Dance informs Katerina Tannenbaum’s acting as well as her daily life. “There’s such an awareness that comes with it," explains the 29-year-old Portland native, who originally moved to New York to attend dance school before pivoting to theater. “If you can clock the muscle connecting your left toe to your shin, then you can probably tell when someone is a little off in the room.” It’s a skill that’s served her well. For several seasons of Better Call Saul, Tannenbaum played Amber, the meth-addicted girlfriend of Nacho, a career criminal with a big heart. Determined to avoid falling into a caricature, she ate a carton of ice cream during her audition tape—something just clicked. Outside of the six-season AMC series, Tannenbaum’s resumé includes several supporting roles in critical darlings, including the short-lived but beloved series Sweetbitter as well as the teen comedy Betty.
In 2021, Tannenbaum got her big break when she joined the cast of HBO’s Sex and the City revival series And Just Like That… as Carrie Bradshaw’s neighbor, Lisette. She was offered the role by creator Michael Patrick King, with whom she had worked on the Netflix series AJ and the Queen. A majority of Tannenbaum’s scenes are opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, from whom the young actor learned a lot. “She has an ability to be really direct about what she needs, which is really hard to do in this industry: be direct, but also kind,” Tannenbaum says of her co-star. As she’s currently filming the second season of And Just Like That…, the actor can’t say too much about what’s to come, except that the looks are “fab.” It’s not the only project her lips are sealed about—she’s also in the midst of writing her first feature film. “Dance has given me a great amount of focus and discipline and groundedness,” she notes. “Being in your body allows you to move out of your mind.
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