Wendy Braun plays a hilariously diabolical villain in Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat—which is even funnier when you learn that in real life, she’s an inspiration. Her character Elizabeth Prescott is a corporate Cruella de Vil in the Prime Video series, plotting to add a family business to her massive empire. Part of the reason the show works is because it’s so fun to root against Elizabeth and her perfectly curated facade.

Yet it can’t be stated enough that Wendy Braun is not her Jury Duty character. When she’s not acting, she’s helping fellow performers and other people reach their full potential through her global empowerment company and speaking appearances. Wendy would make Elizabeth shake her head in disgust—and Wendy would also put Elizabeth to shame. In an interview with TVBrittanyF.com, she spoke about everything that went into her work on Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, and the equally great work she’s doing outside of the show.

Brittany Frederick: How much of your previous acting experience helped you in Company Retreat? Such as your soap opera credits, given that’s also a heightened and fast-paced environment?

Wendy Braun: I did a bunch of episodes of General Hospital and then their spinoff show [General Hospital: Night Shift]. In a soap, you come down to the set and they rehearse it once, and then you shoot it. There’s not this long time, you don’t have a million takes, so you do have to be on your game. And that is definitely a great training ground.

I feel like for me, having done improv, acting, stand-up, years on different series, live theater, speaking—all of it informed this character, and all of it helped to shape my performance on this show. Looking back, I realized everything that you do is part of what you’re bringing to the table, and you don’t know when you’ll need it. But I needed all of that experience to be able to do this job at the highest level. That’s really what this role demanded.

How did you figure out your approach to the character? As the show is meticulously planned, but there’s also elements of it that are malleable, and reacting to what’s happening in the moment.

What people don’t realize is, it is a scripted show. We do get a scripted explanation of what’s going on, and within that, we can shape it. It took a lot of research, and I did a lot of interviews with private equity. I really wanted to understand the language and the logic. I have to be able to speak as this authority for long periods of time and know exactly what I’m talking about. And at one point they said, can you just come in and do a 20-minute speech on your “second mountain approach”? So then I go home and work on that and ultimately co-create it with the writers.

We have the best comedy writers in the business working on the show, and we also had a lot of rehearsal. And in the rehearsal, even though they’d given us script, structure, story arc, we would then rehearse a scene, and the writers would come over and they’d offer up brilliant ideas, and then we’d all collaborate. So then every night, I work on the character and flesh out more of what I wanted to do. It was the most collaboratively creative and rewarding job I’ve ever had.

The other thing with Elizabeth was I knew that physically, it would best to show who she is before she says a word. That’s what you learn in improv—you want to show, not tell. So I worked with our wardrobe stylist on her whole look, because if I can get out of the Cybertruck with a giant bag (the bigger the better), then the audience knows instantly who she is and that she is not one of them. They’re very colorful. She’s all in black. And so those choices of the bag, the sunglasses, the black—that is all shaping the character without me saying a word yet.

I wanted to show the contrast of how she wants to be in control, and she’s coming into this very out of control environment, where she’s at this dusty retreat [with] these wacky characters. The juxtaposition of her being almost a fish out of water in this place, but she also has to get the deal done. There was a lot of room to create that character, and I had so much fun mapping that out, and then being in the moment and seeing what happens.

The obvious hook of the show is that you’re working with one person who is not an actor in Anthony Norman. As a performer, how does that affect the work that you’re doing?

First of all, Anthony is amazing… He’s our hero, truly a hero. We call him our “Hero” when we’re in rehearsal—when he’s not there yet—and who he is, is just amazing. He went through all this with such generosity and authenticity and kindness. It’s exactly what we wanted. The show’s goal is to shine a light on the goodness in humanity, and that’s what I love about it.

But I have to say, being on this show with someone who doesn’t know they’re on a TV show, and they can’t know, it means that ultimately each one of us is holding the show in the palm of our hands. It’s almost like they gave each one of us a fragile egg. All 100-plus people have their own egg, and if you trip and fall or do anything to drop that egg, you have ruined the show. So there was so much responsibility on each person, and then to interact with him like nothing’s going on, it’s crazy. We were definitely very proud of the work, and it took a village to do it in so many ways.

By virtue of playing the villain, you were limited in how much you got to interact with the other Company Retreat cast members. Is there anyone whom you would’ve liked more scenes with, or whose work you really were impressed by, now that you’ve gotten to see how the show turned out?

All of the actors in this show are truly incredible.  I do love Dougie. I think Alex Bonifer is just amazing (even though our characters were at odds throughout the show).  What they had to do at this level is wild, and it takes so much talent and skill and mindset, and mental and emotional resilience.

Jerry [Hauck]—the actor who plays Doug—we had a lot of work together, so we just had a lot of fun. The whole cast is really amazing, and I loved working with all of them. I will give a shout out to my Triukas team, Chris Kula and Rachel Hein. What people might not know is that Rachel is one of the writers on the show, and Chris is a writer and executive producer. They were my right hand man and woman, and they were just incredible.

I would have liked to see what might unfold between Claire and Elizabeth, because when we were filming a lot of that dynamic wasn’t really scripted, but over time that story line kept expanding.

What would you consider your biggest challenge or proudest accomplishment from Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat? What moments stand out to you?

One of the biggest challenges that I’m so glad we pulled off is the jousting scene. I get whacked in the face, and I go flying through the air and I get a bloody nose. Normally on a TV show, I would have a stunt double. I’d get whacked, she’d go flying through the air, I’d lay down, special effects would come over, and it’d be shot in pieces. It’d probably take all day to shoot from all these different angles, and you’d have all of the crew on set.

But in this show, we had an amazing stunt coordinator who trained us, and we had fight choreography lessons. We also had a great special effects team who showed us how to do the blood. My Triukas team helps apply it, and it’s all choreographed. But on the day, it is just you, and we’re walking over to do that scene, and I know that I have to get whacked in the face, go flying through the air, land, hit my nose, go get a bloody nose, all while Anthony—who we staged it so he would be 180 degrees across—wouldn’t see any of this happen.

You know all that’s coming and that you can’t fall, you can’t screw it up, the blood can’t spout out before it’s ready, and so your heart’s pounding. I remember walking over and telling [Erica Hernandez], who I joust with… She said, I just want to make sure I don’t hurt you. I said, you have to go 100 percent—you have to really commit and whack me in the face. Because we only have one take and there are no do-overs.

And when it works, it just works. Every crew member, everyone in the control room, is holding their breath, hoping you stick the landing. It feels like the Olympics in that moment; you have one shot. Even though it’s choreographed, you’re on your own, all eyes are on you, and it feels like pulling off a high-pressure magic trick in real time. When it works, it’s absolutely exhilarating.

Jury Duty is such a unique project. It’s one-part TV show, one-part improv, one-part social experiment. What are you going to carry forward from Company Retreat to the next thing you do?

What I’m going to carry with me to the next gig that I learned on this show is definitely that you don’t need to be fearless to be confident. They can coexist. But that kind of confidence isn’t something you’re born with – it’s built through experience, preparation and just by showing up again and again (even when it scares you).

It takes a team to be amazing, and the teamwork makes the dream work, definitely. But for me personally, to just know that I can do anything. If I can do Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, there’s nothing I can’t do, because to be able to do what we did—the highest pressure, in the highest stakes, and deliver in a way that I wanted to and was able to—it really showed me what’s possible. I’m changed for the better in every way because of it.

Speaking of what’s possible. what makes your work as Elizabeth Prescott that much more impressive is that your other career is essentially the anti-Elizabeth. Your business is focused on helping people achieve their goals. So what’s it like to play a character who is so clearly antithetical to you?

It is a fun contrast, because the work I do off-screen is helping creatives build confidence, clarity and success from the inside out. So here I am having fun playing this corporate power player on screen, but off-screen, I have a global coaching business where I help people step into their power in a conscious, empathetic way.

What’s been really exciting is the audience and critical response. One of the highest compliments I keep hearing is, “I loved hating you,” or “I forgot you were an actress,” which as a performer, is exactly what you want. It means the character fully landed.

And now with Amazon backing the show and my performance for Emmy consideration as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, it’s been incredibly meaningful and affirming to have that level of recognition and support around my work. My community and my students know how different I am from Elizabeth, so for them it’s been really fun to see me step into something so opposite—and for me, it’s been just as fun to fully inhabit her perspective

Which creates a fascinating conundrum when you’re in the room for what is designed to be the most emotional moment of Company Retreat, when Anthony begs Doug not to sign the Triukas contract. As Elizabeth, you have to stay in character, but as Wendy, what was it like to experience such a genuine moment?

Your heart’s pounding when he’s coming in the door, because you know this is the finale of the show, and it has to go a certain way. You hope it goes a certain way—that Anthony doesn’t want him to sign, and that he gets through to him, and that he does it and not Dougie. [There’s] all that tension, and then we’re there improv-ing with whatever Anthony does.

My role in this show, it’s to represent the darkest side of humanity, while Anthony is the light. Anything he says, I have to push back, and so in that moment I improv “Are you really gonna listen to the temp?” Just something to put him down on that level; he’s new, what does he know? And then he says “Father to father”—people are crying over this last scene, and it was thrilling. You could feel the tension in the room.

And actually, we never rehearsed my exit. We just rehearsed [the] last scene… and the script says, “And then she leaves.” But when I left, I’m fully in it, and I’m pissed. I’m busting out and they’re all in my way, and I was just swearing. They all came up to me later; they’re like, oh my god, that was amazing. No one knew what was going to happen. That was all improvised on the spot, in the moment reaction. And it felt exhilarating to be the antagonist, to get our hero to do what he did. It all worked.

It’s so interesting to play this villain and then be me, because I am not like her. People matter to me. To see that, and then see people’s reaction to it, was thrilling and I’m so glad the fans are loving it. For me as a mother and this young man saying “Father to father”—I know what it’s like to have kids, and to care, and [to be] empathetic, and all the things Anthony is… I don’t really separate it till later. I’m so in the scene that it’s not until later that you go wow, I’m so happy he did what he did and that it worked. My job is to keep the tension high and when I don’t get what I want, storm out in a rage.

How do you take the exposure and the acclaim that you’ve gained withJury Duty Presents: Company Retreat and use that going forward, given that there is such a separation between you and Elizabeth? Do you have to remind people that she’s just a character?

The response has been incredible. I don’t mind being the villain audiences love to hate, because that just means I did my job well. My students know that I am all heart and soul, even when I’m playing a character who doesn’t. What’s fun about this moment is being able to share the behind-the-scenes of starring on a hit show—and everything that requires: the mindset, the identity you have to step into, and what it takes to sustain it in this high stakes environment.

Getting here requires a tremendous amount of inner work. Doing this kind of show is about performance under pressure at a level where there is no safety net. What I’ve found is that the same tools that get you there are the ones that sustain you once you arrive. The work doesn’t end; you just expand within it.

My coaching business allows me to take everything I’m experiencing in real time – the wins, the challenges – and translate that into tools that help people show up at their highest level, especially when it matters most. I feel incredibly grateful to be living my dreams while helping so many others step into theirs. That’s what makes this moment so meaningful.

Is there anything else you’d love to do in the future? Whether it’s a goal you have as a coach, or a role you’d love to inhabit as an actor?

I’m very intentional about aligning with projects that are both creatively fulfilling and impactful. Whether it’s acting or speaking, I’m drawn to work that explores resilience, mindset, and what it means to show up fully—especially under pressure. That’s something I’ve lived, and something I love sharing.

On the acting side, I’m really excited to continue stepping into complex, layered roles—characters who feel real, who challenge people, and who spark something in the audience. I’m especially drawn to projects that balance humor and heart, where you’re entertaining people but also leaving them with something insightful.

I’ve always loved the tone of shows like Ted Lasso, where there’s comedy but also real depth and humanity. That’s the kind of storytelling I’d love to continue being part of, whether it’s with Bill Lawrence or other creators working in that space. I’m drawn to work that illuminates humanity and leaves people thinking and feeling something— and I welcome stepping into roles like Elizabeth Prescott in Company Retreat to do that.

My intention has always been to inspire, uplift and entertain, so any time I get to do all three at once, that’s when I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is now streaming on Prime Video. Fo more about Wendy, visit her website wendybraun.com and follow her on Instagram at @mswendybraun.

Fans can also download Wendy’s guided meditation, “Creating Success While You Sleep,” for free here. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.