Interviews – Page 14 – MaryEWinstead.net

Entertainment Weekly Interviews the Fargo Cast

on April 18, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

Entertainment Weekly caught up with the Fargo cast recently including Mary, Carrie Coon and Ewan McGregor to dish on the newest season of the FX show. The interview can be found in the latest issue of EW, out now. Below are some quotes from Mary, but be sure to head into the gallery to read it in full.

Mary on Nikki and Ray’s relationship, played by Ewan McGregor:

“She’s always competing in her mind, she’s always trying to be one step ahead of her opponent. But she’s also completely and totally in love with Ray.”

On trying to learn the card game bridge for the role, that her character competes in:

“I had every intention of learning how to play bridge; it became very clear that was not going to happen.”

On filming in subzero temperatures:

“My costumes have been quite an ordeal since the beginning, but I’ve been out in my fishnets tights and mini skirts and I haven’t managed to catch hypothermia yet.”

Fargo Interviews TV News

Rotten Tomatoes Interviews Mary

on April 18, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

Rotten Tomatoes recently had a phone interview with Mary while she was on the set in Calgary, Canada filming the third season of Fargo. Below are some highlights. The rest of the interview is with the rest of the cast, so if you’d like, hit the link above to read it in full.

On Nikki’s intro:

Nikki’s introduction on Fargo is straight out of Raising Arizona. We won’t spoil the moment here, but fans of the 1987 Coen Bros. film starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter will definitely know it when they see it.

“That was a reference that Noah had brought up,” Winstead confirmed. “That was sort of a Raising Arizona moment — which is one of my favorite movies.”

Hawley has also confirmed a Big Lebowski reference, which Winstead said they were just getting ready to film.

“I think there might be a couple, but there’s one we’re getting ready to shoot that is most definitely a very clear Big Lebowski moment,” Winstead continued. “It’s pretty clear when we’re shooting things that Oh, this is sort of a No Country for Old Men moment or this is a Miller’s Crossing moment.”

At first glance, Nikki may appear to fall into that classic crime-story tradition of the femme fatale who means nothing but trouble. Fargo gleefully defies genre, however, and Nikki may actually be the one who helps bail Ray out of trouble.

“I don’t feel so much like I’m playing a femme fatale,” Winstead said. “The relationship that she has with Ray is that they’re always trying to bring each other back to reality in one way or another. They have this really, as she calls it, ‘simpatico’ kind of relationship.

“So they’re always saying, ‘Now hon, look at my point of view,’” Winstead continued. It’s very sweet the way that they interact and try to always be a team and on the same page, even if they’re both in the wrong at times.”

On working with Ewan McGregor in his dual role (as the Stussy brothers):

“For some takes, I was standing with Ewan’s double and for some takes, I was standing with Ewan. Watching how the doubles interact with him and have to learn his way of walking and his posture and his way of standing was interesting. They make it feel very natural and grounded and real. They’re reading the lines and the scenes are existing as they would regularly, just swapping out the people. Which is somewhat strange, but it still doesn’t feel like you’re doing a trick of any sort.”

Mary on how the current season takes from seasons 1 and 2:

“There’s something about the fact that it takes place so close to our time frame that feels more like season 1. Also [it] has more of the intimacy I think season 1 has: fewer characters, a bit more quiet in moments. But it has the cinematic flash as well of the second season. It feels very, both intimate and large in scope at the same time, which, for me, makes it feel like something new, but also reminiscent of the first two.”

Continue reading Rotten Tomatoes Interviews Mary

Fargo Interviews

First On Set ‘Fargo’ Interview

on April 12, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

The first of several on set interviews for season 3 of FX’s Fargo has arrived via The Observer. While you can read the full interview by using the link above, this first interview is with the cast. Playing the parolee girlfriend Nikki Swango of Ewan’s character Ray Stussy, Mary said this to them:

When Fargo‘s third season was still in the planning stages Noah Hawley described Nikki Swango, according Ms. Kennedy, as “the only Fargo character that gets to be really, really hot,” a sentiment echoed by Costume Designer Carol Case. “With Nikki, the sky is the limit,” Case says. Compared, of course, to Fargo‘s usual wardrobe palette of brown matched with slightly darker brown.

Which makes it all the stranger that Nikki ends up with the constantly put-upon Ray Stussy. “When [Noah] sent me the first script, he made it clear that Nikki’s love for Ray was real, which was very important,” Winstead tells me, sitting in an icebox-esque trailer in-between shooting scenes.

“In reading it, you could have played it totally differently,” she continued. “I could have read it and played it as she was manipulating him to gain something. Or she will be with him with a little bit then leave him. Because really, from the first episode, just on the page it’s hard to know where it’s going. You don’t know. I could have easily have thought she was going to become some sort of really awful character. But knowing that little kernel, knowing that I could believe in that relationship allowed it to really blossom into something really, really fun.”

Mary also revealed that she and Ewan only took two one-hour lessons to learn about the world of competitive bridge playing and only has basic knowledge of the game.

“I think it mainly speaks to her personality,” she says. “She is constantly strategizing, and she never stops planning and thinking about what her next move is. Trying to be one step ahead of whoever she’s against. Because she’s sort of one of those people that always needs to have an enemy so that she can win.”

Speaking with The A.V. Club about the competitive bridge playing, Mary said “It was so much more difficult than I think we had imagined, so going to see the tournament and seeing how people behave and interact with one another was something that we thought, ‘Okay, we can at least act this; We don’t actually have to know how all the numbers and stuff are adding up.”

Fargo Gallery Updates Interviews

First Look At ‘Fargo’ Revealed

on April 5, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

FX has released a first look behind the scenes video with the cast of Fargo while on location in Canada. You can watch it below and I’ve also capped the scenes with Mary into the gallery. The third season of the hit anthology show returns April 19 at 10 pm.

BrainDead Fargo Gallery Updates Interviews

New Interview with Mary in Soap Opera Digest

on February 19, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

Mary Elizabeth has a brief new interview in the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest, which you can view in the gallery. Back in 1999-2000, Mary played the role of Jessica Bennett on Passions. Here’s what she told the mag of her time on the show:

“Gosh. I was so young back then. I was only 14 and didn’t know much about the business. They had such a large cast that I didn’t always have a lot to do because there were so many characters, but I have to say, they were very good about allowing me to leave. And, I learned a lot about working with cameras and memorizing lines, so in that sense it was quite valuable.”

Mary also talks to them about BrainDead‘s cancellation, how filming Fargo on location in Calgary, Canada is “brutal”, and her feelings on when she got the call to join the show[Fargo].

10 Cloverfield Lane BrainDead Interviews

Mary Talks ‘BrainDead’ Cancellation and ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Sequel

on January 13, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

Speaking at the Television Critics Association day for the third season of Fargo yesterday, Mary spoke with Syfy Wire where she said she’d love to step into her character’s shoes Michelle from 10 Cloverfield Lane:

“I know that Dan and I would love to continue that story,” she said with enthusiasm. “The anthology series is where they are going with it, so whether or not that ever comes back to Michelle’s story, I’m not sure. But I know Dan always had more in mind, so I would love the opportunity to explore that. If anybody would every let us do that, we would jump on it.”

In the same interview, she revealed that what draws her to projects lately are the story and character and the creative minds behind project. Right now is such an exciting time because there is so much incredible material in TV, and so many visionaries in TV like Noah (Hawley). I feel like I have been incredibly lucky the last few years to work with some of those people. Sometimes, you want to go off and experiment and do weird things but for the most part I want to stick with people who are really talented.”

Also during the TCA panel, Mary shared her thoughts on why BrainDead was cancelled, saying it was because the show didn’t quite fit into the audience with CBS but applauded the network for giving them a chance.

Fargo Gallery Updates Interviews TV News

Mary Attends Winter TCA Panel; New ‘Fargo’ Details Revealed

on January 12, 2017January 12, 2017 by Jessica Comments Off

The Television Critics’ Association (TCA) Panel is in full swing and FX had several panels going on today, including one for the third season of Fargo. Below are several highlights of what we’ve learned so far about the upcoming season and be sure to head to the gallery to see the photos:

The new 10-episode season jumps ahead to the technology-friendly 2010 (four years after season 1), and presents the latest Midwestern “true crime” story, whose details are yet unclear. Filming began Friday in Calgary, where temperatures hovered in the negative double digits last week.

Mary will play Nikki Swango, a parolee who’s “smart and street savvy, with the capacity for conniving” and a dark side,” she says. “But she has a heart.” Her character is also dating Ray Stussy (a dual role by Ewan McGregor where he plays twins).

Exec producer Warren Littlefield says this season is keeping it to about 11 main and recurring characters. “The important thing about Year Three is intimacy,” Littlefield said. “It’s a smaller cast. Year Two was a large war, so in Year Three we live within these characters.”

Other tidbits (via various twitter users during today’s panel):

Mary Elizabeth Winstead says the cast is told to play their characters as if they could become the hero or villain at any moment. She also said that she’s drawn to things that are “funny, sad, and scary.”

Winstead also said the movie “Fargo” is one of her favorite films. When she got the call, she immediately said yes even though at first, she was initially nervous when she heard they were making a series about it.

Her character’s intelligence and cunning are what make her the “cat” and/or “clarinet” of “Fargo”.

Lastly, the show will premiere some time in April, but no date has been set as of yet.

Interviews

Mary Picks her Favorite TV Couple

on October 14, 2016 by Jessica Comments Off

Mary was among 31 celebrities asked by Vulture.com who her favorite TV couple was. Below is her answer:

“Well, the first thing that jumps into my head is the Huxtables and I was just like — shoot, no. I feel so conflicted about it now, but that was the first thing that popped into my mind. That show was a huge, huge part of my childhood. That’s what you wanted your parents to be like, you know? It’s a strange answer now.”

You can read other celeb faves by using the link above.

10 Cloverfield Lane Gallery Updates Interviews

Full Scans of Mary in VVV Magazine!

on October 4, 2016October 5, 2016 by Jessica Comments Off

Paige has scanned the full interview of Mary in the new fall/winter issue of VVV Magazine! Head to the gallery to check it all out. In the Q&A, Mary discusses 10 Cloverfield Lane, how important it is to her to play strong, female characters, what horror/sci-fi films inspired her when she was younger and who her biggest influences are.

BrainDead Gallery Updates Interviews

Mary’s Guest Appearance on Late Night with James Corden

on August 24, 2016August 24, 2016 by Jessica Comments Off

Mary was a guest on last night’s episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden along with singer Jason Derulo and actor/comedian Ben Schwartz. Ben instagrammed a behind the scenes photo when their segment was over. You can check out a clip of Mary discussing the sex scene she shot with filmmaker Michael Moore from last week’s episode of BrainDead.