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Having a work and life balance. Simone Kessell<\/strong> makes a continued effort to separate herself\u00a0from her role as adult Lottie<\/a> in Showtime\u2019s Yellowjackets<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI do definitely need a moment to de-stress. Absolutely,\u201d the actress, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> at PaleyFest about prioritizing self-care when she isn\u2019t on set. \u201cI love eating really yummy food. I will have like a big bowl of pasta and a glass of wine.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to comfort food<\/a>, Kessell has enjoyed decompressing through physical activity. \u201cI will work out and I say my affirmations and I\u2019m good to go,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd then I go again.\u201d<\/p>\n The New Zealand native, who shares sons Jack and Beau with husband Gregor Jordan<\/strong><\/a>, said it has been important to take a step back when the subject matter got too dark in season 2.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou need to clear it \u2014 as you\u2019ll see as the season progresses. It\u2019s a lot to wear. It\u2019s a cloak and so it\u2019s vital that we move in a way that clears that,\u201d she continued. \u201cEspecially for me. I don\u2019t want [to] God forbid get cancer playing a role because we go deep.\u201d<\/p>\n Kessell concluded: \u201cYou really delve into the character and I was very much so attached to her that it\u2019s taken me a while to wind down from playing Lottie \u2014 especially toward the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Yellowjackets<\/em>, which debuted in November 2021, follows a group of teenagers involved in a plane crash and the aftermath of their rescue decades later. The hit series also stars Melanie Lynskey<\/a>, Christina Ricci<\/a>, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis<\/a>, Ella Purnell, Sophie N\u00e9lisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Samantha Hanratty<\/a><\/strong>, Sophie Thatcher<\/strong>, Lauren Ambrose<\/strong> and Liv Hewson<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n During a new episode of the series, which aired on Friday, May 19, adult Lottie encouraged her former friends to give into the darkness that influenced them<\/a> in the wilderness.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething guided you all here and it wasn\u2019t guilt or some psychological need. It was something greater and it has been guiding me as well. First, I tried to ignore it, to bargain with it [and] to will it away,\u201d she said before suggesting that the group sacrifice one of their own with poison<\/a>. \u201cIt is too powerful. But now we have to give it what it wants. The only way to get ourselves out of it is to give ourselves fully to it. We give it what it always wants \u2014 one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past, however, teenage Lottie (Courtney Eaton<\/strong>) has been on the brink of death after Shauna (N\u00e9lisse) beat her up. The group decided to let the wilderness choose who needed to die as a way to save Lottie \u2014 which ended with Javi (Luciano Leroux<\/strong>) dying in the frozen lake.<\/a><\/p>\n With Lottie an integral part of the story in the past and the present, Kessell broke down her collaborative process with Eaton<\/a>, 27.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you met Courtney you would see we\u2019re very much alike. I think of us both as big chocolate Labrador puppies. We\u2019re both excited and we\u2019re both quite physical,\u201d she shared with Us<\/em>. \u201cSo, when I first met her, I was like, \u2018I see me in you.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Darling, you\u2019ll be way better looking when you get older. Just trust me on that.\u2019<\/p>\n The Terra Nova<\/em> alum praised her costar for her take on their joint character<\/a>, adding, \u201cShe\u2019s such a joy and she truly is such a beautiful woman because she is love and light as a human being. But in her role, she plays her so dark. That\u2019s a pretty extraordinary actress. \u2026 We have the same ancestry, so it\u2019s important to really honor that. My mom and her mom are both M\u0101ori from New Zealand so it\u2019s lovely that the producers took the initiative to say, \u2018We need to cast what\u2019s real.\u2019 And I relate very much to her on every level.\u201d<\/p>\n Yellowjackets<\/em> is available to stream on Fridays and airs on Showtime Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n
\n Courtney Eaton as Teen Lottie and Simone Kessell as Lottie in \u2018Yellowjackets\u2019<\/span> Kailey Schwerman\/SHOWTIME; Kimberley French\/SHOWTIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n