“Ozark” star Jessica Frances Dukes wasn’t about to let the New York City subway system derail her audition for the role of FBI agent and forensic accountant Maya Miller.

In an exclusive interview with Page Six, the actress reveals how intensely she prepared for the goofy role opposite Jason Bateman (Marty Byrde) and Laura Linney (Wendy Byrde), whose characters are caught up in a complicated financial crisis. laundering scheme that took their families to the Ozarks.

“I was a fan of the show before I auditioned, so I’d probably watched Seasons 1 and 2 multiple times because I’m a huge Jason Bateman fan; I’m a huge Laura Linney fan. “I thought, ‘I’m studying,'” Dukes, 43, said of the four-season Netflix series.

While Dukes “watched the first season for fun,” he watched Season 2 to “study” and “dig deeper.”

The actress, who will star in the upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama series “Earth Abides,” said she “couldn’t believe it when the (‘Ozark’) auditions came,” and her reaction was overwhelming. “No.”

But he thought to himself: “I’ll go anyway. I will enter this room. I will end this audition.

Not only was Dukes “late for the audition because of the trains in New York,” but he also wasn’t suited for the role.

“I had to go in and I was wearing, I think, a fro-hawk, some leather tights, and a jean trench coat; it looked nothing like Maya Miller. And that’s how I had to do my audition,” she recalls.

But Dukes, who got into live theater, was confident in his preparation and abilities, telling us: “I did the work. I knew the show very well and I said, ‘I know I’m talking to Jason Bateman in these scenes.’ I know who Marty is. I watch him a lot. I got that.” .’”

The actor said he “received the call after a month”.

As if the news itself wasn’t enough to celebrate, Dukes was told that Agent Maya Miller was moving from a recurring role to a series regular, recalling the showrunners telling her: “We’re ready to go on this journey with you. ”

Dukes, who is currently filming Season 3 of the historical drama series “The Gilded Age,” says filming “Ozark” was “one of the best experiences of my life.”

It was also one of the funniest. Despite the “heavy” nature of the series, Dukes reveals that it’s pure comedy behind the scenes.

“It was the funniest set ever,” he says with a laugh, calling Bateman, 55, “the king of comedy.”

“When you watch him you get a sense of exactly who he is. There is no ego when you walk on set. There is no such thing as ‘I am better’. “He’s a real family man to Bateman,” Dukes adds. “Laura is really funny.”

According to Dukes, social banter and laughter would continue “until ‘Action!'”

Although it wasn’t a funny moment, there was one particular scene involving Linney, 60, who had an “astonishing”, “career goal” that Dukes described as one of her “favorite moments as an actress.”

“Every day I spent with him was like a master class,” Dukes marvels. “We had a scene. He just walks in and says, ‘I’m going to do this a few different ways.’ He walks out of the room and I’m like, ‘Okay.’

“We do the first take and she does it like the sweetest person in the world. He walks out of the room (and) ‘Cut!’ they shout. I said, ‘Okay, great.’ (They shout,) ‘Action!’ She comes back and does it like the Wicked Witch of the West and says ‘Cut!’ they shout. And he goes out. Then he came back and they did it again and it was like he was selling me cookies! And I said, ‘What just happened?’ I thought.

Dukes explains that her theater background allows her to “react openly and fairly” to whatever way Linney approaches the stage.

“The best scene to watch is when someone isn’t planning or taking action,” Dukes says, calling the experience “simply amazing.”