Crosby Fitzgerald Is Caroline Ingalls in Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’: ‘The Creators Made Ma More Than Just Ma’ (Exclusive)
Plus, find out which star from the original series paid a visit to the set of the Netflix production!
Key Takeaways
- Crosby Fitzgerald brings a new side of Caroline to life in the new 'Little House'.
- Fitzgerald shares how exciting it's been to join a show with such a dedicated fan base.
- The actress details her bond with her costars and what it was like to work together.
Crosby Fitzgerald admits she never saw herself as Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, yet when she auditioned for the new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie, she realized there was an opportunity to explore the woman behind the beloved matriarch. Rather than simply recreating an iconic television character, Fitzgerald wanted to portray Caroline as a complex wife, mother and pioneer whose quiet strength held her family together.
“I saw a really complex person who had a lot to learn about the world,” Fitzgerald said of her character in an exclusive conversation with Woman’s World. “Despite being an academic and having been a teacher, I think she still yearned to find out more about herself and about the world, which is why she went on this adventure.”
Fitzgerald is portraying Caroline in the Netflix adaptation of the classic story, which drops on July 9, and the actress is excited for fans to see another side of the iconic tale. While in conversation with the actress, Fitzgerald shared what it was like to step into the beloved role, what Little House character she is most similar to and which star from the original series paid a visit to set!
Woman’s World: Can you share a little bit about what drew you to the role?
Crosby Fitzgerald: When I got the audition, I didn’t know what to expect, and I was a little surprised that anyone could even see me as someone who is Ma or Caroline Ingalls, who I understood to be someone who’s sort of a traditional, maybe more quiet, maybe kind of in the background type of figure. Then I read the script and I loved that she is sort of a person who is extremely measured and kind of stubborn, and it’s different for me in a lot of ways, but I saw humanity in her. It was really impressive to me how the creators made Ma more than just Ma.
WW: What was it about joining Little House that excited you the most?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I read the books as a kid and my mom loves the books. It’s really hard to take a classic like this and do something with it that makes it worth re-adapting in a different way, and that the creators managed to do that in a real way. I love all of the perspectives that they include in this season and I love that they capture the essence of why people love the books in the first place. It’s the perspective of a crazy time in history through the eyes of a child, and that will always be very interesting, and it’s also a very fascinating time in history. I was really inspired by how they did it with this adaptation.
WW: What was it like signing onto this project knowing it’s an extension of the original show and books, which both have very dedicated fans?
Crosby Fitzgerald: It’s so exciting. Luckily, I didn’t know quite how dedicated the fan base was, maybe until even after filming, which is good. I think it’s a testament to the books. It’s literature that has stood the test of time, and people haven’t stopped rereading that and they’ll continue to do so. It’s daunting in a way, but it’s also really an honor. Especially with the creators, the showrunner and the executive producers who grew up with these books as well. They care about it in a way that is really key, because they were young women reading these books and coming to it through that perspective, [which] is new to TV.
WW: You mentioned that you read the books prior to booking the role. Have you seen the original series before?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I’ve seen very little of the show. My stepmom is a huge fan, so my half sisters have watched it all with her. They’re 12 years old and they like to talk about that version of it, so I hope they like it as well. We’ll see if I’m allowed back home for Thanksgiving,
WW: Of course, your character is based on a real woman, so what was it like preparing for this role? Did you watch the original show to study Caroline or read the books in preparation?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I did a kind of a mixture. I was really excited to learn about her, the real person. I read Prairie Fires, which is a cool book, because it does such a good job of situating the Ingalls family within the historical context of the time. I reread the books as well, and there’s also a book that a woman wrote called Caroline, and it’s just through the perspective of Caroline. Then I was sort of inundated with this known figure that people interpreted, and decided I needed to focus more on the script after that because the script paints a picture of a person that isn’t a stock figure. I figured that the best way to do her justice and honor her legacy was to see myself in her, see her humanity, figure out why she makes the mistakes she makes, why she grows in the way that she does, and hopefully be able to be a mirror to people, so that they can change in similar ways.
WW: Were there any Caroline traits or moments from the show/book that you knew you needed to get right for this version?
Crosby Fitzgerald: There’s something so grounded about her. She’s very measured and I really am not. I say whatever I want, I don’t fancy myself similar to her at all, and so I was really excited to be someone so different in that way. In the physical aspects, the costume helps because there’s a corset and she’s also covered from head to toe, but she also had to be so watchful of her children and of her surroundings. I saw her physicality just being very alert, almost like a hawk was how I saw her.
WW: Since you’re not like Caroline, is there a different character that you feel you’re similar to?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I feel like it’s one of those things where it’s like I wish I was a Carrie, but I’m probably a Miranda. Maybe when I was a kid, I thought I was a Laura, but maybe I’ve grown up to be a little bit more of a Mary. I’m a little more Type A than I would like to be, but I’m definitely not as Type A as Caroline. Maybe I’m more of an [Mr.] Edwards.
WW: Do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment from filming?
Crosby Fitzgerald: We filmed outside on the prairie almost every day, so there’d be times we’d eat our lunch outside, like a real picnic. Or I’d be preparing for a scene, and I get to go take a walk in a beautiful field. Also spending time with the girls—this was their summer—so it was like summer camp, and that really lifted the mood whenever it was tempting to be tired or moody. You just look over at these girls who are enjoying themselves so much, and they don’t even feel like they’re at work, even though they’re such professionals, and that just made it really fun. They were, like, ‘Teach me how to knit,’ or they would be playing guitar and making up songs from scratch, and it was just very inspiring and wholesome.
WW: The Ingalls family is a very tight knit group. What was it like to work with Alice [Halsey, Laura], Skywalker [Hughes, Mary] and Luke [Bracey, Charles] and bring that family bond to life?
Crosby Fitzgerald: Luke and I always talk about how the girls really made it easy from the start; they kind of set the tone there. As two adults who aren’t parents that are coming into this situation, it’s pretty daunting. They are preteens—that’s scary. They could hate you or you could be cool, but from the start, they welcomed us with open arms, and that made everything really easy.
WW: The original series inspired hope and offered comfort to viewers. What do you hope audiences feel when they watch this show?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I hope they feel inspired to have an open mind and to grow and change, and to sort of get to know their community more.
WW: Which cast member would be able to survive pioneer life the best? Would you do well?
Crosby Fitzgerald: I think it would have to be Skywalker [Hughes]. She actually was raised on a farm, but she also has so many practical skills. She literally taught me how to knit, and I kind of still can’t do it, but anything that someone needed to know, like how to tie a knot, she’d be, like, “I know how to do it.” It just came so easy to her. I think she would save us all in the end.
WW: The stars of the original series have shown a lot of support for this new adaptation online? Have you had the chance to speak with or meet any of them?
Crosby Fitzgerald: Melissa Gilbert came to set one day, and I got to meet her, and she was so kind, so that was really fun. It’s been really nice to see the online thumbs ups.
WW: If you could describe this new adaptation in three words, what would they be?
Crosby Fitzgerald: Kaleidoscopic, beautiful and experience.
Tune into all eight episodes of Little House on the Prairie, which drops on July 9, only on Netflix!
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