Warning: This post contains spoilers for theBarryseason 3 episode “all the sauces.”
Here, Goldberg opens up to EW about Sally’s season 3 journey to stardom and finding inspiration inSuccession.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me!
Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed in ‘Barry’.Merrick Morton/HBO
Where are you calling from?
SARAH GOLDBERG:Of course!
I live in London.
Sarah Goldberg.Sela Shiloni
[Laughs]
Honestly, you’re great.
I don’t have much of an accent myself!
There had to be one.
[Laughs] I mean, I have a Canadian accent.
It doubles for Missouri.
Vancouver for Missouri is what we’re working with.
It’s basically the same thing.
Season 3 finds Sally going through some very high highs and some very low lows.
What was it about her arc this season that you found most interesting?
I was just excited.
I wanted to go darker with the character.
I was curious: What does someone in her position do with that power?
Do you become a better version of yourself, or do you lean into the worst parts of yourself?
We had a luxury of seeing her in different hierarchical situations.
I was curious about that sort of duality.
I wanted to explore that with Sally.
I wasn’t surprised by that.
But here’s a show full of guys who kill people, and that doesn’t bother anybody.
But a woman is a little ambitious, and it’s unwatchable.
So, I was excited that we pushed her into a pretty dark place.
I spoke to co-creator Alec Berg earlier, and he talked about that likability.
He said the dichotomy between how people respond to Barry and Sally is kind of baffling.
It’s baffling, but it’s good.
It makes for good conversation.
I wasn’t surprised that was the response.
We were fully prepared for it in season 1.
I want to ask those questions of society: Why is that the case?
We see those consequences over and over, which I think is really smart writing.
Well, I think as an actor, our job is to play tone.
Are you comedy or drama?"
I think it all comes down to the writing and if it’s good writing.
If you venture to play the joke, you’ll fall flat on your face.
Especially with the way [theBarrywriters] write jokes because they don’t write in-your-face jokes.
It’s not broad comedy.
It’s very specific comedy.
What do you remember most about filming that?
It was a fun thing to shoot!
This is what she’s wanted more than anything, and it’s happening.
It’s not what she anticipated, so she’s having this very private moment in public.
[Laughs] But in that moment, they’re actually having a very private moment in public.
So, I think that was the goal with the speech.
She’s got her speech prepared, and shesowants to be the artist that doesn’t care about reviews.
That was just a thrill to play.
I was grateful for that scene, and it was a ton of fun to do.
AndElsie Fisher, by the way, is just amazing.
I mean, it was such a privilege to work with her.
We were very lucky to have her, and it added a really deep element to that storyline.
There are some really great and very intense scenes between Barry and Sally this season.
What was your most memorable day on set working with Bill?
Bill does a really good job of collaborating and not creating a hierarchical environment on set.
It’s like a real best-idea-wins atmosphere.
That’s my overall feeling of the season: It feels like there’s no s— ideas.
you could hype up just about everything.
He doesn’t have an ego about that.
He’s not embarrassed about throwing out bad ideas.
That was a surprise gear.
But it was exciting to see him switch into that new gear.
We were just so excited to be there.
So, I feel like everybody switched on a new gear.
And Henry this season is remarkable.
It’s extraordinary to watch.
That’s always nice, when people can come to work feeling creatively energized.
It’s truly contagious.
No one is going to be an asshole on set around Henry Winkler!
We just couldn’t!
[Laughs]
We do feel like a funny little traveling band.
I think the last couple years have taught us all a lot of things.
For us, coming back, the main thing was just not to take it for granted.
Because this doesn’t happen."
These guys have seen it all, and we’re lucky to have their perspective.
I get it."
[Laughs] But he’s right.
