Jenna Dewan is happy her eldest daughter, Everly, is a fan of her show The Rookie — but one of her treacherous stunts almost turned the 11-year-old off it for good.
“It’s funny, we just started watching it because [I] had all these 10-year-olds coming up to me and saying, ‘I love The Rookie,’” Dewan, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, September 19, while promoting her partnership with Neostrata. “And I said, ‘Oh gosh, I guess I should be letting Everly watch this.’”
Dewan, who plays firefighter and EMT Bailey Nune on the ABC series, recalled thinking the show was full of “really intense action scenes.” She ultimately let Everly watch the police drama, noting, “This is part of her evolving and changing. And I was like, ‘Oh, I guess she could be able to watch this now.’”
The actress, however, didn’t think to filter which episode the mother-daughter duo started with. (Dewan shares Everly with ex-husband, Channing Tatum. She is also the mother of son Callum, 4, and daughter Rhiannon, 3 months, whom she shares with fiancé Steve Kazee.)
Jenna Dewan, Everly Tatum. Courtesy of Jenna Dewan/Instagram
“There’s an episode where I get stuck into this tank that starts filling up with water, and I almost drown,” Dewan told Us, confessing, “Maybe it wasn’t the best first episode to show her.”
Dewan remembered Everly being “really scared” during the season 5 episode. In the scene, Bailey treads water while her fiancé, police officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), tries to figure out how to free her before the spikes on the bottom of the tank crush her or she drowns.
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“[Everly’s] like, ‘Mom, are you [OK]? What’s going to happen?’ I was like, ‘Well, it’s a nail-biter,’” Dewan teased. “But [then] I was like, ‘But I’m fine. I’m fine. I film other episodes after this. It’s going to be OK.’”
The Rookie cast have become bona fide stars, including Nathan Fillion, Jenna Dewan, Alyssa Diaz and Richard T. Jones, and fans are obsessed with their love lives — on and off camera. The ABC series follows the story of John Nolan, a recently divorced 40-something, who decides to pursue a career as a police officer […]
Dewan revealed that after Everly got through the stressful scene “she loved it” and was onboard. “She’s like, ‘This is so good. But Mom, that was really scary,’” she told Us. “She’s gotten into it, but it took me a while.”
The Step Up actress, for her part, enjoyed her summer with her three kids after welcoming her youngest baby girl, Rhiannon, in June. Two months after giving birth, Dewan was back on set filming season 7 of The Rookie.
Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune in “The Rookie. Disney/Matt Sayles
“The Rookie is so accommodating, and the people are so lovely and I’m really grateful,” Dewan told Us of her return to work. “I’m really grateful that I’m able to bring Rhi [to] set with me, and she comes with me to work. I’m able to have her in the makeup trailer and spend time with her after every scene.”
She noted that being able to breastfeed in between scenes has been a godsend but confessed that she’s suffering from a bit of Mom Brain. “Mentally, to go from postpartum fog to remembering lines … that was a bit of a transition,” she admitted.
Dewan teased that her 3-month-old seems to “enjoy all the love and attention” she’s getting on set as well. “Balancing it all is a continual lesson of mine, and sometimes I’m great at it, sometimes I’m not so great at it and I just keep learning,” she added.
In addition to working on The Rookie set in Los Angeles and juggling three kids, Dewan recently teamed up with Neostrata to revive her skin post-pregnancy. (She swears by the Triple Firming Neck Cream.)
Jenna Dewan Neostrata
“I love the vitamin C, I love the glycolic face wash and I love the acid pads for that,” Dewan told Us of using the products. “I also found this triple firming neck cream that they have, which has been full on [an] answered prayer because a lot of times you start seeing, ‘Oh, I want it to be a little more lifted,’ or ‘I want to be a little more sculpted or some fine lines.’”
She explained, “I only have two minutes to put skincare on, and my life’s too busy. And it works and you really start to notice.” Dewan gushed, “It starts to ferment and sculpt, and your fine lines get lighter and it’s effective. It’s so good.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi