With Misty, there’s a bit of a clinical diagnosis to go along with her, and so we had to discuss that, and come to a conclusion that sort of sets a lot of ground rules for behavior. We talked about the different ways we would be playing Misty and the different plans. Sammi and I met before episode two, because we didn’t really have much time before the pilot. Of course we talked about the character, but I think there are certain things we naturally both picked up.ĬR: Definitely. Having somebody who loves Misty the way we both do worked really well. SH: With Christina, we didn’t get to see each other ever on set, but it was really cool to hear the crew be like, “Did you guys talk about how you push up the glasses?” and I was like, “Not really.” Yet we somehow did it the same way, which was a really cool coincidence. JSB: Because she’s a two on the enneagram: a helper! SH: Yeah, we couldn’t get a hold of Tawny, so I was like, “I’m gonna go call!” because we were running around set. On set, I remember writing in the journal thinking, “Wait, are you left- or right-handed?” I think you’re right-handed, right? I had to switch that, but I couldn’t just call you in the middle of the day. Turns out I didn’t get fired - it’s fine.
I freaked out because everyone from Showtime is sitting around us and I’m going, “I’m getting fired, I don’t even look like her, I don’t even know why I got cast.” I spend the whole reading just trying to talk a bit more like this. I remember on the reading, she had the first line, and then she spoke quite high-pitched, and I’m a little lower. Physically, I had to change my hair because I’m usually blonde. Sophie Nélisse: Melanie and I grabbed coffee just to make sure we were on the same length about the character. JSB: Sammy’s a two, and Taissa is a three. JSB: In a park - got some weird looks! And I taught you about the enneagram, because I’m an enneagram nerd, so I filled her in on that. TC: And then there were also movements the character does that she doesn’t know she does, and we discussed that in great detail. I called her one day on set like, “Oh my God, do we say ‘ ee-ther’ or ‘ eye-ther’?” I think those are the small details that really tie it together. Jasmin Savoy Brown: Tawny and I talked about little things.
How did you work together to figure out how to play these characters so they would seem fluid and related? In a way, you’re kind of in different shows, because you can’t be in the same scene at once - unless there’s some time-travel situation I don’t know about yet. This question is for those of you - which I think is everybody but Ella -playing the same character at different points in their lives. I specifically said I did not want to know anything my character didn’t know, so I was told nothing, except when I went to the hair and makeup trailer and then they talked relentlessly, I found out everything! I was like, “I do what?” ML: Because I need it! I’m paranoid and anxious. When I had the meeting to potentially do the show I was like, “What happens in episode five?” They gave me a lot of information about the plot of this season, next season, season five - like, they really have a real plan.Ĭhristina Ricci: Melanie got all the intel. I’m very nervous about being stuck in something where people are like, “I dunno.” I really grilled them. Melanie Lynskey: I’m very paranoid about getting into something and not knowing that people have a plan in place. Juliette, when you got involved in this project, did you know the arc of your character, or were you finding that out with each script? Jen Chaney: I’ve done a lot of panels, but I’ve never done a panel that was all women - and this many women - so this is very cool.
Watch the whole panel below, or read on for the full transcript. Ella Purnell, who plays team captain Jackie in 1996, was present and accounted for, but does not have an adult acting counterpart.
The new Showtime series Yellowjackets takes place in two time periods: 1996, when a high-school girls’ soccer team must survive in the wilderness following a plane crash, and in the present day, where many of those women are still coping with that trauma.įollowing a screening of the pilot, the actors who play those women at different stages of their lives joined Vulture Fest to discuss the series: Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse, who portray a younger and older Shauna, respectively Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher, the rebellious Natalie Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as stubborn Taissa and Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty, the two iterations of freaky Misty.