The longtime Shondaland director and actor admits he was worried about taking on the whole series, but creator Shonda Rhimes never faltered in her trust in Verica.
Tom Verica had a pretty great career going for himself as an actor before he “got bit” by the directing bug, as he describes it. In 2002 — 13 years after he made his first television appearance as a day player on Quantum Leap — he got his big break and was starring in NBC’s 1960s family drama, American Dreams. He knew that he was fortunate, and he was happy, but something in him seemingly wasn’t entirely creatively fulfilled.
“I was always really drawn to visual storytelling,” he says. “I can recognize good writing, but I’m not a writer, though I’ve tried, and I value and respect those who do it well, but what I love doing is taking that material, seeing it, and physicalizing it in a visual sense. It was the acting angle too. It was a different way to be involved in the acting, knowing emotionally what actors go through and how to shape [their performances]. Those are the things that kind of drew me in [to directing].”
It was on American Dreams that Verica made his network directorial debut as well. Two seasons into a show that lasted only three — and after he directed two short films to prove he could actually do it — Verica helmed two episodes of the series in 2004.
“It just felt like a natural fit,” he says, referring to the myriad shows he went on to direct, like Boston Legal, Ugly Betty, and The Mentalist, all while taking on small acting jobs too. In fact, he credits back-to-back acting jobs on Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007) with giving him a master class experience in directing.
“Even though I was hired as an actor,” says Verica, “I was totally being selfish with my directing pursuits and interests by using my time on set to pick their brain and basically have up-front and personal discussions with [my directors]. That really was a tremendous benefit.”
Then in 2007, a director dropped out of a Grey’s Anatomy episode, and Verica was called to fill in with two weeks’ notice. It was an experience that would change his life forever.
“It was probably pretty formal that first time we met,” Verica recalls of his first encounter with Shonda Rhimes. “I think after I turned in my first episode and then came back for a second one, she really liked what I had, and a shorthand [formed] immediately. I tapped into her style and what the style of Grey’s Anatomy was, and I ran with it. But also, trust began to take root pretty quickly; I think we just had similar tastes in how we saw things.”
Verica went on to direct episodes of every show Rhimes produced for the next 15 years — and even acted in some, like his recurring role as Sam Keating, Annalise Keating’s (Viola Davis) husband, on How to Get Away With Murder — including Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, and now Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, all six episodes of which boast Verica at the helm.
The series, written and executive produced by Rhimes and executive produced by Verica and Betsy Beers, tells the origin story of when Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), as her younger self, played by India Amarteifio, lands in 1760s London, betrothed to a man she doesn’t know, King George III (Corey Mylchreest), and how she must navigate the ton, her new relationship, and the royal court. From the beginning, Rhimes fully entrusted Verica with the visual telling of this story and, indeed, he handles the entire series with a deft hand and necessary nuance.
It’s a rare thing to see an acting and a directing career progress as seamlessly as Verica’s has, and he’s under no illusion that he’s been fortunate with the opportunities that Shondaland has provided him. But there’s no denying that Verica’s reputation as a kind, generous, and dedicated director has preceded him time and again. Here, we talk to the actor-director-producer about taking on Queen Charlotte, casting decisions, and some on-set antics, including a cameo from the Bridgerton books series author, Julia Quinn!
