'Paradise' stars Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Sarah Shahi, Krys Marshall and Jon Beavers chat with THR's Brande Victorian to talk all about the Hulu series during a THR Frontrunners conversation.
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00:00You know, I was happy to be there. I was as sad as you might imagine to die, but but to go out for love, you know, I loved too much.
00:15That was my only sin. And look at her, guys. You'd fall for it, too. If you got to go, what a way to go. That's all I can say.
00:27That's that.
00:30Welcome. Welcome. Thank you all so much for being here.
00:37I want to start with kind of posing a general question because all of your characters have secrets, I would say, of various magnitudes.
00:45And certainly I know when we talked before, you said you're the kind of actor who wants to know everything up front.
00:50Sure. And Julian, I think you got like the first four episodes from Dan Fogelman, the creator, you know, when he was pitching Sinatra to you.
00:57So I'm curious, you know, for everyone, when did you kind of know your character's full story arc and how did knowing or not knowing if you did it really inform your performance?
01:08John.
01:10Oh, you must have meant me.
01:11You know, I guess in retrospect, it was rolled out gradually.
01:20I remember knowing some at the audition going in and then actually being handed extra pages during the audition process and learning things that retroactively affected the way I felt about what I had just done.
01:35And so I felt like I didn't know myself anymore. And then I guess we got on set knowing the first three or four.
01:44But you kept looking at each other suspiciously as you would come to work each day.
01:49You know, you would learn something and then suddenly doubt the person's motivations.
01:53So I don't know if I remember clearly, but it was definitely a rollout.
01:57It was like a whodunit being at work every single day.
02:00I love that.
02:01Killed it, though. He killed it. John Beaver.
02:03Absolutely.
02:04Murder. Murder.
02:07Well, Chris, tell us for you.
02:10Oh, me. I, like John, was getting things bit by bit.
02:14And I will say, it took me a good few weeks to even get my sea legs because I was just staring at Sterling and James and Julianne and just being like, I cannot believe I'm working with these actors.
02:28Like, they're just so insanely talented and prolific and this library of work that just makes your head swim.
02:36So I feel like in the beginning, I just was really, like, trying to get my bearings and, like, understand what's happening.
02:41And then as time rolled on, I was just amazed by the stuff you see.
02:45Like, you can have an idea about what's going to happen in the world, but it's not until you actually get your eyes on the episodes and you're reading the words.
02:52And I'll say that at the end of episode four, I just openly wept.
02:58I was like, I don't want that.
03:00Same.
03:01I don't want that. Take that back.
03:03Yes.
03:05Sorry.
03:06Yeah.
03:07Right. We're going to get to you.
03:11Anybody?
03:12Go ahead.
03:13I feel with Gabriela from, I mean, the moment I was handed the material, you know, I enjoy playing bad girls.
03:21I want to be a villain.
03:22And Gabriela was very earnest and saw the good in everybody.
03:29And I was like, that's boring.
03:30Like, I want to have an ulterior motive, you know.
03:34I want to be plotting something, you know.
03:37So it's been fun hearing the stories about her.
03:40But, yeah, it was very early on.
03:42I think I wanted to make some choices that felt like a Disney villain.
03:46And Dan was like, no.
03:49You're good.
03:49You're, like, the only good one.
03:51So, yeah.
03:53Um, I...
03:55Don't you do that.
03:56Don't you do that.
03:58Wait.
03:59Wait.
03:59No.
03:59She's that good.
04:01She's that good.
04:03That's how good she is.
04:04And let me tell you all that.
04:04That's right.
04:05That's right.
04:06Let me tell you all something.
04:08Before she even says anything.
04:10All right.
04:11You guys.
04:12I did a play.
04:14I don't know if I shared this.
04:15I did this play called Intimate Apparel.
04:17Does anybody know this play?
04:18Okay.
04:19I did Intimate Apparel at the Guthrie Theater.
04:22And I'm this guy that everybody falls in love with in the first half of the play.
04:26And in the second half of the play, they're like, this Negro has got to go.
04:30Okay.
04:31I would come out for curtain call every night, Brandy, to a chorus of vociferous.
04:39Boo!
04:41And I was like, baby, I'm Sterling.
04:44Like, I ain't this dude.
04:46So, y'all got to know sometimes, there's a sweet girl.
04:51A sweet, sweet girl who's a very good actor.
04:53So, please don't boo her.
04:55Look, look.
04:58That's very nice.
04:58I'm not even mad.
05:02That's how good she is.
05:06But look, I get it.
05:07I get it.
05:09When I read for Jane, I thought she was super sweet and nice.
05:13And then it was revealed to me that she did what she does to Billy.
05:19And I was like, oh.
05:20And then I was like, oh, I hope she killed the president, too.
05:23Like, I was like, yes, this girl.
05:26I was like, let's just keep going.
05:29But, no, it's very fun.
05:32It's very fun to play sort of in type and then very against type.
05:38So, that's been really cool to explore.
05:40I'll also say it continues to unfold because we get a little bit more information about Jane in season two.
05:47That's true.
05:47Okay.
05:48Yes.
05:48Yeah, yeah.
05:49And you remember when you thought I was bad at the end of episode three.
05:53So, you never know.
05:55She can redeem herself.
05:58Open mind.
05:59Funny.
06:02Juliet, anything?
06:04I was just going to say, I continue to learn who Sinatra is.
06:07We're filming season two now.
06:09And with Dan's incredible use of flashbacks and every episode, I learn more about her.
06:17Can I just take a minute to say, how great is Sterling?
06:19Yes.
06:21Just like, we, I mean, I was a fan before and then we worked together.
06:27So, then, like, it grew.
06:28And then to watch him just keep this passion for the show, the craft, the people you work with, you blow me away every day.
06:36So, thank you.
06:38Amen.
06:41I love that.
06:42I feel like we're seeing a little bit of the executive producer in you, you know, right now in this moment for this series.
06:48And I know it was important for you to do something people hadn't seen you in before, kind of take the reins.
06:53What did being EP and the lead in a thriller, something you hadn't done before, kind of mean to you?
06:59Why was that important for you with this title?
07:01I don't, I don't know exactly if I would say it was important, but it did feel like a natural evolution of where I was in my career.
07:10I kind of felt like even on This Is Us, we, none of us were producers, but Dan was so collaborative in terms of allowing us all to go into the, to the writer's room, sort of hear what the stories were, give personal stories about our life that might add a little bit of color to what was happening.
07:25So, it felt like a natural progression of what I was accustomed to from that process.
07:30And then, I think for me, more than anything, I think Dan would echo this, is we, the days are long, and they can be hard, and if you get a chance to spend them with good people, then they're that much easier.
07:43And I got a chance to spend my days with really great people.
07:45So, that's, that's it.
07:47Okay.
07:47Okay.
07:49Well, John, I'm going to come back to you.
07:51You know, as Chris said at the end of episode four, like, why did this happen?
07:54That's very much how I felt.
07:55I asked Dan Fogelman, why did that happen?
07:57You know, and he said to me, you know, the risk wasn't in killing your character.
08:03It was in dedicating, you know, 40 minutes of television to him in the hopes that the audience would fall in love with him.
08:09Because if they didn't, then it didn't necessarily matter.
08:11Come on.
08:11Yes, it didn't matter, you know, that Agent Billy Pace is killed.
08:15So, my question for you, how did you make the audience fall in love with your character?
08:18Come on, man.
08:19Oh, man.
08:20Look at him.
08:21Well, I mean, the, the real truth of it is, is that Dan Fogelman had a, had written a beautiful character that the whole show turns on.
08:34And he looked at me, I was reading for him for the very first time.
08:39And he has said this on, on Twitter or whatever we're calling it, so I can say it.
08:48I, I was not necessarily, you know, on a short list or anything.
08:53He really grabbed me early in the process, pulled me through the casting process, kept patting me on the back, telling me to keep going, rooted for me, vouched for me.
09:02Then Sterling gave his seal of approval, and I got trusted with one of the most beautiful roles I've, I've ever been given.
09:10And then, as Chris said, you step on a set opposite incredible heavy hitters, and you just really have to trust that Dan can't be wrong, right?
09:24I must be here, because I'm supposed to be, and, and you fall back on doing what you love to do, which is playing make-believe with your friends.
09:33And this show, I really must say, is, is yet another piece of evidence towards the, towards the idea that everything starts at the top and trickles down.
09:44And the family environment, the love, the passion that starts with Dan Fogelman and with Sterling K. Brown trickles down, and then I get to be opposite this man.
09:56And, and, and, you know, I, I remember, um, uh, a big piece of writing was coming my way.
10:01We were getting on set and getting ready to do our thing, and, you know, I'm clowning around, you know, he's, he's athletic, you know, so I'm like, okay, about to go toe-to-toe with you, man.
10:09And he said, John, it's not a fight.
10:13It's a dance.
10:15And that, he practices what he preaches.
10:18And so what I did was, I let my dance partner help me move my feet, and, and hopefully it worked out well.
10:25And that goes for everybody here.
10:27I didn't put on makeup, man.
10:28Y'all trying to make a brother lose stuff.
10:32Oh.
10:35Same.
10:37Well, and I.
10:39On the heels of that, I want to also shout out, um, James Marsden, who, incredible role, um, as President Cal Bradford.
10:47And I had talked to him previously, and he was saying how when he first watched the show, you know, he talked to Dan and was like, dang, like, this show is good.
10:55I wish I was able to stick around a little bit longer, you know, as a character.
10:59Did you feel the same kind of about Billy?
11:01Oh, my goodness.
11:02Yeah.
11:03No, absolutely.
11:04I was, I was, you know, I was happy to be there.
11:07I was as sad as you might imagine to die, but, but to go out for love, you know, I loved too much.
11:20That was my only sin.
11:22And look at her, guys.
11:26You'd fall for it, too.
11:29If you gotta go, what a way to go.
11:31That's all I can say.
11:32That's fair.
11:33Well, Juliette, I want to come to you next.
11:36I have to admit, I was team Emmy nomination by, like, episode five at the latest with you.
11:41And then, I think, to go and watch you in Hags play a completely different character.
11:47Okay.
11:48I'm so glad we all saw it.
11:49And then come back and watch this.
11:51I think just magnified how incredible you are, excuse me, as Sinatra, who, you know, I think you do such a great job of making us feel some empathy for this very kind of villainous character.
12:03I'm curious, you know, how did you approach her in showing, like, all those sides?
12:11I would agree with John that it really does start with Dan.
12:16And I think it was such a gift to me as the actor and I think for the audience to have that second episode be called Sinatra and about her story,
12:27where it just informs everything about who she is when we find her in paradise and hopefully just...
12:37just brings a little empathy into the experience.
12:43You know, your character also, I feel like, makes a lot of, you know, questionable decisions.
12:47Just a few.
12:49I know.
12:49I like that Jane gets blamed for Uncle Billy.
12:53I like that.
12:55It wasn't me.
12:56Look over there.
12:59But were there any that you kind of found it difficult to kind of wrap your head around?
13:04And if so, like, how did you kind of get into her mind?
13:07I...
13:07Did you justify it?
13:08Yeah, I mean, she makes some extreme choices for sure.
13:12And it is...
13:13That's the line she walks.
13:16But I feel like ultimately she is trying to...
13:20And more, again, more will be revealed as the story unfolds.
13:24But, you know, she believes that she's doing it for the greater good.
13:30She believes she's doing it to save her family.
13:32She cannot handle another tragedy.
13:34And so, you know, in our first season, if you think, okay, I mean, this is, you know,
13:41in her mind, the explorers are to be taken out.
13:48But it's for the good of everybody else in paradise, for 25,000 people.
13:52So it's intense.
13:54There are big decisions to make.
13:56But, you know, I just...
13:57She just has to believe that she's doing the right thing.
14:00It's a large investment.
14:03You're trying to protect your investment.
14:05Yeah.
14:06Yeah.
14:06I got you.
14:06There it is.
14:07Well, Sarah, coming to you next, I love what you said about your character being earnest.
14:13Because I feel like she's sort of similar to Sinatra in the sense of she has this responsibility
14:17of kind of keeping things together as well for everyone, but in a very different way.
14:22And I kept my eyes on her, kept thinking we were going to see this other, like, side.
14:26I know.
14:26Yeah, we don't so far.
14:27I know.
14:29So I'm curious what you make of her motivations.
14:32And I think particularly she seems really protective of Sinatra and kind of, you know,
14:36explains away some of her behavior.
14:38You know, how do you...
14:39She's just misunderstood.
14:39...defy your character.
14:41A little bit.
14:41Okay.
14:42Yeah.
14:42Sure.
14:43You can call it that.
14:44But, you know, what are Dr. Gabriela's kind of motivations, even being in this world,
14:48and kind of how she fits in?
14:50You know, like you said earlier, every person on Paradise has a secret.
14:56Everyone's hiding something.
14:57Everyone is multidimensional and very complex.
15:00The interesting thing about Gabriela is she does want what is for the greatest good of
15:08everybody, similar to Sinatra.
15:10They have the same motives in that respect, right?
15:13They're opposite sides of the same coin.
15:16Yeah.
15:16You know, and she does have such a history with her that, whereas some people might call
15:21her evil, you know, Gabriela sees the human.
15:26Yes.
15:27And I think that really is her superpower down there, and why she does fight to keep it intact
15:32is because she does see the humanity in every person.
15:36And it's almost like she's walking on a different path, but in the end, her goal is very similar
15:42to Sinatra.
15:43Okay.
15:44Sinatra reminds me of something my mom used to say when I was a kid.
15:47I don't know if anybody else's mom said this, my mom would always say, hurt people, hurt
15:51people.
15:52Yes.
15:53Yes.
15:53Yeah.
15:54That's what my mom would say.
15:55And so it's like, yeah, but I still want to shoot her, bang, bang.
15:58I want to still give her a little, just a little bullet hole in something like that.
16:04Yeah.
16:04Yeah.
16:04But we'll see.
16:05Hurt people, hurt people.
16:09I'd ask Dan that.
16:09I was like, was there a world where Sinatra was not coming back?
16:12And he was like, no, absolutely not.
16:13No, she's too good not coming back.
16:15She's too good.
16:15I'm grateful for that.
16:18Well, Chris, I want to talk about Nicole for a little bit, too.
16:20You know, our entrance to her is kind of from this affair with Cal, and, you know, you kind
16:25of think maybe she's just a mistress throughout this series, and then she ends up being this
16:29kind of, like, gun-toting revolutionist, you know, which I didn't see, an adversary to
16:34Xavier at some point, then an ally.
16:36You know, what aspect of your character have you most enjoyed playing out?
16:40Ooh.
16:42I mean.
16:43Making a sweet love to that wife.
16:45Yeah, getting in bed.
16:46I got you.
16:47Getting in bed wasn't tough.
16:49Those days were, like Sterling said, they were long days.
16:52They were hard days.
16:53You know what I'm saying?
16:55Sweet love, drinking, just pouring down my body, just dripping all over my body.
17:02Oh, took a lot from me.
17:08Okay.
17:09I love so much about Robinson, and at first, I didn't like her at all, actually.
17:17I really didn't like her at all, because I had only read the first two episodes, and I
17:21just didn't see the there there.
17:23So what drew me was these guys, and like John was saying, when you're in the hands of folks
17:29who know exactly what you're doing, what they're doing, there's no part of you that questions
17:34that.
17:34But I was not jazzed about her initially, because I just couldn't understand this woman who was
17:40sort of a bitch, and also sleeping with a married man.
17:44And then, as time goes on, you learn the humanity of who she is.
17:50You know, she doesn't have friends or family down here.
17:54You know, she was brought here truly as a soldier with one mission, which is to protect the president.
17:59And so we discover early on that her one mission she has failed at.
18:03So what's it like to be a woman who's unmoored from her singular focus or singular task?
18:09So I think, for me, it was similarly to what Julianne and both Sarah are saying, finding
18:15ways to fall in love with these sort of maybe deplorable characters.
18:20I think it's one of the beauties of Dan's writing and all of the writers who put the
18:25show together, that each of these characters are both so flawed and yet so, like, beautiful.
18:31That's what it means to be a human being, who loves his children but leaves his children,
18:35who, you know, is loyal and kind but also an assassin.
18:39You know, who's a humanitarian but also...
18:42A humanitarian.
18:47So we could go down the line.
18:52Sarah really wants to do some murdering.
18:54Sarah killed somebody.
18:56Sarah can get her hands on a knife.
18:58She won't be happy.
18:59So, for me, the easiest bit to play was the parts that felt close, which is the sexy, warm,
19:09soft parts.
19:10And the parts that felt hard were the cold and frigid parts.
19:13It took me time to find my sea legs with her.
19:16And it's funny.
19:16John was saying a second ago how he found so much solace and comfort from working with
19:21these guys.
19:22And I am going to embarrass you and make you blush a bit.
19:25It was actually in this episode here.
19:27And we were at that carnival.
19:30And I confessed to John in some of our downtime.
19:32And I said, I just don't think I know what I'm doing.
19:35This was after...
19:36And I'm sure in a room full of writers and actors, you know exactly what I'm talking about,
19:41where you've been doing something for a long time.
19:43And then you start to question, like, do I know what I'm doing?
19:47And this was after the writer's strike and after having had a baby.
19:52And so, I just shared with John.
19:53I was like, I just feel so out of my skin.
19:55And you were just so kind to me that day and reminded me, like, you're where you need to
19:59be and you're doing what you need to be doing.
20:02So, anyway, that's my long and short of playing Nicole.
20:04I love that.
20:05I mean, was I right?
20:06Yes, you were.
20:08I just calls him like I sees him.
20:10That's all.
20:13But Nicole, coming to you, because you are the one I have my eyes on for season two.
20:18I love the finale, which I won't talk about here in case someone hasn't seen me yet.
20:22But I'm kind of backing off of what Chris just said.
20:25I'm curious, what parts of Jane did you find most challenging to portray?
20:30Because we know she obviously has a couple different sides.
20:33Yeah.
20:35I feel like a lot of it was just in the script.
20:39And I definitely looked to our directors and our writers for, you know, additional context
20:46of where Jane was coming from.
20:49We had a full week this week diving into some stuff in season two.
20:55And I was reminded that, like, some days are really weirdly easy to play Jane.
20:59And other days I'm like, ooh, yeah, like, this is hard, you know.
21:05So I was really grateful for the opportunity and still am.
21:12I think we, I've probably said this before, but the scene where I, Jane runs in and sees
21:18Billy dead, you know, there were a lot of tears.
21:22You were having a heavy, a heavy moment.
21:24And John was made up to look, you know, a day, a day old.
21:29Even paler.
21:30Yeah.
21:31Somehow.
21:33And.
21:34You got color.
21:35You got color, bro.
21:36I know you.
21:36But, yeah, that was confusing, you know, because Jane is, is visibly very upset and crying
21:47over someone she lost, but she's pretending.
21:49And, and so I would be like on top of John crying and then they'd call cut and I'd be
21:53like, yeah, all right, I'll see you in a minute.
21:57And she just had to lay there.
21:59But, yeah, toward the end of the day I was like, okay, this is weird because she did this
22:02and she's crazy.
22:03And, yeah, so the, some, sometimes it hits you and you're like, ooh, but most of the
22:08time it was really fun.
22:09Good.
22:10Do you have any regrets?
22:15It's all right.
22:15If you don't.
22:16None.
22:18No?
22:18Okay.
22:20Well, lastly, I just kind of want to talk about the fact that you are already in production
22:25for season two, which made me and so many people excited.
22:29And also that you're filming here in L.A., which is becoming such a rarity.
22:34You know, how does it feel being back on set, being the shoot, you know, in Los Angeles at
22:39this time?
22:40It feels freaking fantastic.
22:42During the hiatus, I was blessed to do a few projects, but none of them here.
22:48I went to Louisiana.
22:49I went to France.
22:51I went to Australia, and it's like, I talked to a lot of my crew, and this is real talk.
22:57A lot of people left the city because it's too expensive a place to live and not work.
23:03So folks are living in New Mexico, living in Tennessee, living wherever they are, but came
23:07back to do the show.
23:08So I'm really super hopeful that we can bring more production back to L.A. because we have
23:14the best crews.
23:16We have a talent, a pool full of people that want to be here because this city represents
23:22opportunity.
23:23So let's make sure we keep opportunities present in this place.
23:27I just want to say, I want to piggyback onto what Sterling said because I was actually thinking
23:30about this in the car on the way over here.
23:33Before the show, I was traveling for close to 17 years.
23:38I was on the road, and I'm a single mom of three kids, and it was always such a struggle
23:43any time I had to leave.
23:45And then when I left for a longer period of time, I'd pull the kids out of school, and
23:49it was just like the traveling circus, here we come.
23:51And so if it weren't for Sterling, this show would not be here.
23:56He really exercised his power in a beautiful way.
24:01He and Dan, and it was because of him that the show is happening here, that people are
24:06able to be employed, that I can stay home with my children.
24:09And it's really beautiful when a person in a position of influence uses it in such a
24:15positive way.
24:16Yeah, absolutely.
24:17Come on, EP.
24:18Yes.
24:20Well, thank you all so, so much.
24:22Thank you all for being here.
24:23I think we're going to have a reception.
24:24God bless you all.
24:25Thanks for coming out.
24:27Have a great day, everybody.
24:27See you later.
24:28Take care.
24:28Take care.
24:31Bye-bye.
24:33Bye-bye.
24:34Bye-bye.
24:35Bye-bye.