“Rian really let me run free with creating the accent,” the actress says.
twin sister, Helen, who must masquerade as Andy to attempt to uncover who murdered her sister.
“I’ve spent time in South Carolina, a lot of time down South.
NETFLIX
[Director] Rian [Johnson] had some ideas.
But he let me run free with creating the accent.
He was like, ‘Just see to it that they’re distinct enough.’
I know that for Cassandra, she didn’t want you to know where she was from.
She was used to playing in corporate spaces, so her voice was a bit more corporate.
Still warm, still inviting, but more, you probably wouldn’t know where she was from.
That was real beauty, too, to root it in something from the Deep South.”
“You want to root for Helen, right?”
I want her to win.'
I’m so happy for this cute little Southern, smart woman."
Johnson describes watching her navigate this and switch back and forth as “a magic trick.”
For Monae, the key was tapping into the characters' very different energies.
“Usually, when I do character work, I start with energy.
It was like, ‘What is Helen’s energy?
What is Andy’s energy?
What is Helen pretending to be Andy’s energy?’
Whoever is supposed to be present, see to it that their energy shines.”
“Because if I hadn’t done that, I would’ve not been able to do this role.
It took a lot of mental gymnastics to make it look easy and to make it feel seamless.”
Glass Onionis now streaming onNetflix.
