Exclusive: Elisabeth Moss Reflects On Being In Front & Behind The Scenes Of Apple’s ‘Shining Girls’
As Nominations-round voting begins for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, one of the contending actresses on the radar is Elisabeth Moss, who is seeking her another Emmy win. Most recently, the Los Angeles native starred as Kirby Mazrachi in the Apple TV+ dramatic series “Shining Girls.”
Over her career, she’s received accolades and awards for her roles on Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tales, with Emmy wins for the latter as a producer on the series and for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Based on Lauren Beukes’ best-selling novel, “Shining Girls” follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) as a Chicago newspaper archivist whose journalistic ambitions were put on hold after enduring a traumatic assault. When Kirby learns that a recent murder mirrors her own case, she partners with seasoned, yet troubled reporter Dan Velazquez (played by Wagner Moura), to uncover her attacker’s identity. As they realize these cold cases are inextricably linked, their own personal traumas and Kirby’s blurred reality allow her assailant to remain one step ahead. In addition to Moss and Moura, the gripping drama stars Phillipa Soo with Amy Brenneman and Jamie Bell rounding out the ensemble cast.
Besides acting in the series, Moss also directed episodes (5 & 7) and executive produced the series through Love and Squalor Pictures, alongside Lindsey McManus. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson and Michael Hampton executive produce through Appian Way.
Blackfilmandtv.com caught up with Moss as she spoke about her experience on the series and what to expect from the upcoming season of The Handmaid’s Tales.
What goes in taking on a role like you have in Shining Girls, especially when it's so different from the other ones that people are familiar with?
Elisabeth Moss: Well, I'm glad you think so. I think that is what attracted me to it was that it did feel different, and it felt like a direction that was going in a different way than then June was going on Handmaid's Tale at the time. I also just really loved the story. I thought the story was really interesting. It was unlike anything I'd ever read before or seen. And the mixing of genres I felt like was something really new for television. So I was very interested in that part of it as well.
When you take on a character like this, and it's different from the other ones, how much preparation goes into this character? When people see you in the series, it's not Handmaid's Tale and it's not Mad Men. It's a character that we can see as opposed to seeing you Elisabeth Moss.
Elisabeth Moss: Well, it starts with the scripts, right? So it was really important, we had the first two episodes. It was important to talk about the whole arc with Soca at the very beginning; to make sure that we were going in the right direction that we were going to end up in a certain place, and then bit of reverse engineering, from the end to the beginning and going, "Okay, then let's lean even further in this direction.” You already started in the first two episodes, where she's more vulnerable, she's more closed off, she's more hiding from the world. She's not able to speak her truth. I just wanted it to go a bit further in that direction and wanting to knowing where I was going to end up. It was already there. I just wanted to just reinforcing it a little bit.
And as we went on to further episodes, even I got confused, because we started taking a whole new turn where his character was going. When you're when you're playing these roles and you have to go through a flashback period, did it ever get confusing? Do you have your own script supervisor?
Elisabeth Moss: Oh, my God, I should have had a personal script supervisor. I would get so confused. We all would get so confused, to be honest. I mean, you're breaking this new ground. You're telling a story about something that doesn't exist? First of all, you have to make up the rules because this isn't a real thing. And then you have to keep track of those rules. And then sometimes you go "Oh, shit. Now we have to change that rule, because now we want to do something else. Right?" That will be more interesting story wise. So it was tough. And I would get confused too. But I think the thing that mattered most, for all three directors' parts on all the producers' parts was that just if you can just stay with Kirby, if we can make sure that Kirby is grounded, if we make sure that Kirby's emotional story is interesting enough to watch, you'll follow her. And so that was my job was just to make sure that you're you're with her. The things that you understand become part of her journey. I also had to sort of try to tell the story from her point of view, right? So like, what she knows, the audience can know. What she doesn't know, the audience can't know. And so keeping track of that was also really tough was a challenge.
As an actress, with everything you've done, and when you're doing an episodic series, and you're dealing with different directors, what do you learn skill set wise, you can take onto your next project after you completed this?
Elisabeth Moss: That's an interesting question. I don't really actually think about it as sort of objectively as that. I think I absorb things that happen while in a character. I absorb things that happen while shooting something. And inevitably, those things get taken on to the next project. I don't know if I'm as objective about it. I don't know if I can stand back and pinpoint exactly what those things are. I think a lot less about acting than than other things. I definitely feel like I learned a lot as a producer and director. But for me, acting is so much more instinctive. and it's a lot less about thinking for me.
What are we getting out of Handmaid's Tale and what's next for you?
Elisabeth Moss: Well, we're shooting season five. We're at the end of season five. We're shooting the seventh and eighth episodes and about to do nine and ten. And it's huge this season. It has been the hardest season we've ever done, and the most challenging season we've ever done. That is not lip service. You can talk to any member of this crew, and they will tell you the same thing. It has been very, very challenging. And part of that is because is, of course, COVID. That is always a challenge. But part of that is these are really big scripts. There's a lot of locations. There's a lot of story to tell with a lot of twists and turns. The whole season actually is huge. And so that's been challenging. We've been in the studio, and we've been on location a lot. We're running out of places to shoot in the Ontario in the area of province. It's going to be a big year.