Monica Raymund Talks "Hightown" Final Season, The Hightwon Ending, The Joy of Playing a Queer Character & "Chicago Fire"

SheKnows

Monica Raymund sat down with SheKnows' Reshma Gopaldas to chat all about season 3 of Hightown. Raymund opened up about her character's downward spiral, playing a queer character on the hit Starz show, to what comes after Hightown, and whether she'll return to "Chicago Fire, and finally if she's happy with the way "Hightown" ends.  Read more at: https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/videos/2944365/monica-raymund-hightown-ending-playing-queer-character/ Video credits VP, Video: Reshma Gopaldas Editor: Sarah Wallace

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - It's so good to chat with you.

00:04 Congratulations on your final season.

00:06 What a ride it's been, huh?

00:08 - It's been crazy.

00:09 - It's been wild.

00:10 So looking back on the last few seasons,

00:14 what would you say is your rose and thorn of "High Town"?

00:17 So let's start with your rose,

00:18 which is like favorite moment,

00:20 either a scene or behind the scenes.

00:23 - Oh, behind the scenes for sure.

00:25 Probably being directed by Rebecca

00:28 because she's the showrunner,

00:30 she's the executive producer,

00:31 she's the brains behind the operation.

00:34 And so when she was directing the finale,

00:37 it was just like this incredible full circle moment

00:41 where I got to like finish this very personal show

00:46 that I love so much with the woman who like created it

00:51 and was also a mentor of mine.

00:53 And so it was just a very meaningful,

00:56 meaningful way to get to the end of season three.

00:59 And then my thorn.

01:01 - Or like your most challenging moment.

01:03 It doesn't have to be like, "Oh, I hated this."

01:05 - Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

01:07 My most challenging moment.

01:08 I think like shooting on a boat is pretty hard.

01:11 (laughs)

01:12 It's really hard.

01:13 It's rocky.

01:15 Everybody gets sick out there.

01:17 I think like it's tricky when you're out there on a boat

01:21 with like one operator and you're in the middle of the ocean

01:25 and it's, that's, it was challenging.

01:28 It was challenging.

01:29 - Did you get seasick?

01:30 - I did, but I didn't tell anybody I did.

01:34 - Oh, they're gonna find out now.

01:35 It's time. - Yeah, well, we wrapped.

01:38 - Yeah, it's time to release it.

01:40 Okay, this season, Jackie, is like an absolute mess.

01:44 So in your, I mean, at the beginning at least,

01:47 what triggered, in your opinion, her kind of downward spiral?

01:51 Was it like one inciting event

01:53 or do you think it's been a compilation?

01:54 - Definitely a compilation, right?

01:56 I mean, like what are we

01:57 but the accumulation of our experiences?

01:59 So it's, I think a lot of things from season one,

02:04 season two, especially coming out of like, you know,

02:07 all of that stuff with her dad,

02:09 I think that sort of was maybe the beginning

02:11 of a pretty big stumble.

02:13 It's never just one thing that can trip Jackie up

02:18 or maybe pushes her off the wagon.

02:21 - Yeah.

02:22 - She's also very passionate about helping people.

02:25 - Yeah.

02:26 - But by wearing her feelings so openly on her sleeves,

02:31 she actually ends up kind of getting in her own way.

02:34 - Yeah.

02:35 - And so I think, you know, tripping over and over

02:37 and not being able to kind of get out of that cycle

02:40 probably just, you know, sent her over the edge.

02:43 - It just caught up with her.

02:45 - It just caught up with her.

02:46 But then we get to see her come out of that.

02:47 We have to figure out how does she find her redemption?

02:50 How does she find like the meaning

02:52 and the clarity through it all, you know?

02:54 - The first two episodes, I screamed,

02:56 "No, don't do that," to her at least 14 times.

03:00 So if you could give Jackie one piece of advice

03:03 coming from Monica, what would it be?

03:05 - Shh.

03:07 Just stop talking.

03:11 Maybe shut up and listen.

03:12 Yeah, stop talking.

03:13 - I kind of love that advice.

03:15 I know.

03:16 I feel like my mother did that to me.

03:17 - That's what somebody told me to do

03:18 when I was making some dumb decisions

03:20 is stop talking so much and just listen.

03:24 - That's great advice for everyone.

03:26 Okay, so I Googled your character

03:28 just to see what comes up first.

03:30 I always like to do that.

03:31 And just so you know, the first site describes her

03:33 as hard partying, fiery lesbian cop.

03:37 And you know why that's so strange to me?

03:39 You would never see a straight character

03:41 described as hard partying, fiery heterosexual.

03:45 - I know, but now we totally have to put that in the bios

03:48 just so it can pop up when you Google it.

03:50 - Exactly.

03:51 And it did, let me tell you.

03:52 But on that note, how does it feel to portray

03:56 one of television's few leading LGBTQ characters

04:00 who is also Latina?

04:02 That's a great thing in my opinion.

04:04 - I mean, it's me.

04:06 I'm a queer Latina person.

04:08 So I get to be playing a character

04:10 who is reflecting my own community.

04:14 I didn't get to see a lot of examples like that

04:16 when I was coming up.

04:18 So to be included in that,

04:21 a very small pool of characters who represent my community

04:26 is such an honor.

04:28 Very, very cool.

04:29 And even cooler is that in Rebecca's show,

04:33 it's not about that.

04:34 It's really focused on this investigation

04:38 and in the circumstances of the world

04:40 and the underbelly of Cape Cod.

04:42 And not about my identity.

04:45 - Not at all.

04:46 - Not at all.

04:47 And so that's a reflection of the direction

04:50 that we're going in.

04:51 And I'm very proud of Rebecca for doing that.

04:53 - I know, that's what's so magical about it.

04:54 It's very organic.

04:55 It's not like, "Hey everyone,

04:57 now you're tuning into a show about a hard partying lesbian."

05:00 Which is, you said something interesting.

05:04 Growing up, did you have any shows

05:06 that reflected how you felt?

05:08 'Cause I definitely did not.

05:09 - No, neither did I.

05:11 I don't think so.

05:12 I can't think of any.

05:14 I was usually, I was trying to read a little bit more

05:17 and searching for maybe some unknown movies

05:20 that would reflect somebody like me.

05:22 - Yeah, I mean, you've changed

05:25 how this generation watches television.

05:27 And to be part of that is incredible.

05:30 Okay, let's talk a little bit about Jackie's dating life

05:33 at the beginning of the season.

05:34 I would also describe that as a bit of a wild ride.

05:38 So if you had to write Jackie's dating profile,

05:42 how would you describe her?

05:43 How would you write that profile?

05:45 - How would I write a profile?

05:46 I don't know.

05:47 You know what, I've never actually done this before.

05:48 I have no idea.

05:49 - I mean, it's like long walks on the beach,

05:52 that kind of thing.

05:53 - Yeah, yeah, open from seven to nine.

05:56 - Oh my God, I hope you don't write her dating profile.

06:00 - Oh, sorry.

06:01 Down for a good time.

06:02 - Might arrest you.

06:06 - Might arrest you, but only consensually.

06:09 I turn in around 4 a.m., something like that.

06:13 - Oh, that's great.

06:14 - But when she gets sober, she's like Diet Coke,

06:16 Diet Coke on the rocks with a twist.

06:19 - Oh, I love that.

06:20 Oh, that is good.

06:22 On the flip side, how do you think Jackie would describe you?

06:24 Like, would the two of you be friends?

06:26 - Probably, probably, yeah.

06:31 I'd probably be like her older sister.

06:36 - You need to shut up and listen.

06:37 - Yeah, I'm gonna be like, stick with me, kid.

06:39 We'll show you how we get it done.

06:42 - I know that she's, like I said, she's a mess at first,

06:45 but what would you say that you and Jackie have in common?

06:48 Like, what's similar about the two of you

06:50 and what's so different?

06:51 - I would think what's similar is that we feel intensely.

06:57 And yeah, I think our passion is very similar.

07:02 What's very different is...

07:05 - Well, now I'm so happy to say that I can, you know,

07:10 not act on all of my reactions.

07:13 I'm now more successful than not in this point in my life.

07:17 Jackie is still at the phase

07:19 where she's sort of just reactive, you know?

07:21 She feels something, she wants to do something about it.

07:23 There's no like, there's no thinking, playing the tape out

07:26 and evaluating the consequences of her choices.

07:28 That's not where we're at.

07:29 - Consequences mean nothing to her.

07:30 - There's no such thing as consequence, yeah.

07:33 There's now, only now.

07:35 - So, you know, looking at the ending,

07:37 if you could write Jackie's happy ending

07:40 or not happy ending yourself, what would you write?

07:42 - It's already been written exactly the way

07:44 that it should be.

07:45 - That's great.

07:46 I was gonna ask you, like,

07:47 if you can tease her ending in three words

07:49 without giving anything away.

07:51 - Finally fully formed.

07:52 - That's great.

07:54 Or shut up, shut up and listen.

07:57 That's too many words.

07:57 - Yeah. - Yeah.

07:58 - I tried, I tried.

08:00 (laughing)

08:01 - Get out of here.

08:02 Oh, sorry.

08:03 - Exactly.

08:04 Okay, finally, what's next for you after "High Town"?

08:07 I'm sure you know, there's always the Chicago Fire audience

08:11 that always wants you back.

08:12 Would you ever revisit that?

08:13 Or is it time for something new?

08:15 - I am a diehard "Wolf" fan.

08:18 I love the "Wolf" family.

08:19 I love all the "Wolf" shows.

08:21 I'm in and around that world in some capacity.

08:24 So, never say never.

08:26 But I'm directing a lot as well.

08:28 That's, I've got a few directing gigs coming up.

08:31 I'm doing a couple of shows on "Stars"

08:33 and directing gigs.

08:36 So, and I'm trying to like, you know, audition

08:39 and maybe book some more acting jobs too.

08:41 - I think that'll happen.

08:43 - Yeah, a few balls in the air.

08:44 - All right.

08:46 Monica, it was so great to chat with you.

08:48 Now we've learned that you should never

08:49 write a dating profile.

08:51 - Yeah, gosh.

08:52 - Maybe you should make a drinks menu.

08:53 That might work.

08:54 - Oh, thanks.

08:55 (laughing)

08:55 (upbeat music)

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