Was there an obvious moment?
SHERYL LEE RALPH:For me, it was during the shoot of the pilot.
And I said, “Man, you feel it too, don’t you?”
Credit: Illustration by Natalia Agatte for EW
He said, “Yeah.”
… We both felt that we had something very special.
And it was absolutely magical, and he and I felt it at the same time.
Tyler James Williams, Quinta Brunson, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, and William Stanford Davis on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.'.Temma Hankin/ABC
JANELLE JAMES:I knew from the time I read it that it was a good show.
That’s what I was feeling more than thinking about whether it’s a hit or not.
I was just like, “This has been great.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, and Quinta Brunson on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.'.Ser Baffo/ABC
A great experience shooting this show with these people.”
I think that means that you’ve done a good job making a web link television show.
To me, that started to feel like, “Okay, the word of mouth is happening.
Janelle James on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.'.Scott Everett White/ABC
People are talking about the show.
The word is traveling.”
Sheryl, I really can’t imagine anyone else playing Barbara but you.
Hamish Linklater as Father Paul in ‘Midnight Mass’.Netflix
What have you found yourself latching onto most?
And are there things you get to do here that previous roles didn’t afforded you?
RALPH:I think it’s thebeingof it all.
HBO
And I’m just like, “Really?
I was literally just here.”
For me, it’s a very relaxed situation.
The placement of her voice.
The fact that she doesn’t always need to talk to let you know exactly how she feels.
So that’s a whole other thing.
I really think I’ve been given a gift from Quinta in playing Mrs. Howard.
And what burning questions did you have about her?
JAMES:I did audition, and I did get called back.
That’s why I’m here.
But as far as whether principal was on [my bucket list]…
I don’t really have a technique or preparation.
I’m just doing.
But I feel like that kind of lends to this character: that she’s unprepared, maybe.
I’m prepared by being unprepared.
I really don’t have any [preconceived] notions about what acting is supposed to be.
Quinta, you’ve created a show with diversity and representation in terms of race and sexuality.
What are you hearing from people in those regards?
BRUNSON:It feels wonderful that people are feeling represented in this show.
But, I will say that in creatingAbbott, weirdly, my goal was not diversity.
It was just, “These are the people that make up Abbott Elementary.
We weren’t worried about diversity at all while we were making this show.
We were worried about being funny.
We already brought everything that’s being looked for so hard to the table.
Honestly, don’t stick me inMrs.
I’d rather see a show that’s about our people.
abbott elementarycreator & star Quinta brunson
Honestly, don’t stick me inMrs.
Speaking of being funny: desking?
Where did that come from?
BRUNSON:We made that one up.
I had seen kids online who were stealing paper towel dispensers from their classrooms.
This was a TikTok trend.
I was like, “What if something similar like that happened that Abbott?
Tom Hiddleston, center, as Loki variant President Loki.Marvel Studios
What would that mean for our team?”
That wound up being one of my favorite episodes.
I feel like everybody’s on fire in that one.
‘Armageddon Time’ cast poses with James Gray at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
Like Janelle and Lisa [Ann Walter] in that.
It’s so good.
Is the season 2 writers’ room open yet?
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in ‘Elvis’.Warner Bros. Pictures
BRUNSON:It is!
And we are so excited.
We are so excited with what we’re doing already.
Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision to Leave’.Cannes Film Festival
Sheryl and Janelle don’t know yet, but we’re just so, so excited.
It feels so wonderful to get back in the room.
Everyone is firing on all cylinders.
Dong-won Gang and Song Kang-ho in writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘Broker’.Eontalk Media
I know that’s so weird.
RALPH:That’s weird.
BRUNSON:It’s very weird.
Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.Paramount Pictures
What’s funny is she was someone I wanted for season 1.
JAMES:That’s crazy.
I didn’t know that.
BRUNSON:I know.
It’s so funny.
And she’s fitting right in, bringing new juice to the room.
We are already so excited for what we get to do.
We’re losing our minds.
Last question: What grade would you give this interview?
BRUNSON:Actually, a nice firm A.
For the purposes of this plea, though, let’s focus onMidnight Mass.
The monologue is an exponential rise, and it’s a pretty smooth trajectory.
I didn’t want to have to act, I wanted it to just be natural and real.”
This guy’s finally cut loose.’
We get to essentially create a whole new character.
He is starting from ground zero now.
He has shaken off the past and he’s living his truth.
He focused on the action while filming the scene
“I found it to be very liberating.
I found that focusing on that stuff allowed me to more or less let this thing fly.”
To get that thing to pee was a challenge unto itself.
I mean, I saw the pee come out of the prosthetic most of the time.
If it didn’t happen, I was still going through the motions of peeing in the foyer.
I’m done with the prosthetics!
Let’s retire the prosthetics, but it was fun while it lasted."
I thought there was a better way, or maybe more decisive.
I don’t know what’s best for me.
I’m my own worst critic."
I’ve never been given such a dynamic piece to work with.
There’s no vanity with this character, especially in this moment.
I hope Cal gets an epic soliloquy every season."
It’s the first time viewers see the actress’ passionate determination brewing under the surface.
“The point of it is to shock and surprise the audience, like, ‘Were you underestimating me?
Well, here we go,'” she says.
“It’s such a slam dunk, mic drop moment.
It really shifts everything, and I do like how the writers made it like a Trojan horse.
You think of it as one thing, and then it becomes something else.
It’s just such a cool moment.”
That said, filming it first “added an absurd amount of pressure,” James admits.
“I’d only been dressed in the character like three times.
And then suddenly, I was doing this huge monologue.
I was so nervous.
I was just thrown into the deep end, and it was pretty terrifying.
Of course, I was completely paranoid that we didn’t get it.
I didn’t want to f— up.
I didn’t want to get fired on the first day.”
Pam & Tommystar Lily James
I didn’t want to f— up.
“And he really lets you play.
By letting you just do take after take and resetting in your own time, it feels more relaxed.
I actually did loads of improvising in the scene, and they didn’t put any of it in.
I was kind of bummed about that, but it turned out great.”
“There’s this new path that Pam is taking withBarb Wire, and everything feels so scary.
“I started to relate and understand it from my own perspective.
It’s like your most authentic voice just comes out of nowhere and these words spill out of you.
And as that’s happening, it becomes really easy.”
“I just think that what she’s saying matters so much,” she says.
Everything in the scene was just exactly what I wanted to be exploring and talking about.
It’s so powerful.”
Heat Index | Contender or Pretender?
And she may find it.
Hisemotional acceptance speech at the SAG Awardswon’t seen be forgotten.
So why could they miss out this year?
“But he let out this wild scream when he caught it.
Everyone was trying not to laugh.”
Hiddleston would act opposite a body double, with Herron reading lines off-camera.
Adds creator Michael Waldron: “It’s incredibly complex stuff to be doing on a television schedule.”
That was essential to set up his powers for the show’s climax.
“She had a lot of fun building the horns,” says Herron.
“Maybe some of them had to rebuild them in the void and how did they fight with them?
You give the roadmap to your stunt coordinator and designers and build it with them.”
He’s not afraid to scrap it up.
So, it’s cool to show that side of all these Lokis fighting."
“With the jumping through the fight, Loki wants to get out of there.
He’s got a very clear mission.
That movement, Tom did that in rehearsal, and I found it very funny.
It felt emotionally true.”
Read on for five Cannes projects that could make headway at the Oscars as the year progresses.
TheDevil Wears Pradastar andLes MiserablesOscar winner eyes a potential bid for another nomination in the celebrated filmmaker’s latest.
The coming-of-age tale set in 1980s Queens also features awards heavy-hitters like two-time Oscar-winning actorAnthony HopkinsandSuccession’s Emmy-winningJeremy Strong.
