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| Jo Katsaras, Costume Designer |
Jo Katsaras is an Emmy-nominated costume designer known for her work on TV hits Fear the Walking Dead, The Leftovers, Odyssey and Anthony Minghella's episode of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Here she talks about how she got started in the industry, what it's like working on Fear the Walking Dead and what aspiring costume designers can do to further their careers.
Jo, tell us a bit about yourself and how you went about pursuing your career in costume design.I’m Jo Katsaras, a costume designer, and I do believe that your career just finds you. I graduated from the Art, Ballet and Drama School in Johannesburg and one of my teachers there had started a crew agency and she called me up one day and asked if I wanted to do a commercial. I did it, it was Cadbury’s, was set in the 1960s, and I had to make absolutely everything. I loved it and just never looked back.
I was 22 then and, 28 years later, I still just love every minute.
What took you from Johannesburg out to the United States to work?I was nominated for an Emmy for the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, which was Anthony Minghella’s last work before he passed, and then – I don’t know – within six months I had a green card. So that just opened another platform for me. It wasn’t a conscious thing, it just happened, and the next thing I was being offered stuff in the United States.
I guess work has flowed for me here because, the compliment I get is that I bring texture and colour and a cultural aspect. I’m big on culture, and I guess from the background I come from, it stood me in good stead.
How did you get involved with Fear the Walking Dead?It was so funny, because my agent said to me “So, what next?” and I said “I don’t know, I want to go somewhere warm and exotic,” and when she emailed me that Fear the Walking Dead were interested in me, I was like “I don’t do zombies!” I’d never done a zombie show, or anything post-apocalyptic. The Leftovers was an interesting show, but it was certainly not post-apocalyptic.
Anyway, I watched some of the series. I was brought on in season three and it was shooting in Mexico so she was like “Well, it’s warm and exotic, so…” I watched the show and it was really scary. I thought “I don’t know if I can do this,” but what connected me to the story was that it was about a family. The apocalypse and zombies was in the background not the foreground. The family drama is what connected me. Then I met with Dave Erickson and Andrew Bernstein and it was just such an instant creative connection with both of them.
I was interviewing for two shows – I’m not going to say what the other show was – but that evening, and I don’t know if they were aware of it at all, or whether my agent had even mentioned it, I got an email from Dave saying “We’ve put in an offer for you and please let me know if here is anything I can do from my end. I want you on the show!.” He just went on to say how much he enjoyed meeting me and that he wanted my creative eye and influence to come on board and it was just such a lovely email that I thought “I’ve got to join this team!.”
I got that and it was great. Sadly Dave’s gone off to do another show and this season we have new showrunners, Ian Goldberg and Andrew Shambliss, and my connection to the show is still there and I’m having a great time, both personally and creatively. It’s a great show to be on, the actors and the scripts are great.
Read the full interview here
