The Better Sister’s Elizabeth Banks & Jessica Biel Explain Their Sibling Dynamic
He says, “Hey, Nikki, I got here as soon as I could.” This show’s absolutely incredible. I’ve watched it twice just to make sure that I could see all the little the little little uh uh Easter eggs that were left along the way or and they are all there. Incredible. Incredible job. Now, this series explores the idea of two people can grow up in the same household but walk away with very different truths. How did that idea excite you in the development of your performance? It’s such a like an integral part of these performances that that these two sisters grew up in very different households, grew up being told mistruths that that have really, you know, sent them down different paths in their lives, paths that they regret, paths that they, at least from the Khloe’s standpoint, you know, is literally haunted by the choices that she’s made towards her sister. So, um it’s it’s everything, you know, the these these things that happen to them and um these these things that they feel and think are true are the like driving forces of why they do the things that they do and why they’re estranged and how they’re now trying to get back aligned again. I mean I you know I literally speak to the past and the ghost of my father and so in the show so obviously the past one of the themes we were exploring was the deep and profound effect the past has on all of us and I think what you bring up Joe about how we were in the same house but living in two different truths that was a I I love that thematically. I mean, I’m I’m a sibling. I have uh three three sibs and I’m 11 years older than my brother. So, we had two very different parents, right? Like, we had two entirely different scenarios. you’re knowing that your parents grow and change and the relationship changes and money changes them and you know their experiences and I felt like very connected to that idea and um and also that there’s just deep lies sitting in the middle of our relationship and we don’t have the same shared reality until the end of the show when all the lies come out and now we can go oh so this is what was actually all happening the whole time And that really brings them together and and it’s lies is what divides us. I mean it’s happening all around us. So lies are they’re divisive and we had to get to the truth in order to get together. I want to talk to that theme about the past a little bit because uh Jessica Khloe is somebody who tries to move away and distance herself from the past. What was it like stepping into the mindset of someone who’s actively avoiding where they came from? It sort of creates like, you know, a compartmentalization going on all the time, right? There’s this and and that’s interesting. I think that’s interesting to play when you you you know something, but you want to keep something away. So, you’re now lying, but you but there’s a but that’s not the truth. Can you remember what you said to this person? Have you have you closed the loop on this lie? does that, you know, so it’s your brain is kind of constantly as the character just double-checking that everything is as it should be and all the things that are not supposed to be um uh told are hidden deeply away with a padlock and no one’s ever getting in there. So it just adds a layer of brain power and I think um it helps your performance or at least I was exploring you know knowing the truth thinking about the truth making a choice not to tell that truth making a choice to tell a complete different truth. So, lots of processing going on, things behind the eyes, um, you know, which is what we’re doing as humans all the time, like thinking about what lunch is and having that conversation with your mom and you and I are talking and, you know, whatever else it is that your brain is doing all at the same time. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, Elizabeth, Nikki, uh, you’ve said that Nikki feels closer to you uh, the to your true self uh, than many other characters you played. How did that personal connection shape your process in building her world? Well, I I recognized her. you know, I’m from a big family. Um, workingass people, uh, addiction and AA is something I I’ve explored with family members and friends for a long long time. And and just this sense of doing work on herself. You know, what I found fascinating about the relationship is that ni Nikki is doing is deceptive, but Chloe is selfdeceptive, right? there’s like selfdeception and uh Nikki’s had to already work through so much of that for herself through working the program. So, she comes to the scenario with a lot of deception but a lot of grace for her sister and we have to flip that, right? Like I need her to to help me with the lies and the deception and I need grace from her. And it’s very it’s an interesting, you know, dynamic that we have to like pull out of each other that she’s just lives in like she’s too walled off to actually get involved in what’s really going on here. You know, we got we have to live in like the same reality and we’re not at the beginning. And I found I found that really fun to play. I think there’s so many themes that people are going to resonate with in this series uh across the board, especially uh at the core of this. It’s a family story. Uh, but look, the show’s incredible. You guys are incredible. Thank you so much for your time. I love this series. So, thank you. Yay. Thanks, Joe. Thank you so much. Oh my god. Enough with the Jerry Springer antics. Sick burn. 1998. [Music]
ScreenRant interviews Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel about their roles as sisters in the upcoming Prime Video thriller The Better Sister.
All eight episodes of The Better Sister hit Prime Video on May 29. Read our full interview and article here: https://screenrant.com/the-better-sister-elizabeth-banks-jessica-biel-sibling-dynamic-explained-interview/
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