The last few years have been a trying time for the industry as well as for the artist community. How did that impact the writing ?
What we’re dealing with in the world affects everything. We had to deal with a strike during our production period, and people changed over time. I feel like you can’t have that be a part of the process. But, on the other hand, I think when you finally come out of something like that, for us, especially in terms of making this season and getting it hopefully, to be as close to what we wanted to be as possible, you feel one has had an experience which has impacted and influenced everyone. It is nice to be at this place where the audience can just sort of enjoy the show.
Adam Scott and you worked together in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ in 2013. He is known for his knack for comedy. What is the creative synergy between the two of you like?
When I started reading the script, he immediately popped into my head. I have worked with him before and have been a fan of his work. He brings a kind of persona to the show, and like any actor I knew he had so much more to offer. Adam goes deep into the stuff, and beyond what people know of him, I thought the show would allow him to do other stuff. When he read the script, he had the same thought as me, it worked for us.
‘I Love Playing Crazy Characters’
Patricia Arquette
In ‘Severance’ you play the mysterious and complex Harmony Cobel. What helped you bring the kind of freshness in portraying this unhinged, unapologetic woman?
It was fun. I love playing crazy and wild characters onscreen who don’t conform in a way. But, she works in this institution where she has to conform all the time. There’s a little wild thing in her that always wants to break away from everything, question and do something better her way. I think people don’t respond well to control. We are ironically living in times where each one of us is controlled in some way or the other.
‘Severance’ makes a strong statement against the hustle culture, and seeing the narrative unfold on screen, it’s scary to think reel may become real.
I feel like, in a lot of ways, we are severed already. People are having one relationship with one person online, and they have a family back home. People are very disconnected. They have one outward personality, and then they have a whole different personality online. So, I think it’s a very strange but the whole point of Severance is to question what you are afraid of.
What was it like collaborating with Ben Stiller again, since the two of you have done several projects like ‘Flirting with Disaster’, and ‘Escape at Dannemora’?
I love working with Ben. It’s a blast. I feel like we’re this group and he is our leader. Ben is a very collaborative teammate. I am always blown away by Ben and his talent, the way he sets up shots, the way he composes things, and the tone, which we never could understand as actors.