Anne-Marie Duff gives Graces perspective, and hers, onBad Sisterss seasonlong mystery.
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And most important, who are the Garvey girls without Grace?
Them all being inside this bubble of grief the show isnt as much of a caper this time around.
In finale Cliff Hanger, a flashback sequence clarifies how willing Grace was to embrace her own independence.
That additional context for what Grace was up to before she died doesnt make her accident any less heartbreaking.
It was a bit like seeing what happens when you leave a room.
Watchingthe funeral scenewas extraordinary for me.
It was seeing the world without you, and Id never experienced that before.
You knew before receiving the scripts that Grace would die this season.
How did that affect your approach to her this time around?It was something that gradually evolved.
Anything that will excite and thrill an audience and give them something unexpected, Im always keen to do.
It wasnt like there was an awful soap-opera moment where I was turning the page and was devastated.
I still had loads of acting to do, if that makes sense.
Its really hard to articulate, but I felt there was this inevitability with Grace.
Shes just about to reach out for help properly.
And then shes gone.
I enjoyed the epic nature of it.
[Laughs] I then had a lot more time with the girls.
The irony is that this time she isolates herself.
The wedding was the most glorious couple of days of filming.
We had the best time.
But this time, I got to have a lot more fun.
Can you take me back to filming that?
I really felt the momentum of that devastation.
It was very profound.
But it was heartbreaking because he does seem like the perfect man, and she trusted him so much.
Sharon could have left it there.
But of course, she adds more pepper to the pot.
Graces desperation, it was great to see that.
Shes so cornered and she lashes out, like a frightened little creature.
I was just having to play it all as if it was one movie.
This was interesting because it was different to the dynamic with her first husband.
That was almost cartoonesque in its abuse, but this time around, its much more cunning and complex.
For an actor, its great.
She and I knew this woman so well.
What was Owen like as a scene partner?
[Gasps in horror hearing Mammy and then laughs.]
Owen is literally the nicest man in the film industry.
[Laughs] But he had to be, in a way, right?
You want him to be with Grace, and then you think,Oh, with Eva!
This could be Evas savior!Its very clever.
We had a lovely time.
It was a lot of giggles.
I dont think anybody used the word Mammy the whole of the second season.
How great is that?
Youve said of Graces physicality this season, Shes just this hummingbird, she has nowhere to land.
It was much more taut, whereas in season one, shes becoming as invisible as she can be.
I always imagine theres a little bird trying to take flight.
She thinks that by unburdening herself and confessing to him, that way freedom lies.
If you just imagine this physical energy, it can really inform everything.
Even now, as were talking about it, I can see it.
She has these wings, but they were completely clipped in season one.
She didnt even think about taking off.
But now she thinks about taking off, and she cant quite soar.
Shes burnt to a crisp.
Theres very much a birdlike energy around Grace.
Shes refusing to play his game and shes able to be angry and shes able to defend herself.
Its a showdown in a saloon, and I loved that.
I had to remove from my head the idea that I wouldnt then go on and live my life.
She has a sense of objective around those scenes.
This feeling of vibration really feeds into that.
Its so overwhelming, and shes alone with it.
If only she had asked Eva to come with her to the bar.
That scene leads into the car crash, which was the last scene you filmed.
There are stunt performers, there were technical things you had to do.
However, the wheel moves in the car, so you feel like youre driving it.
Then you realize that the guy doing it is really an expert, and hes making sure you survived.
hey let me remember the order in which I have to do these things.
If we dont feel and care about you, the stunt doesnt matter.
In another interview you said she told you, Dont forget the characters truth.
It cost me so much to confront him and to say no, because she doesnt say no easily.
For all of us, having to say no to somebody we love, its costly.
But for Grace, who has spent years shape-shifting and people-pleasing and acquiescing?
This idea of saying no, you dont get to do that.
For her, trying to build a boundary is so hard.
It was about feeling completely spent, and then thinking,So what happens next?
I dont know what happens next.
Shes sort of clueless around that.
Standing up for herself feels like,Oh my God, what do you do after youve done it?
Because I just feel like falling down.
She sent me an email saying, I just watchedBad Sisters, and she told me her mothers story.
You reach out these invisible strings to audience members, and you never know.
Its incredibly powerful and makes you really grateful to get to do the job.
Like I said that nightwhen I won the award and said how political TV is, it is.
Its completely wrong, and it’s possible for you to do that obliquely by telling a story.
You cant underestimate television in many ways.
Weve talked about patterns of behavior during this conversation.
Its a tricky one, isnt it?
But of course, the end of season one wasnt a healthy resolution.
She murdered somebody, although you could call it an act of self-defense in many ways.
I think perhaps thats why Sharon made the decision she made.
But yeah, its complicated.
As an actor, you dont really have that authority.
Theres another universe in which Grace could have had a different season two, absolutely.
Theres also a truth around repetition.
But, I hear you, sister, is what Im saying.
