Fox
Fox
Fox
Fox
Fox
Fill 1
Fill 1
March 28, 2017
Online Originals

In the Process

Emily Deschanel says goodbye to Bones after 12 years.

Melissa Byers

Emily Deschanel is not a hustler.

After 12 seasons starring in Fox's Bones, Deschanel is in no hurry to jump into another project.

"I'm feeling good! I'm still kind of transitioning and recovering, but I feel like I'm starting to get my stride back, my new life without the show. I have no intentions right now of acting in the near future, but, I'm just trying to take some time away, because I feel like I need to kind of reset – I don't want to jump into anything quite yet, and I'm enjoying time with my kids, which was challenging, doing a TV show.

"And I'm organizing my house, and there's so many things to do, so I feel like I'm still in the transition period, for sure, but I'm enjoying my time off."

She recognizes that her attitude is somewhat different from others in the industry, including her long time co-star David Boreanaz. "I know David Boreanaz has already jumped on to do another show, and that's amazing. I personally just can't imagine jumping from that, from finishing Bones to another show. It's just not me. I need time to process what that was, and all that."

Not that she has any regrets about how she has spent the last 12 years.

"It was huge, a huge period of time for me. It gave me financial security and all that, and beyond that, it was an incredible way to spend 12 years, to have a job like that, to play a character that I really love playing, to work with people I loved working with so much. To get to follow the story of Temperance Brennan, as well as the other characters over so many years, is such a gift, and so incredible.

"But, it's also exhausting to do, and so I just physically need time to recover and recuperate from that."

Of course, Deschanel and the rest of the cast also had real lives during that time and also went through a lot of changes. She says, "Yeah, I got married, had kids. There's so many transitions that happened for me, and, really, everyone who worked on the show has had so many different things that we've gone through. Everyone has been through so many different things.

"And, you know, we just lost our second family, which is kind of crazy. We're so used to working together, so that's what I miss the most is working with all those folks – the actors and the crew."

Taking time to regroup, to take time for life outside the work, is simply a part of who Deschanel is. "It just feels right to me. I want to process what I just went through over 12 years, spend the time with my kids that I haven't had the time to do, and spend time for myself, and get my life in order, and then move on from there.

"I know there's something about this business, and I think probably something in general, with work, I guess maybe just culturally, and maybe this is true of most cultures, people want you to keep moving, 'what's next, what's happening, what are you doing now, what are you doing next, what are you doing now,' instead of it being more typical for people to just have time where they're not doing something.

"Or, you have to pretend to be doing something when you're not doing something.

"I felt that pressure before. I remember going to an audition, and I think you're supposed to hustle and pretend like you're just so busy working all the time. And I remember them saying to me, 'Well, what have you been up to?' And I'm like, 'I just went camping, that was fun.' Not what they expected to hear. Even if you have no work, pretend you're working, pretend you have something.

"Personally, especially for the way you're working for a series, you're working a lot of hours, long days, and for me, I felt like I lost time with my children, and I wanted to spend that time with them. So, whatever I do in the future, at least in the near future, it's will be shorter periods of time."

It might be difficult to find another situation as good as the one she just finished. "I've often talked about how the casting director has done such an amazing job of casting, not only actors that were great at playing the roles that they were cast in, but also that they're just lovely people that really fit into the group incredibly well. I'm just amazed by that.

"There hasn't been one person they cast that didn't fit in well with the group. Even all the interns. Really incredible people, onscreen and off. We're very fortunate. I'm so grateful for that. I'll be friends with them for life."

Deschanel also has some parting words for fans of the show. "We're so thankful to all of our fans who have followed us in so many different time slots and every weekday over the years, so loyal. We wouldn't have made 12 years on this series without them. And we're so lucky, so lucky to have had such amazing fans."

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