let us count the ways Erika Henningsen is one to watch. she is currently starring in season 2 of The Four Seasons nailing her standout performance as dental hygienist Ginny. it’s a stellar cast starring Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte and Marco Calvani. Erika also lends her incredible voice to the animated series Hazbin Hotel as Charlie Morningstar which has helped it become a huge hit. this multi-talented beauty also electrified on stage last year in the musical Just in Time on Broadway. Erika is a slice of bright, authentic and positive energy that was so uplifting and inspiring to be around. so scroll on down and check our shoot and Erika’s thoughts on personal style, what she’s learned from the Four Seasons cast, secret project hints, New York memories and a lovely list of bare essentials. can’t wait for more from this refreshing sparkling spirit.

the bare magazine: What aspects of your character Ginny are most compelling and challenging for you as an actor?

Erika Henningsen: Particularly for Season 2, I loved getting to play Ginny's vulnerability and fear. I think in Season 1, she was a sort of bolt of sunshine that crash landed into this group of friends and I had a lot of fun playing the different colors of that while still ensuring I didn't slide into archetype territory. But with Season 2, our writers and EPs no longer have the incredible blueprint of the original film to adhere to, so we get to see Ginny morph from an "outsider", desperate to keep the peace, to an "insider" with this group of friends: someone who not only wants to be around them, but, in the case of Anne,needs to be around them as she figures out how to raise a child. I love that we got to see Ginny as more than just the young millennial girlfriend this season: she's a new mom, struggling to take ownership of that identity. It was really compelling to unearth those layers of her, to find what is underneath the shiny, unfettered joy we see in Season 1.

bare: For anyone tuning in to Four Seasons, what in your opinion will they love the most about the show?

EH: The banter. There are one liners in this show that I think people will SWEAR our writers stole from their own living rooms. I love the way Tina Fey and her writing team can craft a one liner that is at once incredibly specific but also wholly universal to anyone who has been in a long term relationship/friendship.

bare: Seems like you and the cast have such incredible chemistry - do you feel you're evolving as an actor and inspired by working alongside such a talented group?

EH: 100%. I have learned so much from working with this cast. This is deeply saccharine and I'm sure they'd hate this because they really do treat me like an equal, but I'll just list a few things. From Tina; I've learned that simplicity of delivery can be your greatest comic asset. From Kerri; I've learned to not concern myself with getting it 'right', but to stay open to where the scene is taking me. From Will; I have learned that our biggest, boldest impulses are often the funniest. From Colman, I learned that just letting the camera "watch me think" is often enough. From Marco, I learned that our idiosyncrasies are the things that make us incredibly enjoyable to watch. Oh! And from Steve Carrell: don't be an asshole and you'll probably work more than anyone else.

bare: What projects coming up are you looking forward to?

EH: I have an animation project coming out on Netflix hopefully soon (fingers crossed!) that I am so deeply proud of. I recorded it while I was also starring in JUST IN TIME on Broadway last year and it kind of came together in a fever dream sort of way, but I got to see a rough cut episode the other week and it's just fantastic. Also, to be honest? The first time I read this, I thought the question meant: "what projects in general are you looking forward to most" not specifically my projects. So I'm going to roll with that impulse and shout out the screen adaptation of JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN. I am very much looking forward to that.

bare: Do you enjoy visiting NYC? What do you love about it?

EH: So, I'm actually an NYC-er who JUST recently moved to LA. My husband and I are California kids and we just felt like it was time for a change. Nonetheless, it was really hard to leave. I built my whole life and community here for ten plus years. I feel like my roots run very deep in New York: I still talk to people from the front desk job I held at Equinox when I first moved to Manhattan, I remain in touch with the parents of families I babysat for, I love the feeling of running into fellow actors I've been in the theatrical trenches with on the subway etc. And it's not just people, it's the very specific personal landmarks I have here that evoke visceral memories. I cannot pass 16 Cornelia Street without thinking of my fifth floor walk up studio apartment (shared with THREE other roommates) when I interned in the city for a summer. I am shooketh seeing people in line for Shakespeare in the Park as I had a terrible breakup with a boyfriend before we sat, in silence, through Measure for Measure one summer. And anytime I'm in Astoria, I have to stop at one particular bagel shop where I had the best BEC of my life after a night of New Years' debauchery: I'm just trying to recreate the experience. So I guess what I love is the history that I have here.

bare: can you share some or your style inspiration while putting together some looks for our shoot?

EH: We squeezed this shoot in between press interviews for THE FOUR SEASONS, which is kind of my favorite type of shoot. I am notoriously difficult in the makeup chair: I don't like sitting still for longer than an hour, and I definitely can't go from a lengthy styling session into an overly posed shoot. I loved working with Tina Turnbow on this because it felt like guerilla-style photography. We ran with impulse, pulling clothes that felt like various parts of my personality and shooting in whatever whimsical corner or liminal space that caught our eye. I am most at home in a tank top and jeans, ergo our cover piece. but I often find myself playing highly femme characters. This last year, I originated the role of Sandra Dee in the Broadway hit JUST IN TIME opposite Jonathon Groff. I loved the classic Hollywood style of that era and getting to disappear into a full skirt and Hitchcock blonde wig every night. Something about Converse paired with a black and white Simkhai gown felt like an homage to the NorCal girl I am on the inside while still acknowledging the dolled up "Lady with a capital L" I love getting tasked with portraying on the outside.

I started the shoot in a simple Reformation slip (loaned to me by Tina). I loved starting out so bare and simple, it felt like a great way for both me and Tina to find one another's groove while we shot. Also, I love the 90s/early-aughts lace trim on this. I had tanks just like this back in middle school

bare: What are your favorite ways to escape and treat yourself when you need to recharge? Favorite music, hobbies or treatments?

EH: Hiking with my cattle dog, Lennox. Honestly, a huge reason I moved to LA was so I could get to the mountains in less than 15 minutes. I grew up in Northern California and my happy place has always been on a long, rugged walk. No music, no phone. Just some novice bird watching and pretending to identify plants for my dog... who could care less. If I need a sedentary recharge? Bath. Book. Bordeaux. I'm reading an insanely engaging book right now called TRUST EXERCISE which starts as a sort of tell-all from the perspective of a student at a performing arts high school. Juicy enough, until halfway through the narrator switches and shit. gets. interesting.

In terms of treatments? Look. LA made me do it. I like a lymphatic massage. They work!