Why Justine From Things Heard & Seen Looks So Familiar

In recent years, Netflix has shown a knack for putting out memorable horror movies that routinely rank among the year's scariest. And the next title that will hope to follow in the footsteps of Bird Box follows a classic horror setup: the film, Things Heard & Seen, is set in the 1980s, and follows Catherine Claire (Amanda Seyfried), a Manhattan artist who goes with her husband George (James Norton) to a small town in upstate New York, where she tries to make a happy home for her daughter. Sure enough, Catherine's life turns into a nightmare. Not only does George have a sinister side, the house is cursed after the former owners were murdered.

Things Heard & Seen is the latest effort from Oscar-nominated filmmakers and real-life married couple, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who have assembled an impressive supporting cast that includes F. Murray Abraham, Natalie Dyer, Karen Allen, Michael O'Keefe, and Rhea Seehorn. 

Seehorn plays the role of Justine Sokolov, one of Catherine and Geroge's new neighbors. Things Heard & Seen is a much darker film than the projects Seehorn is usually cast in. If you're wondering where you might know her from, here's your answer.

Rhea Seehorn got her acting start in the Washington D.C. theater scene. As she later told TV critic Alan Sepinwall, she spent her early years often auditioning for characters who didn't have much depth beyond "ingenue" or "girlfriend or wife of the male lead." Seehorn often tried to add depth to these roles in her auditions, which usually backfired. But during these years, Seehorn did discover she had a knack for comedy. Specifically, she gravitated towards roles she described as "very wry, sarcastic, knowing [women]," the kind of roles played by her idol, Bea Arthur.

Seehorn appeared on several various short-lived sitcoms and dramedies in the early 2000s, mostly on television. Her first major role came on Whitney Cummings' sitcom, Whitney. Seehorn played Roxanne Harris, Whitney's divorced best friend who later became her boss. Seehorn appeared on 38 episodes, laying the groundwork for more sitcom work in the future. 

When she joined the cast of Better Call Saul as Kim Wexler, Seehorn finally got to demonstrate everything she brings to the table. While her roots are in comedy, Seehorn has long been outspoken about refusing to be pigeonholed as either a comedic or dramatic actress (via Vox). Better Call Saul is one of the most complex dramedies on TV, so playing Kim allowed Seehorn to showcase her range.

Seehorn's many years of auditioning for thankless and under-written roles came in handy here, too. According to Sepinwall, Better Call Saul's writers didn't have much of a plan for Kim beyond serving as Jimmy Goodman's (Bob Odenkirk) love interest and confidante, and the character barely appeared on the first couple episodes. But Seehorn's work filling in Kim's backstory and motivations helped the writers realize the character's potential. Since then, Kim has evolved into one of the show's most popular characters. 

The role also led to Seehorn's first major acting awards. She's received consecutive Satellite Awards in 2015 and 2016 for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, and a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2018, along with many other nominations. But unlike her male costars, Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jonathan Banks, Seehorn has yet to receive an Emmy nomination for the show. 

Along with her Better Call Saul co-star Michael McKean, Rhea Seehorn joined the cast of Veep for the show's seventh and final season in 2019. This was actually Seehorn's second time working with Veep creator Armando Iannucci, who cast her in the 2007 American remake of his BBC political satire series, The Thick of It. That show didn't get picked up, but their second venture went much better. Seehorn played Michelle, the deputy campaign manager of Selina Meyer's (Julia-Louis Dreyfuss) political nemesis, Tom James. (Hugh Laurie). Seehorn described the character as a "sheepish, needy person, who cannot even formulate a clear plan of moving ahead in her career," via Indie Wire.

Jumping into any well-established sitcom midstream is a difficult job for any actor, but Seehorn performed ably. She even got the honor of appearing in the series' final scene. It was an emotional moment, but not a perfect one. "Of course, I completely fumbled my line," she told Collider. "I had one tiny line and I made a mess of it and they had to cut and start over and I will be forever thankful that I was in it, but I'm glad they didn't fire me."