Fresh off Broadway and her film debut in The Devil Wears Prada 2, Helen J. Shen is sinking her teeth into her next role in the upcoming CBS comedy Eternally Yours.

Helen J. Shen has never been afraid of a little blood. The New Jersey native and classically trained pianist made her New York theater debut in Teeth, the famously bloody musical based on the cult film, before originating the role of Claire in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. While performing eight shows a week, she was simultaneously shooting her first feature film, The Devil Wears Prada 2, sometimes filming in the morning before heading to the Belasco Theatre for that evening’s performance.

Now, Shen is entering another new chapter. In the upcoming CBS comedy Eternally Yours, she plays Emma, a vampire whose relationship with a human causes some complications for her centuries-old family. The role brings together Shen’s affinity for darker, more macabre material with her comedic instincts.

Sophie Elgort photographed Shen and sat down with her to talk about the path that brought her from classical piano to Broadway, making her film debut alongside Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, and sinking her teeth into what comes next.

SOPHIE ELGORT: I heard a little bit about your history over lunch, but I wanted to hear about how you got started and how you got to where you are today.

HELEN J. SHEN: I’m a Jersey girl. I grew up in New Jersey and I actually started as a classical pianist.

ELGORT: What were some of your favorite pieces as a classical pianist?

SHEN: Great question. Chopin Nocturne in D-flat major. Heaven. I still will whip that out and just play it because it feels so good.

ELGORT: That’s a pretty serious thing to whip out. It’s a good party trick.

SHEN: Yeah. Oh, this? I still have it. I just tickle the ivories sometimes.

So I did that, but then I felt the calling to theater, and I went to musical theater school at the University of Michigan. Go Blue! I graduated in 2022, and after that, I was doing some cool theater things. I was at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Off-Broadway doing the musical Teeth, which is based on the cult film Teeth.

ELGORT: I was trying to understand the premise of it earlier.

SHEN: Yeah, I had a great time. There was a lot of blood involved.

ELGORT: Was that your first real major production?

SHEN: In New York, yes. I had done a production of The Lonely Few in L.A. at the Geffen Theater, which I later did in New York as well. And while I was doing that, I auditioned for and then got my Broadway show, which was Maybe Happy Ending. And that was the last two years of my life. Such a crazy whirlwind.

It came out of nowhere, seemingly. I got to audition for this piece that I felt really inspired by. And then all I did was go into the room and try to show what my version of the material wanted to be. And they happened to like it.

We opened in November 2024 and kept running, and I left the show in February of this year.

ELGORT: Wow. That’s a long run. How many shows a week?

SHEN: Eight shows a week. I did, I think, around 525 performances by the time I left. So that was really amazing. And the piece was so good. I just had a great time doing it.

ELGORT: That's awesome. And then, at the same time...

SHEN: At the same time, I was doing The Devil Wears Prada 2. And so I would shoot the movie in the morning, and then I would walk across the street and go to my dressing room to then play Claire. It was convenient that they were in the same area.

ELGORT: Tell me about the audition process for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

SHEN: Yeah, it was just a silly tape that I sent in. I thought, “Oh, this would be a fun project to be a part of, The Devil Wears Prada 2. I love the first one.”

And then I think a couple months later, I got my last callback for it. And then David Frankel, the director, came to see Maybe Happy Ending. The people backstage were like, “Now, there’s a big director here.” And I was like, “Oh yeah, that’s David. We just had a Zoom yesterday. Come on back.”

And he was so nice and tried to allude to the fact that I got the part, but I didn’t want to believe him. I just kept being like, incredulously, “Yeah, sure. Of course. It’s really nice of you to come see the show.”

I thought that this was my last audition, maybe, to see me work. And then he was like, “No, actually, Helen, you did get it.” He had to explicitly tell me.

ELGORT: You wanted to know it was a thing before you got excited.

SHEN: Right. I don’t want to put any carts before any horses. We all know how that goes.

And it was so much fun to do. And it’s such a New York movie. It’s a fashion movie. I loved getting to play dress-up and getting to learn a lot from the actors that I was working with.

ELGORT: That’s a major cast.

SHEN: It’s a major cast. And being Andy Sachs’ assistant kind of mirrored my own feelings about being a new person to film, and I wanted to learn everything I could from Anne Hathaway.

ELGORT: That’s really cool, actually. You were the junior person in the film, but then also the junior person on the set.

SHEN: It mirrored it completely, I feel like. And growing up in New Jersey, actually, Anne Hathaway also did the same Paper Mill Playhouse program that I did. So I’ve always looked up to her.

And so we got to talk about our theater teacher who we grew up with, who left such a huge impact on both of us, respectively. And we just got to be theater kids together, which was really fun.

ELGORT: What did you like about the role?

SHEN: I really enjoyed that she was a moment of levity for so much of it, and then also provides a huge saving piece of the puzzle. Not to spoil anything, but you should have seen it already.

I was excited that she has a different way of thinking and therefore uses those kinds of seemingly frivolous or silly ways in, and then actually helps solve a problem. She knows there’s a problem, she gets after it, and just does it.

I think she also alludes to the fact that she is a thrifty kind of person, and I feel like she gathered a lot of fashion moments and was always observing and learning from the things around her. So she had this cute Baby-G watch and these vintage glasses, and then the Gaultier dress at the end, where she found a misspelled listing. Very thrifty, very resourceful.

ELGORT: And kind of like Andy Sachs’ character in the first movie, a little bit.

SHEN: Yeah. I think they wanted really to ask: Why are we making another movie now? I feel like they wanted to really ask a question about what about the fashion world and the print media world, and the journalism world, has changed since 20 years ago. And it’s changed so massively. I feel like that’s the heart of the movie.

And it didn’t have to be, because we were all excited to see their world again. But then Aline decided to actually write a very heartfelt, substantive piece, and I think we’re all very proud of our roles in it.

ELGORT: Becoming a working actor, let alone a successful working actor, is something that so many people dream about but never get to do. How does it feel to have come this far? Do you have any advice for people who want to follow in your footsteps?

SHEN: Yeah. I think I feel really grateful that I’ve stuck to my own guns while learning about myself in the process. There are a lot of forces that can pull you in certain ways.

And I’m a people pleaser, so I kind of want to do and fit into all the boxes that everybody wants to put me in. But I think I’ve been very proud of the fact that, when it actually comes down to it, I have stuck to what feels authentic to myself. And at the end of the day, that’s all I can really go off of, and I feel proud of that.

ELGORT: What about what’s next for you?

SHEN: I am going to Montreal to film this TV show called Eternally Yours. It’s the same pilot writers as the writers from the Ghosts adaptation in America, Joe Port and Joe Wiseman.

They had made this pilot, I think it was like 15 years ago, before they wrote anything for Ghosts. And it was kind of their calling card to write Ghosts. So this is like a resurrected baby of sorts for them.

And so it’s exciting to be part of making that dream a reality for them. And I get to play a vampire, which is really exciting.

ELGORT: More blood.

SHEN: More blood. I’ve always really resonated with darker, more macabre things. But it’s a comedy, so I think it’s actually a wonderful meeting of my worlds. So I’m really excited about that.

ELGORT: And I know you’re doing music as well.

SHEN: Yes. I’m hoping to release some stuff. Hopefully, I mean, fingers crossed it’s like the fall or winter. But these things take time. I’m enjoying the process of writing more so than anything else.

ELGORT: And then you also play an instrument in the pieces?

SHEN: Yeah. I’m hoping to incorporate some of my piano. Maybe the Chopin Nocturne will come into play. You know, a little riff.

ELGORT: We’ll sample a little bit of Chopin’s Nocturne.

SHEN: It’s actually a great idea.

ELGORT: I know. Write it down. I’ll be sure to listen for that when I see you perform live. And tell me, favorite advice you’ve ever received, and who was it from? 

SHEN: Favorite advice. My grandma has always been super wise. I’ve had a lot of really strong female family members in my upbringing, and I feel like that’s a huge tenet of who I am.

And she was always saying, especially since I decided to become an actor or an artist, “It’s really important for you to have thick skin.” Because, you know, it’s important to be sensitive and stuff, but to not let it completely bog you down when somebody has an opinion about you or says something.

And she couldn’t have possibly understood how relevant it would be in the age of the internet and comments and stuff. I’m really grateful that she, and all of my family, want to keep my feet on the ground. 

And I would also give that advice to other people who are hoping to pursue their artistry in a public-facing way. It’s going to be hard, and thick skin is necessary, I think.

ELGORT: And what’s the worst advice you’ve ever received, if you’ve received anything bad?

SHEN: I feel like you could twist this advice, but it’s basically like, “If you could think about doing anything else in the world, do that.”

Because I think that that’s good advice for some, but you could spin it in your own way. I think if you hear that advice and it spurs you to keep going, then it did its job. But if it stops you from doing it, then there are a lot of other avenues.

And I don’t think that there’s an end-all, be-all to success. I think success actually is about your fulfillment and happiness. So it can look a lot of different ways.

ELGORT: That’s good bad advice. We spun it.