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“Destined” whitethorn beryllium a melodramatic adjective to usage astir a casting, but it seems apt for describing Haley Lu Richardson’s adjacent individual affinity for Twila, nan spunky and charmingly idiosyncratic secretary-turned-CIA operative successful Peacock’s Ponies. In nan show, Richardson stars opposite Emilia Clarke’s by-the-book, Type A characteristic of Bea. To get into 1970s Moscow spy mode arsenic Twila, Richardson joined forces connected a thrifting expedition pinch costume designer Anastasia Magoutas. Here, she talks passionately astir uncovering her unapologetic and “uninhibited” character, why a female should beryllium U.S. president and her emotion for Heated Rivalry.
DEADLINE: What was astir rewarding erstwhile collaborating pinch hair, constitution and costuming for Ponies?
HALEY LU RICHARDSON: Collaborating is 1 of my favourite things astir what I do. I consciousness for illustration it’s really I study and get amended and get inspired and really find nan deepest, astir interesting, circumstantial things astir different humans that I effort to embody and really bring to life. With Twila, particularly, she’s a really specific, wild, one-of-a-kind, uninhibited woman, truthful location was a batch of places that we could person gone pinch her, but we really wanted to make everything intentional and feel really informative of nan female she is and this travel that she’s on.
Anastasia [Magoutas], nan costume designer, was ace collaborative and down to actually have so overmuch nosy figuring retired this woman. And we went thrifting together. On our first telephone call, she recovered a cleanable brace of cowboy boots pinch butterflies and flames, and we ordered them connected that call. So, it was benignant of for illustration that nan full time.
DEADLINE: You antecedently said you couldn’t person played this characteristic six months beforehand, owed to your ain individual evolution. How did nan similarities betwixt you and Twila pass your process, if astatine all?
RICHARDSON: Often, I consciousness for illustration I’m trying to hunt to find nan 1 aliases fistful of halfway things — aliases a emotion I felt before, an acquisition I have, aliases personification I’ve met — that really connects maine to a characteristic I’m embodying. But pinch Twila, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s really truthful galore heavy characteristic and halfway parallels, it’ll beryllium truthful nosy and freeing to definitive that done this woman.’ But also, I don’t conscionable want to beryllium afloat playing myself. I was actively uncovering ways we’re different.
The large point for maine was nan measurement she talks. I deliberation that I besides person a somewhat unrefined, weird measurement of enunciating and speaking, but I wanted hers to beryllium very different and really unrefined, but pinch a weird assurance to it. Her voice, her accent, her measurement of speaking, and past her mannerisms, nan measurement she sat. I consciousness for illustration she’s possibly a spot much masculine than me. So, I had nosy pinch that, man-spreading everywhere.
DEADLINE: How does Twila’s reside — and successful peculiar her accent — pass nan beforehand that she puts on?
RICHARDSON: The psychology down it that [dialect coach] Christine Grace Szarko and I talked astir astatine magnitude was: She does transportation a batch of shame and regret, and she is very vulnerable, but vulnerability takes strength, successful a way. And she’s had to really suppress that portion of herself because of her upbringing and her 10-year horrible matrimony — RIP. I deliberation she’s profoundly aware that she’s unrefined, and possibly immoderate group would look down upon that, but she almost plays it up — her unrefined, uneducated, smalltown-ness. She plays it up and throws it successful people’s faces truthful that they can’t bring her down first, because she’s truthful unapologetically, loudly all of these things that group could judge. But I do think, besides — and this is thing I profoundly related to — it’s not each conscionable a front. She really is simply a confident, unapologetic, bold person.
DEADLINE: David Iserson and Susanna Fogel person talked astir really different actors mightiness person played Twila arsenic much one-dimensional, but her condolences grounds her to personification real. Bea and Twila are positioned arsenic opposites, but by nan extremity they study from each other. How do you consciousness they some alteration each other?
RICHARDSON: First, earlier I reply nan existent existent mobility you were asking, I can’t ideate personification playing Twila that wasn’t me, because I was calved to play her. I’ve ne'er felt that astir a characteristic before; I was conscionable like, I have to play this woman, there’s nary different choice.
There’s truthful overmuch profoundly festering wrong of her that is bursting to travel out, and I felt that from that first statement pinch her hubby — you tin show conscionable really shaming of a narration that is, and she’s biting, and she’s mean, and she fights back.
It’s just really so beautiful that wrong this full crazy spy world, it’s really astir nan communicative of these 2 women and their relationship and them being seen successful a safe abstraction by a female friend for nan first time, really ever in their life.
We request to make a female nan president, and each nan problems will spell away. You tin quote maine connected that.
DEADLINE: What did you return distant from nan show successful position of women successful positions of powerfulness and moving wrong a strategy that mightiness not let them to beryllium who they are?
RICHARDSON: Gosh, isn’t that crazy that that’s still a thing? It’s still thing we’re, like, trying to hit complete people’s heads. I’ve ever been partial to nan underdog, because I consciousness that it’s really wrong nan unexpected that the astir occurrence tin happen. I’m reasoning of nan aforesaid actors we spot each nan clip successful these large roles, but what’s much breathtaking is when Heated Rivalry comes out.
DEADLINE: I emotion that you mentioned this. I was virtually going to bring it up.
RICHARDSON: Hudson [Williams] and Connor [Storrie]. It’s like, who are these guys? But they’re nan best. Sometimes you gotta bet connected immoderate unexpected personification that hasn’t been proven. And that’s what we request to do arsenic a nine pinch women. We request to make a female nan president, and each nan problems will spell away. You tin quote maine connected that.
My puerility friend’s dada told maine erstwhile that each spot overplayed is simply a weakness, and that intends that each weakness is calved successful a strength. You look astatine Twila and Bea and they conscionable look for illustration a bunch of weaknesses, but nan specificity that only they could bring arsenic women are actually what make them, successful nan end, get arsenic acold arsenic they do. And hopefully successful Season 2, we’ll continue.
DEADLINE: Have you heard thing astir Season 2?
RICHARDSON: I was conscionable astatine this NBCUniversal luncheon, and I cornered [NBC accumulation executives] and I was like, “Just letting you know, each clip nan show is mentioned, I sound connected wood that there’s a Season 2.” And I conscionable stared astatine her unblinking. And she conscionable smiled and nodded, truthful I don’t cognize what that means. I would be really sad to time off Twila.
DEADLINE: We besides spot Twila embark connected a romance pinch Ivanna (Lili Walters). Knowing that Tom held her infertility against her, really do you spot Twila coming into her ain successful position of her sexuality extracurricular of each these rigid tabooed boxes of womanhood?
RICHARDSON: The emotion already died a agelong clip agone [in her marriage]. She has been moving done nan world arsenic this independent woman, and there’s a hardness to that that’s evidently not wide acceptable and beloved. But now, passim nan season, she is allowed to research her softness, she’s allowed to, pinch Bea and pinch herself and pinch Ivanna, research her existent desires and vulnerability and softness successful an honorable measurement that transcends gender and what a female is expected to be.
DEADLINE: You changeable connected location successful Budapest for six months. There were agelong shoots; you and Emilia sewage sick a bunch of times. Despite those challenges, what did you find astir gratifying?
RICHARDSON: It was highly treatment and freeing. I turned 30 successful Budapest while playing this female who was going done this large translator and merchandise and clip successful her life, for illustration I was going through, truthful that was cool.
Sometimes I conscionable blacked out, and past I’d beryllium like, ‘Wait, did we movie nan scene?’ And nan AD would beryllium like, ‘Barely,’ but we conscionable laughed a lot. It was a really good group of people.
DEADLINE: What are immoderate valuable lessons you learned from Twila?
RICHARDSON: I consciousness for illustration I’ve played a batch of Type-A characters that are more quiet, that I’ve had to actively — not successful a bad measurement — make myself smaller aliases little animated aliases little loud. It was conscionable truthful validating and freeing to beryllium capable to spell to activity and play this female that I loved. In trying to emotion Twila, I saw things successful her that I’ve carried shame astir successful myself. But done loving her — I’m gonna start crying — I was like, wait, I’m for illustration that too. I tin emotion that astir me, and I don’t person to beryllium embarrassed aliases cringed retired astatine nan extremity of nan nighttime because I said immoderate inappropriate joke, and nary 1 laughed. I emotion erstwhile Twila does that. I tin beryllium nicer to myself.
It gave maine an opportunity arsenic an character to beryllium capable to be more free and bring myself and my existent instincts to things. I felt for illustration I could move things up and neglect and look dumb, aliases effort thing different, and really beryllium present.
