Jessica Biel, Rose Byrne on 'Candy' and 'Physical' Characters' Secrets

The stars of 'Candy' and 'Physical', along with Elodie Yung ('The Cleaning Lady') and Ariana DeBose ('Schmigadoon!'), play characters who keep their traumas and shame close to their chests — which inevitably gets them into trouble.

June 18, 2022 11:30am

Published on June 18, 2022

• Jessica Biel as Candace Montgomery

  

  Candy (Hulu)

  In 1980, Candace Montgomery, a suburban wife and mother from Wylie, Texas, was accused of brutally murdering her friend Betty Gore, a middle school teacher with whose husband Montgomery had once had an affair. Pleading self-defense, Montgomery was found not guilty, but 40 years later, the truth about those 41 ax strikes remains a mystery. As the executive producer and star of the television adaptation, Jessica Biel embraced that ambiguity in her portrayal of Montgomery. “We only have one side to the story, so this is all we can tell you with certainty,” she says. “It’s really up to the audience to make a judgment call on that. Do you believe it? Do you not believe it? We don’t know and we never will.” While Biel made the choice to lean into her character’s version of the truth, she also recognized that Montgomery was someone with an ability to compartmentalize her wrongdoings, long before the murder took place. “She’s been practicing for a long time how to keep the things away that could be hurtful for other people.” To cinematically create doubt for the viewers, Biel filmed multiple takes for each scene where Candy recalls her actions. “It’s very hard. You’re constantly walking a tightrope. Is this too far on this side? Is she too clever? Or did we fall too far on the other side where nobody would believe this complete lack of culpability?” she says. “To create a performance that is going to speak to people in the right way, you’ve got to fall off the edge and go too far on both sides and then bring it back.” While acting out five versions of every scene is taxing, Biel says her greatest challenge was making sure that the character — whatever truly happened — felt real. “Candy Montgomery lives in a room of experience that the rest of us will never have access to,” says Biel.

• Rose Byrne as Sheila Rubin

  

  Physical (Apple TV+)

  On Apple TV+ dramedy Physical, Rose Byrne’s Sheila carries a weight that reverberates through her entire life: her eating disorder. “It’s a hugely destructive secret that inhibits every single part of your life, every relationship, every interaction, every exchange — because you are in deep shame and you can’t connect. Connection is exposure and exposure is the most terrifying thing,” explains Byrne. “It’s a horrible place to live.” To the viewer, the way Sheila’s shame manifests itself most audibly is through an inner monologue that never ceases. “The horrible negative soundtrack — that’s the mindset of somebody who is suffering. But it’s also an opportunity for a lot of humor about the human condition.” Exploring her character’s darkly comedic emotional state is fun for Byrne, who is quick to add some qualifiers for her idea of joy. “As an artist, ‘fun’ can mean figuring out the darker side of the human condition and dancing on the edges of that,” she says. “It’s the danger around stepping into that world. It’s very immersive and physical, playing a role where you are constantly hiding.” Creator Annie Weisman has been open about Sheila’s bulimia being based on her personal journey, which is why Byrne makes sure to check in with the series creator at every turn. “She’s always been the touchstone for every emotional beat, every twist and turn, every hidden desire,” says Byrne. “I check the temperature with her on everything to make sure I know where [Sheila]’s at.” Equally, while Sheila’s secret can often be self-destructive, what fascinates Byrne about her character is her ability to self-motivate. “She’s really fighting for her agency, which I love and admire,” says Byrne. “Every scene gives her so much to do. It’s not always the case as an actress that you are given these opportunities.”

• Ariana DeBose as Emma Tate

  

  Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)

  On the surface of it, Schmigadoon! — the Technicolor town ripped straight out of a movie musical — seems like the happiest place on Earth. They sing! They dance! They have managed to eschew the clutches of capitalism! But dig a little deeper and many of the small-town folk are burdened with shameful secrets. Take Emma the Schoolmarm, who despite her strong convictions has self-imposed a persona she thinks will be accepted by the conservative townsfolk. “I think Emma is a metaphor for the need to assimilate and make the best of your circumstances when you’re in pursuit of a truly new start,” says Ariana DeBose, who portrays a character posing as the big sister of a boy who is revealed to be her son. “What we’re willing to hide from others shows us what we’re afraid of. Emma is afraid of what people would think about her.” Her character presents the contradiction of a confident truth-teller who always stands up for what is right, while simultaneously caring so much about how her own truth will be received that she keeps it a secret. “This is a way that I identified with Emma,” says DeBose, who in March became the first openly queer actor to win an Academy Award. “I don’t actually care what people think, but you do when you want better for someone you love; in her case, wanting better for her son. You accept backwards ideology or anything that does not fall within your belief system in order to not create waves and just live a quiet life.” In a highly stylized piece, where the musical elements can dictate every performance, DeBose decided that the secret manifested in Emma’s physicality. “Emma is very pulled-up. She has impeccable posture, you very rarely see her slouch,” explains DeBose. “She toes that line of being outspoken and also being a rule follower and it manifests in different ways — even to the point where I held my breath in some of my scenes.” Once Emma reveals her secret to outsider Josh (Keegan-Michael Key), her physicality changes. “I don’t make a habit of watching my performances, but I did clock that she’s breathing now, and her shoulders fall down,” says DeBose. “After revealing her secret, it gets a little more messy. Her hair’s down. She’s free. You don’t see her hesitate to speak anymore, she just does, which I think is beautiful.”

• Elodie Yung as Thony De La Rosa

  

  The Cleaning Lady (Fox)

  While many TV characters live double lives, there isn’t much that falls into the “truth” column for Thony De La Rosa on The Cleaning Lady. “She lies to everyone in order to protect everyone,” says Élodie Yung, who portrays the Cambodian doctor living in the United States on an expired visa, which forces her to work, undocumented, as a cleaner in order to provide for her son who requires urgent medical care available only in Las Vegas. That, however, is not where Thony’s secrets end: At night, she tidies up the messes of the local crime syndicate, which leads her to lie to her sister-in-law about her whereabouts. And, after she’s caught, the FBI demands that she now serve as their informant. “It’s been a lot for this poor lady,” says Yung, who, to portray someone who has everything on the line at all times, first had to accept her character’s extreme obstacles as truth. “At first, it was like, ‘Too much is happening. How can I, as an actor, be grounded and real?’ ” explains Yung. “I needed to accept the hard reality of her life and respond in the most truthful way every time. I had to be very reactive.” To keep her constant deceit from appearing monotonous, Yung makes sure that her reactions vary depending on who she is interacting with. “During the whole season I felt like I was drowning in a glass of water. This feeling of, ‘I need to breathe, I need to survive,’ pushed me to adapt myself to the situations and the people I had to face and find different strategies,” she says. “I think people pull out great strength and great strategy when it comes to survival.” The side effect of living with Thony’s anxiety is that Yung carries her character’s tension with her throughout the shoot. “I would be constantly on edge,” she says. “I wish I could meditate and do yoga, but if you ask me, my way of relaxing would be sitting and smoking a cigarette at a cafe in Paris.” Yet, for the French actress, the physical sacrifice is all for the love of art. “I’ve been wanting to have a part like this for a long time,” says Yung. “It’s a playground for me as an actress. Every scene forced me to look at myself and at my own humanity. I enjoy digging and discovering things about myself. To me, it’s gold.”

  This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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