One of “Brooklyn Nine- Nine’s” cutest characters is Amy Santiago. She has an insane obsession with rules and structure, will make binders for everything, holds herself to impossible standards, and is completely fixated on earning Captain Holt’s (Andre Braugher) favour. She accepts that she is a goody-two-shoes.
Amy’s drive to assert control over every aspect of her life results in chronic tension. She is prone to episodes of worry and panic when things don’t go her way, which also becomes one of her character’s defining characteristics. The character Melissa Fumero auditioned for is considerably different from the one who ended up in the programme, according to the actress who portrayed Amy on the NBC sitcom for eight seasons. Originally conceived as a self-assured, tough girl, Amy Santiago was later based on Fumero’s personal struggles with anxiety.
‘I was so nervous shooting the pilot’
Amy Santiago’s anxiety and awkwardness increased with each episode of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” a quality Melissa Fumero believes was added after her character audition. The actress discussed how Amy initially resembled Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) in a Buzzfeed interview from last year, and how she changed with each subsequent iteration.
The actress had the following to say:
“I did [audition for Amy originally], but she was very different in the audition. She was really confident, like a tough girl, you know? It’s funny because especially seeing how Rosa turned out, it’s almost like the original version of Amy and Rosa would’ve been too similar. I remember my test with Andy [Samberg] even the dynamic was different. She was always trying to top him, and there was a real competitiveness with them.”
Was Amy Santiago inspired by Fumero?
Fumero believed that the authors built Santiago after her and made her more awkward and uneasy as the show progressed since she was so anxious when filming the pilot.
“I was so nervous shooting the pilot and was so dorky and awkward; I’ve convinced myself that the writers were watching me and were like, ‘We should write that in,’ because with every draft after the pilot she got more awkward and more anxious.”
Whether or not Amy Santiago was influenced by Fumero, her anxious nature made her one of the most likeable and endearing characters on the show. Some of the things that make “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” so fantastic are seeing her humorous interplay with her coworkers, her improbable reverence for Captain Holt, and her rivalry with Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg).
