‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Rebecca Amzallag Talks New Character Lacey: ‘She’s An Eye Opener for Laura’ (Exclusive)
Learn more about the new character of Lacey in Netflix’s adaptation of ‘Little House on the Prairie’
Key Takeaways
- Rebecca Amzallag details her new character, Lacey, on 'Little House on the Prairie'.
- The actress was excited to dive into an entirely new role that was written for this show.
- Amzallag has a few projects in the works with one having wrapped filming just recently.
For Rebecca Amzallag, diving into a brand new character on Netflix’s adaptation of Little House on the Prairie was exciting. Despite reimagining a version of an already beloved story, the actress was able to embrace a brand new role that was created from scratch for this project.
“Lacey, although a new character and quite a different character from the other ones, feels completely possible,” Amzallag shared exclusively with Woman’s World. “I loved developing her backstory and just thinking about what her experience might have been.”
The Canadian born Amzallag has known that acting was her calling ever since the age of 7 when she saw her brother perform in a play while living in France. Although acting was considered more of a hobby in her family, she continued to follow her passions, performing in musicals once she relocated back to Canada at age 11. She later attended Concordia University and although she initially considered a career in speech pathology, she still had the acting bug. It wasn’t until about age 24 that Amzallag signed with an agent and decided to pursue the career full time.
For those who may be meeting the actress for the first time through her role in the Netflix adaptation, Amzallag can be seen in quite a few other projects. These include A Sister’s Revenge (2013), an episode of Beauty and the Beast (2016), a few episodes of Slasher (2017-2019), Titans (2022-2023) and Hello Darling (2025).
Now, Amzallag is ready to step into the world of the Ingalls family as Lacey Aubert, who is described as “a beautiful and happily widowed outcast who owns a card room and bar on the edge of town.” In the conversation that follows, the actress discusses her character and what it was like joining the Little House universe in an entirely new role.
Woman’s World: Can you share a bit about your character, Lacey, and what drew you to the role?
Rebecca Amzallag: [Lacey is ] a very singular character in the show, because she represents all of the things that the characters of Laura and Caroline cannot be. It’s a really cool kind of mirror effect there. Lacey is happily widowed, which was the first descriptive word for her, which is hilarious. When I read that, I was, like, “Ooh, I can really write a backstory to this,” but she is the person who runs alcohol, gambling, guns, ammunition—anything from the black market. Even though it comes off as something not with a lot of integrity, she is very true to her own values. She’s very loyal, she likes to fight for the underdog and she’s a lot of fun. She’s also an eye opener for Laura. In the grand scheme of the show, Laura needs to know it’s possible; that it’s a representation of what freedom can be. It doesn’t have to be this kind of stagnant, boring life.
WW: Little House on the Prairie has a huge fanbase that goes back so many decades. 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?
Rebecca Amzallag: It’s funny because I lived in Europe when I was the age I would be watching this show. So, from age 6 to 12, I was in France and even though the French are very big fans of Little House on the Prairie, I didn’t watch it. I was deep in the world of anime. When it came to Little House, it was only the books that I had a relationship with, so it didn’t feel as scary as it might have if I’d watched the show.
It’s really wonderful because the story is being retold in a more historically accurate way, a more complex way, a more diverse way, for the folks who watched it to go, “Oh, okay, this is interesting, this is new.” And especially if the folks also read the books, because the books are 100% diverse and tell the truth about the historical circumstances. It’s going to be a nice awakening, and I think kids will get to experience that with their parents in a way that might be useful in a learning capacity.
WW: How would you describe stepping into this without having a background on the character from the books or the original show?
Rebecca Amzallag: Rebecca Sonnenshine, our amazing showrunner, is so talented, of course, but she took the essence of the book into all the scripts. So reading the books and then getting into the scripts, it felt the same. The mood was the same, the themes, the imagery, the descriptions, the way of speaking. So Lacey, although a new character and quite a different character from the other ones, feels completely possible. There’s other characters that are also not in the book that I thought filled out the picture of characteristics of people of the time. Rebecca really created such an easy character to match the world, so I didn’t feel any which way. If anything, I loved developing her backstory and just thinking about what her experience might have been.
WW: Given that, how did you prepare for this role?
Rebecca Amzallag: I haven’t taken his class in a while, but Larry Moss is a great acting teacher, and when working on any character, he would have you write out a day in the life. If you ever really thought about every action, every piece of clothing you put on, everything that’s in your house that you would see, you build the history of a person. So the day in the life exercise is really kind of a wonderful practice for me. Even in this office right now, to the right of me is the art my dad made, and behind me is a couch I got on Facebook Marketplace that I really like. All these things are old history, recent history
WW: What has been your favorite part about this role or the project in general?
Rebecca Amzallag: I learned how to horseback ride, which has been a dream of mine since I was little. I’ve ridden horses here and there, but I did not know how to do it to the level that I was taught, and that was so exciting.
Also, the cast that was brought together is unbelievable. We were fast friends. We rented cottages together, and we spent time together. When I go to California, I get to see some of the cast and we hang out. It’s so warm and so loving, and it’s not always the case. The ensemble was so together and it was really, really special, and I will forever remember it as a true summer camp team experience as a grown person.
WW: If you could describe this new adaptation in three words, what would they be?
Rebecca Amzallag: I would say it’s authentic. I would say it’s joyful and warm.
WW: Which cast member do you think would be able to survive pioneer life the best?
Rebecca Amzallag: Not that I would be last on the list, but I’m not the one. I’m dying midway through the movie. Luke [Bracey, who plays Charles Ingalls], actually, even though he is a pretty reserved man, is a very outdoorsy person. I think he would be the one to survive. The thing is, because I know Meegwun [Fairbrother] and Alyssa [Wapanatâhk] are both very involved in their heritage and being with their elders and learning the ways in which their tribes lived, they probably have a skill level that I can’t imagine. So, my money is on Luke or Meegwun.
WW: What’s one thing you’ve learned from this experience that you’ll carry into future projects?
Rebecca Amzallag: I would keep with me that long hours, hot sun, being away from home when you’re in a production that is, from the top down, so considerate, responsible and loving, it can be a dream, even if it’s challenging. I cannot credit Joy [Gorman Wettels] and Rebecca [Sonnenshine], enough because they built such a humane set and made sure everyone was taken care of.
WW: Speaking of future projects, are there any in the works you can share with our readers?
Rebecca Amzallag: I have one other project, which is also a period piece, but set in the 50s. I’ve just finished doing a movie with Theo James, Vince Vaughn and Patrick Schwarzenegger. It was really fun. It is by a wonderful director named Craig Zahler, who is known for his hyper violent movies with really, really fun characters—a lot of them are buddy movies with underdogs taking on the bad guys, and I got to play another French widow, which is amazing. It’s called The Bookie & the Bruiser and they just wrapped the movie last week. It’s such a different environment, the conditions that people live in in very different sociopolitical times, and with very different access to comfort technology. It’s cool.
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