ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was this one of those roles you just knew right away you had to play?
REBECCA BREEDS:Oh, absolutely.
You have to go for Clarice."
Rebecca Breeds in ‘Clarice’.Brooke Palmer/CBS
I was like, “Yeah, I’ll see what comes in or whatever.”
The moment it did, I just lit up and I knew it was game time.
I knew that this was not the frivolous, girlfriend-to-the-main-guy, as-pretty-as-she-is-cute kind of a role.
I was like, “This is my jam!”
What I love about her is her intelligence.
For me, it was like an intellectual playground.
Should we go on the swings?
Should we go on the slide?
What about the monkey bars?
It’s like, how many different things can I try?
How many different mechanisms can I use to circumvent this guy’s ridiculous questions and get around them?
So many of the scenes since seem to be that way.
Is it kind of exhausting?
I mean, yeah.
Because of the physical element and the trauma the post-traumatic stress element that is really exhausting.
It kind of balances out but the sleep deprivation, that’s real.
Once you landed the role, did you go back and watchSilence of the LambsandHannibaland read the books?
Or did you want to keep your performance separate from all that?
I wanted to honor the character.
The character is so richly drawn in the books that it was the most fun homework ever.
Did you feel pressure because she’s such an iconic character?
Or were you able to block that out?
I literally blocked it out.
and just said, “Get over yourself, get on with the job.”
I applied her attitude to it.
Also, I wouldn’t have gotten the job if I couldn’t do it.
I know how well this character fits on me.
I’m living it, I’m feeling it.
I know it feels good.
That’s not my job.
I have to ask about mastering the Appalachian accent.
You’re so good at it.
Did you have a coach?
What all went into making it sound right?
The night I got the audition, I just looked up YouTube’s different versions of the Appalachian accent.
I wanted to hear different versions of the dialects.
Then after that, honestly, it’s just a bit of magic.
It just really sat beautifully in my mouth.
It really brought the character home.
From that first audition, I just felt like I had it.
Her and Ardelia [Devyn Tyler] really have a dark sense of humor together.
They’re hysterical when they’re not in work mode.
It’s a very specific week in her life.
That’s not who she is.
That’s a part of who she is.
What about the aftermath of that week?
Was she running on adrenaline?
Ramen noodles, apparently.
I’m dying to show how much personality she has.
It’s so intriguing because you have all of this underneath.
You’ve got all this humanness that I can relate to.
How are these two beasts one person?
Women are like this.
So I’m loving getting to expand her narrative to those.
I mean, does she dance?
I would hope so.
Maybe after a margarita or three?
I cannot wait for that episode.
Is that something we’re going to see explored more?
I may not fully be able to understand, but I’m willing to try.
I want to learn.
I want to be a better friend.
And I want to be effective.
It’s something that’ll continue to be explored and something that will continue to unfold throughout their relationship.
Is she going to continue to get more assertive as she gets more comfortable in the VICAP team?
Like, “I mean it when I say it.
I’m not crazy.
Don’t belittle my experience.”
It’s the hysterical woman thing, and it’s like, don’t do that.
Don’t belittle me and say I’m being a hysterical woman.
You actually need to listen to me.
Clarice really fights for her voice to be heard and taken seriously.
There are times that you do get shut down and you are silent.
It is the most dehumanizing experience.
We get to see that play out, but we also get to see her fight for it.
I think that’s really powerful.
The last episode ended with Clarice being anesthetized by Luanneand no one on the team knowing where she is.
Can you tease anything about episode 5?
I’d say, watch this episode with the lights on.
It’s gonna get dark.
Five is for real, man.
Five almost killed me, but I’m so proud of it.
I’m pretty good at compartmentalizing the content, but it’s the exhaustion of going through the trauma.
Afterwards, you’re just a shell.
I’m so proud of myself that I did that and now I have nothing left to give.
Clariceairs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
