,” Kelley said of the network’s decision to replace her. “It sent me into a lot of soul-searching and a realization that I could have dug deeper… I’m actually grateful to the execs at The CW who saw at the time what I couldn’t — that it was not the right fit.”

Not long after Kelley had broken the news of her own departure, CW boss Mark Pedowitz maintained that the decision was creatively driven, adding that it was made midway through the show’s first season.

 

[Tony]

I think Kelley is being generous and there is more to the constant cast changes than she’s letting on.

Of course much of it is to do with the writing. I liked Nathalie towards the end and Anna Brenda to begin with, and Nicolette Sheridan not much at all in the role.

I suspect a lot of the hiring and firing has to do with audience response and social media analysis.

When nuDynasty comes to an end, maybe after season 4, we may eventually learn the truth behind her firing and James MacKays as well as the real personal reasons for Ana Brenda and Nicolette to leave the show.

 

[thomaswak]

I really do wish her well. But unfortunately, her new show, The Baker and the Beauty, did not have a great rating start. Only 2.6 million viewers. Which is not good by ABC rating standards.

 

[Rove]

I'm not buying this sitting on the fence defense. Side note...sometimes I like how my words just roll off the tongue. Nathalie wasn't the issue here. The problem was with the writing, tone, style in which the re-imagined Cristal was created. Dynasty has stumbled from one laughable catastrophe to another and there is no denying this has become the Liz Gillies show and should be renamed as such. When this series finishes no one will be talking about it in years to come like its counterpart. Original Dynasty may have become overtly camp but compared to this version the original was Shakespeare.

Both The CW Dynasty and TNT's Dallas should be held up as an example how not to create a reboot or a continuation. A pox on both houses for inflicting such dribble on the wider community.

 

[thomaswak]

The writing was always the problem.

By the way, I just hate how Fallon is always putting down/humiliating/blaming Alexis. Yes this is the Liz Gillies show, and so far, they haven't realize she's not enough to hold the show.

 

[tommie]

It's quite fascinating how post-Original Dynasty's season 2 all writers who've handled the character seems to have an issue with writing for Krystle / Cristal. Yes, you have temporary improvements after 1982, example season 9 of original Dynasty, or the tail-end of season 1 of nuDynasty. Or Ana Brenda's initial introduction. But then you have the inevitable relapses such as The Reunion or Mob Daughter Extraordinaire.

Right now it does seem like they're (again) taking steps in the right direction for her, but watch them turn her into a Lady Jessica-esque psychopath next season.

 

[thomaswak]

You know that something's wrong in the writing department when you have such a great actor like Alan Dale, and that you under-use his character. And when a useless character like Vanessa gets much more spotlight than him. I know that The CW is aimed at teenagers. So I guess that's why they don't care much of the 40/50 yo+ actors and characters of the show.

I am "rewatching" Desperate Housewives (as a background noise when I am cooking, cleaning) and it was amazing to realize that all those 40 + characters were so fascinating. Good writing, good cast. When you think about it, OG Dynasty was a huge international hit, and its main characters were 40/50 yo... Also, the writing was supposed to be first degree, so people could take seriously the show and they could care about the characters. Then the writing became pointless and/.or stupid (Moldavia's following? Rita anyone? Spaceship? Characters coming back from the dead with a 100 % personality change?) people left, stopped watching.

So yes, the writing is vital. Even an amazing cast can't save a show from bad writing. Think Fear the Walking Dead : season 1 & 2 were average. The show runner changed absolutely all his writing team : season 3 was amazing, the ratings stayed strong and coherent during all the season. Then the show runner was let go. New show runners, new writing team : season 4 and 5 sucked so hard, that even an amazing rating jump (thanks to the walking dead character crossover, aka Morgan) the ratings never stop from falling. And the critics and the fans were really unhappy. I was myself a real fan of the show, and I never finished season 5. And I won't even try season 6 (as the show runners are the same sucking team than season 4 & 5) and I'm so disgusted by AMC and Scott Simple (the head of the franchise) that I won't watch their new show (The Walking Dead : worlds beyond) because I know it's gonna be bad. And even, with a miracle, the news show was good, I would be too afraid to invest time, when I know that AMC and Gimple can fire a competent show runner with a real knowledge of the characters, to replace him/her by "retarded sock puppets" (Yes, I'm talking about you, Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss)

 

[Daniel Avery]

Nathalie Kelley is doing publicity for her new show. Her PR handlers do not want the focus of her interviews to be gossipy rehashes of what happened with Dynasty. But mentioning it at all makes it news-worthy, since people continue to be curious (even if we're told no one is watching/interested in the show). By accepting some of the blame for what happened, she looks introspective and professional in the face of the ill-advised comments she made at the time of her dismissal (which didn't look professional at all)...which gives her a chance to repair some of the damage. Saying less about the departure is actually saying more when the focus of her interviews is supposed to be her new show. Also, a half-hearted attempt to shoulder the "blame" for the situation is the quickest way to move on to the real subject they all want to discuss, which is the new show.

She and her PR people know that people like us will do the debating/discussing for her, so she doesn't have to say much. Should she shoulder the blame? Was the writing not serving her well? Perhaps the whole situation with filming in Atlanta is an issue? I think all three contributed, but not in equal measures. I thought that what I saw on screen (in her acting/grasp of the character) were fine. If she was struggling with the material and/or the filming location, it did not show on screen. I didn't know how unhappy she was until I read her interviews in the period after she left. Her comments about not feeling she was up to the challenge of a soap format seems to me to be more of a comment that she was not up to the schedule as opposed to the material. Being outside of LA and NYC (where the unions are more entrenched) allows film crews in Atlanta to demand much more time and effort, with longer film days and fewer breaks when that is needed. A new show is much more time-consuming than a show that has been around a while and has established routines, collaborative spirit and "worked out its kinks," so that first year had to have been difficult for everyone.

I've gone on record about how poorly I think the writers handled NK's departure and how Ana-Brenda was put in an impossible situation due to her ever-changing character. Those are faults of the writers and the writing that should have been corrected within the storylines of the show rather than dismissing the actresses and "starting fresh". The way they've rewritten Adam in the span of one season shows they could have done similar retooling on any other character that wasn't working. Heck, they may have been able to hold onto NS's Alexis if they had written her more the way we see them writing EH's version.

 

[thomaswak]

The actors were never the problem, I agree. The writing is. I think they're still trying to do better with season 3, and on some levels, it's better than season 2. But again, season 2 level was pretty low.

They really damage the show's organic dynamic when they got rid of Cristal and then Steven.

And even if season 3 Alexis is an improvement over her season 2 version, why is Laura Van Kirk feels more like an OG Alexis than Alexis?

 

[Alexis]

I wrote a post in this tread last night that wouldn't post because of server problems. I don't think I can get that worked up and angry again to repost it. Maybe if somebody annoys me.

 

[Rove]

I wrote a post in this tread last night that wouldn't post because of server problems. I don't think I can get that worked up and angry again to repost it. Maybe if somebody annoys me.

 

[Rove]

I know that The CW is aimed at teenagers.

Perhaps therein lies the problem. Both TNT Dallas and The CW Dynasty should have been screened on a commercial network with the weight of serious dollars thrown at them to ensure success. Dallas and Dynasty appearing on sub-par networks cheapens the look and feel both series deserve. Comparing the two I'd suggest Dallas had higher production values. The main focus of The CW Dynasty revolves around the Carrington mansion. If the original premise of the reboot was to show us how the 1% of the 1% super rich behave should we not see this?

 

[Rove]

something's wrong in the writing department when you have such a great actor like Alan Dale

Is he still on the series? I thought Alan would have walked some time ago.

 

[thomaswak]

Is he still on the series? I thought Alan would have walked some time ago.

Yes the great Allan Dale still is on the show. Not in every episode though.

 

[Rove]

Not in every episode though.

A real shame. Alan deserves a far superior series then this.

 

[Karin Schill]

This show is such a joke!
I think the constant cast changes has hurt the show. It is so silly to give Cristal a new face every year.

 

[Rove]

This show is such a joke!

It wouldn't be to bad if the producers went into the series as some kind of in joke or poking fun at the 80's genre that was the Super Soap. Well they missed that mark. It's my feeling they are attempting to produce something that we are meant to be taking seriously...again it has missed the mark.

For any series to have a fleeting chance of survival you must know what type of series you are wishing to produce...drama? Drama/comedy? Comedy? Whatever it is The CW Dynasty is meant to be it's lost on me.

 

[Milescolby]

IMO Nathalie was good in S1. She also oozed glamour in a way I don’t think any of the other female cast did then or have since then (perhaps Wakeema Hollis, but she’s now vanished too). And the show needed/needs the glamour. They were absolutely crazy to fire her.

And judging by Daniella Alonso’s permanent ‘sucking on a lemon’ face just now, seems the writers haven’t learned anything. I remember checking out her YT videos just after her casting was announced (of course) and she comes across far warmer and animated than what we see on screen. Perhaps this observation isn’t scientific of anything but it does make me wonder.

 

[thomaswak]

For any series to have a fleeting chance of survival you must know what type of series you are wishing to produce...drama? Drama/comedy? Comedy? Whatever it is The CW Dynasty is meant to be it's lost on me.

This NU Dynasty is the incarnation of all the OG Dynasty's bad seasons sins and failure. But worst.

 

[thomaswak]

She was Dynasty material...