THR Frontrunners Q&A With ‘Long Bright River’ Star Amanda Seyfried & Exec. Producer Nikki Toscano
And you I heard that you had always wanted to play a cop. Yeah. Well, cuz no one looks at me and thinks cop and and and someone did. I was going to start with like a joke about the doulamer. That was just the most beautiful thing in the world. Are people just expecting that of you now? I don’t know. No, I don’t know. But I got more secrets to reveal as time goes on. Oh my god, that was an amazing performance though. I have to say, like even when I was watching that, I was just kind of like, is there anything this woman can’t do? Well, you made me learn the English horn. So, I did that. And you kind of weren’t as surprised. You’re like, “Yeah, well, she What? What did What did Mickey do in the book? I forget. She wanted to be a history teacher.” Right. Right. Boring. Yeah. Add the English horn. But but I it did was effective especially for me as an actor. Yeah. No, I feel like the musician thing did you know? Yeah. Elevate it and it gave you something to do. Gave you something to play. Yeah. There’s always a lot of changes that need to happen between book to series. So that was one of she’s the thing that she’s the one that um wait then why don’t we just start with that? Like this is such an interesting situation because we have Liz Moore who is a like wildly successful Oh my god, she’s amazing. Um, and this is her first time writing television. Yeah. What did you have to teach her about screenwriting? And what did you learn from her working with a novelist? Um, I mean it it it it’s amazing how gifted she is in pretty much everything that she puts her mind to. Um, so I didn’t, you know, I mean, I I feel like she was very, very open. I feel like we had early conversations about what we wanted to preserve about the book, the soul, the spine of the story. Um, and we were always sort of on the same page about it. So, it made it really easy when we got into conversations about how we were going to adapt it, the things that we were going to preserve, the things that we might step away from in, you know, and taking it from book to screen. we were we were always sort of like on the same page and um and I think that it was just about having being open to having conversations sort of ad nauseium about what was important and um um and which would sort of just guide us in you know episode 1 through 8. How much of the book is like right there up front that you teased out in the show? And I guess I’m speaking to like the central like conflict between your character and her sister. Is that something that reveals itself later in the book or is that Well, I mean in in our series, you know, the the fact that um that Mickey and Casey are sisters is something that’s revealed over the course of the of the first episode, whereas in the book, you know that right from sort of the get-go. Um, and um, and so, you know, Liz and I just talked about this idea of because Mickey was this really really internal character. It was a a nice way of of bringing out um, uh, something that she wouldn’t say to everybody, which was that her sister was missing, right? And so it was like a nice way to sort of hang a hat on the fact that she was internal, that she wasn’t going to be forthcoming, and then to have this really, really poignant emotional reveal come out in the in the course of the episode. When the project was announced, um, you were both a part of it, but clearly there was a chronology beforehand. Who courted who? You courted me. Hells yeah, it was nice to recorded. stupid. We were doing it was the the strike was Yeah. Post It was right post. It was like literally post strike. We totally courted her like full court. Super excited. Number one. We went to her and thank God she responded to our material. She responded. She listened to the book. Um, we sent her I believe the first three episodes and um, and then we had a conversation with her and um, there was just something so lovely and there’s something so lovely about Amanda because she’s just like raw and just like puts it out there and she doesn’t want to be like going through reps and she doesn’t want to be doing things. just wants to have like an open conversation and it made everything like really really easy and um and a a really just like a wonderful a wonderful dialogue. Yeah, it was pretty obvious like these these you had been working on it for a long time. I didn’t know how long, but I knew it was like a passion project. And I know you spent a lot of years honing in on what it was that needed this that made the story so special and like weeding out all the stuff that you would do as a shower showrunner. It’s just there’s a lot. I mean, you just I could never do what you do, but when it f when it was ready, I it was ready for me and so it was easy to sink my teeth into. It was so nice to jump into something that would had been such he so heavily cared for and it was so grounded and I mean the book was so grounded but it’s really hard to translate books to TV. It just is but you know how to do that really well and you had the blessing of the writer and you had the writer with you the whole time. So just it was ready for me I you know and so that’s a lucky thing. Yeah. And you I heard that you had always wanted to play a cop. Yeah. Well, because no one looks at me and thinks cop and and and someone did, but because it’s not a cop show. It’s a a show about a human being with a kid and generational trauma who’s like kicking herself, you know, subconsciously every day, but, you know, trying her best. Like most of us, we’re just not necessarily making the best decisions all the time, but we’re trying our best. And that’s what this is a human story. She happens to be a cop. Yes. So, I get to play somebody with the uniform. The uniform is transformative. It really is. You know, Daniel D. Lewis always talks about those shoes. And he’s right. Yeah. The uniform just goes 10,000 miles more. So, did this scratch the itch or do you want to play a cop again? No, I’m good. No, I’m kidding. Long River season two, I uh get promoted to detective. Um, no. I I I would totally play a cop again. I respect the job and I love portraying the good ones. Yeah. If it’s me, if it’s Yeah. If it’s a person who’s interesting and a role that I haven’t done before and they happen to be a cop, of course. I mean, it’s interesting what you said about it because it is the cop is the secondary thing for you and the character, which obviously it should be, but the selling point of a show like this, um, not to disparage any studio or platform, is serial killer, missing sister. So, how do you what are the discussions about like how like our true like our true north is still character and then like getting into like the opioid crisis and uh corrupt cops like it’s there’s a lot of heavy themes and a lot of like deep like trauma character work here. Well, I mean, I think what was so unique to me when I read Liz’s beautiful novel was this idea that there was this love story between these two sisters that was juxtaposed against this murder mystery. And in order to solve not only the murder mystery but the but but uh her sister’s disappearance, this this character had to reflect on on their collective past and and and her role in their estrangement. And it was only when she confronted that that was she able to sort of find um find the the the way to sort of to to solve all of these all of these things. So I think that that was what sort of made it so made it so unique and grounded it. And yes, it does have all of these like heavy themes and things um that are are sort of um governing it, but it’s a story about humanity and empowerment and and about an underserved community like taking their power back and and so I think that for us like the North Star was always about how our main character Mickey saw this world, right, which was with humanity and compassion and not in and and and and chose to reflect on the humanity versus the horror. Was it different for you when you were acting in the police uniform and then when you were plain clothes? Like did you like acknowledge that like internally? Did it affect anything? That’s a good question. Um I don’t I there’s just this responsibility that is you can feel a sense of responsibility when you’re wearing a uniform like such as this where it’s just the people in the real world who wear this uniform are there to serve and protect and the good ones do that. So, yes, I am portraying the good the good kind of cop, the cop who gives a Um, and it Yeah, it is. It’s powerful. It’s very powerful. And um, and funny enough, like that didn’t go away when I went back into plane clothes. I just I think it’s just cuz Mickey’s a cop. But whether she wants to be or not, I mean, she’s a cop for for better, for worse, you know, for and it serves her as well because she can look after her sister. she can help support a community that she feels very close to. And it didn’t make a difference in the end. Like I’m still I mean Mickey was still a cop even though she was in plain clothes. She was still investigating. Like she never takes that badge. Uh she never puts that badge on her nightstand like emotionally and and I think that’s beautiful about her, but it’s also like kind of harmful. I mean she’s not a well person. She’s she’s in the midst of a of a of a struggle and a of a of trauma and and like most of us, you know, hasn’t completely gathered the tools yet to be able to know how to deal, but she’s she’s doing her best. And, you know, I love portraying somebody who’s real. Yeah. She has it rougher than most of us. She does. And and that’s the thing, like I can relate to her being a mother. I can relate to her feeling the guilt of not being as present as she’d like to be. I can relate to a lot of things, but I can’t relate to being a single mother um not knowing if she’s going to make make sure there’s food on the table for her kid, you know, living monthto month. I can’t relate to that. So, like I just I want to play people like this because I know that people are going to feel less alone when they watch it. And also, it’s just a story about a lot. I mean, we can all relate to these characters in this show. It’s about a specific thing, about a specific group of people, but any everyone can relate to aspects of these people, which is why I love making grounded television. I love comedies, don’t get me wrong. Can’t wait to do one, but and especially because it hits home for me with the addiction in my family and being close like being raised close to Philly, this just like took the cake. It’s like, oh yeah, we’re we’re talking about real things. It’s not easy to watch sometimes. Yeah. because it’s so real, but it’s important. Yeah. Like we we we don’t take any of this lightly. Yeah. We make it for reason. One of the things that we always talked about, you know, was was and I I think I spoke to this a little bit earlier, but like just the idea of like the way that Mickey sees the world, right, is is that is that she is able to see the light in the dark and that she needs to believe in that sliver of hope that her that her sister that her son that her neighborhood is going to be okay. And even in the way that we shot this, there was a lot of talk about just how like how we were, you know, from a cinematography standpoint, how we were how we were sort of constructing the frame and and how the light was informing the darkness at all times with every female director. Yes, we do. I know. All female director and and one special one who we should address. I don’t know. Is she on stage? She directed a episode directorial debut episode 6. Let’s debut. Yeah. What the Yeah. What? Real time. This is awkward. I didn’t know that. Yeah. I did not. She direct What? I didn’t know it was your first Yeah. Sorry. I just Well, no, it’s all good. No, she’s a pro. She knows what she’s doing. Um, wow. You learn something new every day. Yeah. incredible. I mean, listen, you were leading the whole pack the whole time. You were there every day. But as a director, it was nice because there was no middleman. There was just like a direct There is something nice about cutting out like just, you know, just being able to be dealing with directly because as a showrunner, you are there every day, right? And so you are the person that is there every day when the directors are coming like in and out. So there was something really really nice about just having a very very direct relationship with your cast and not you know and not passing a message passing a message along you know um and uh it’s rare. It’s r Yeah, it’s really rare. Yeah, it was really fun. It was I know it’s funny. It’s it’s it’s you know you you watch a show like this and it really it’s it’s harrowing and exciting but you know has its moments of darkness and fear and for these characters but you always find the levity on set. So when we talk about it you find the levity on set too. Yeah. I guess we I just we really had a fun time. Yeah. Amanda is a wonderful I’m just saying if there’s anybody in this thing that’s wondering like oh my god should we hire Amanda or not or whatever. Absolutely. Like run don’t walk. She is the best number one on the planet. And even though that we were dealing with we were obviously like dealing with some very very heavy themes. She is a like a just sort of a beacon of light on set and and um and puts it out for everybody that’s like around and inspires everybody to be bringing their agame and takes such she’s the most generous person in the world. She takes care of our cast and our crew. She got us a um a food truck every week of um it’s essential. You got to feed people. It’s amazing. Um amazing. Amazing. Amazing. No, it was fun. I Yeah, everything about it. I love talking about it. I love doing these screenings because it came out a couple months ago and it’s just the fact that we just get to talk about it. Every interview I was just like, listen, if we get to talk about it more, why not? Like I feel like also more people will see it the more we talk about it. Yeah. Like I, you know, I don’t know. It feels important. And every time we do get like you guys like listening to what we’re saying, you know, I don’t want it everybody to be boring, but it it it feels nice that you know you care that people Yeah. are showing up to see our the thing that we made. Yeah. Yeah. Also, this isn’t boring. We had a revelation. You didn’t know it was her first time directing. This is amazing. Yeah. What else don’t I know? You we I feel like you and I have talked about this before. It’s easy for you to sort of like shed the material at the end of the day. Like how different of an experience would this be with someone who had to like live in it for the whole shoot? Like that’s tough, right? Yeah. Yeah. You’ve both I’m sure you’ve both worked with people who’ve had to live in it. Yes. I mean, I think that, you know, I think that a lot of actors have different processes and I respect all of those processes and always try to give like an actor a room to do the thing that they need to do. But there is something I’m just going to say in this specific scenario and that’s the only thing that I can speak to here is that it’s really really nice that when when cut was called that Amanda, you know, reverted to being like lovely, amazing, you know, hopeful Amanda. Um, and uh, there was something just really refreshing about her having just the ability to do that. It’s kind of it’s kind of amazing. I know. Every time I meet an actor who’s the same way, I’m just like, “Oh, great. This is great. It’s going to serve you well.” Like Sydney Sweeny’s the same way. Yeah, we just worked with her and she was like we would be looking at a dead body and then cut and she would be like anyway so I I have to show you this picture and it’s just like it’s it’s refreshing because we do the work and then we do the work and then the cut like a breath of fresh air and I’m not I’m not saying every scene you know requires this amount of like in particular I was even just like in in in the in episode 106 which was a very very heavy episode with a lot of reveals. I feel like for the first 5 days, Amanda and I were like, “Oh, you’re crying in every scene. I’m I’m really sorry that I did that to you, but you were so amazing.” And then the moment that cut was called or whatever, we could like take a breath and then refresh and then and then and then she just went back into it, you know, action. No, you were amazing. Stop. It’s hard. I mean, yeah, you can’t Yeah, you can’t expect to not hate yourself at least, you know, 70% of the time, but but you were really You could do that as a showrunner as well. I know. It’s just we hate on each other on ourselves. But no, it’s true. It’s it’s um you got to you got to know the you got to have boundaries, I guess, with your character. Pennsylvania native Allentown. Um we talked about how Philly looms large, the Delo accent. We’ve seen some shows where it featured very prominently, but uh you and your producing partners decided very early on that was not going to be her character journey. I’m going to speak to this really quick. I’m just going to say just only because it was something that was like in the book and I feel like it sometimes it gets missed on in the in the translation when it when it when it came to screen like Mickey is a character who has been an outsider the majority of her life and whether good or bad she has chosen to shed her accent and that was a conscious choice that the that the character made in the book whereas Casey her sister doubled down on her accent and where she was from Mickey had this idea of wanting to rise above her circumstance which is why she shed her accent and why Amanda did not um do that in series. It was not a matter of sorry and but also it’s just it goes to like I I’m from Allentown and a lot of people around me have a very specific kind of way of speaking and it’s just like you go to school you meet different people nobody has a consistency in their accent like it really rarely does that happen so it actually is is more believable when you think of it that way. It’s just like I I don’t have an accent and my grandmother speaks very different than I do, very differently than I do. P like we’re from Pennsylvania Dutch country and like there are certain things people say differently than than I would. And it’s just like I went to a very inner inner city school like when a lot of people who go to Catholic school, they’re they the teachers from the people that I know have like just made sure that they didn’t have an accent. It’s just things people want things to be very streamlined and and then it’s also a choice you know who you hang out with you and tend to mimic and I think that’s how accents come about just who you spend time with. So Mickey spend time with a lot of cops but also just had a conscious effort to not and also thank God cuz I didn’t want to be targeted with that for that kind of scrutiny. I was just, you know, I loved the fact that Mickey had no accent really worked for me. What is the What is the role that you’ve done that had like the most dramatic accent work? I’m trying to think. Oh, it’s not out yet. I just spent a week fixing it in post and I’m starting a movie on Monday where I have a Tulsa accent and I just finished on last Friday, not a week ago in Manchester. So, I was talking like this like re really I I can’t do it anymore. Wow. I really I’ve already It’s weird. But I have an ear for it, but it takes me a minute. But when I finally finished the Manchester movie that I did last year after our show, yeah, I was not good. I was not good enough when we shot it and then I fixed it in post. Like some sounds sounds I don’t agree with that, but Ma Mul I played Mulan Lee from Manchester in the 1770s. No. Anyway, but we’ll see how that turns out. Um it’s better than it used to be. Uh, and then um I the last week I’ve just been like kind of in southern like Tulsa and I’m like from Mallister which is Pit Pittsburgh County and um present day and I’m about to start start that. Wait, what? That sound terrible now. I’m just confused. I’ll be good come Monday. Is Manchester the Musical? Yes. So, are you singing in a Manchester accent? Oh my god, everyone. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it’s a fever dream. Yeah. And I I came I went straight from Philly cop into present day. Yeah. No, the most re the funniest thing too is I was texting Amanda recently and then she sent me like a video of her in ADR singing and it’s like weird. It’s the most amazing thing. Screaming. No, but it’s I mean it’s the most beautiful screaming I’ve ever heard in my life because I was just like, “Oh my god, she just did this and like taped herself and then it was insane. It’s like how wacky things can get.” It’s Yeah, it is fun. It’s good. It’s It’s a good It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. I’m just like a little um confused right now. I’ll be American again. Um, sorry. Northern Northern England again. I don’t think we have I don’t think we have much more time, but I um cuz I’m confused. One like Amy Pascal, absolute legend, uh, executive producer on here. What is an Amy note like? I mean, I think it’s just I mean, I I think the the the the breadth of Amy’s experience is so incredible. And I think like along the way from, you know, early on, you know, her giving notes about what’s going to land, reaching out, uh, her thoughts on casting, her thoughts on marketing, her thoughts on, I mean, everything. You’re dealing with an absolute legend. So, I feel like anytime she’s speaking, everybody in the room is just wrapped and wants to hear what she has to say. I mean, it was it was really lovely having her on the on the on the project and to guide us and to be our sort of like cool ass bouncer, you know what I mean? That’s just like watching out for our show, you know? Is there any chance of getting the band back together? because I believe uh Liz Moore’s uh God of the Woods, which is like such a great read, is also in development. Who’s making that? Who the is making that? I think some of your fellow producers are Yeah. No, no, no. Original original film is I’m not going to speak about Liz’s that that particular project. Um No, no, no, it’s not. Um but I’m not I’m not speaking about that project. I’m just going to say that um I do know that original film um Neil Merittz and Pavven Shetty um who were a part of Long Bright River are also on God of the Woods as is um Sony. So I think that Liz is continuing her relationship with Sony. And then she also has another book. I might as well just do Liz’s Press. Um she has another book in case anybody’s interested. Um, uh, her I think her third book, The Unseen World, is also at Sony for development. Yay, Liz. Good job, Liz. We love Liz. She’s missing tonight. Yeah, she she is. We miss her. We’re just gonna She’s in Philly. Fallen, homie. Yeah, she’s she’s here in spirit. Poor one out. Um, I think we’re out of time. This No, this has been so lovely. Thank you for having me.
Co-creator, showrunner and executive producer Nikki Toscano and star Amanda Seyfried chat with THR’s Mikey O’Connell to talk all about the Peacock series ‘Long Bright River’ during a THR Frontrunners conversation series.
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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/amanda-seyfried-interview-long-bright-river-peacock-tv-show-1236211389/
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THR Frontrunners Q&A With ‘Long Bright River’ Star Amanda Seyfried & Exec. Producer Nikki Toscano
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