One minute, her hair is blonde and long, the next it’s short and brown.
One minute, she’s got a dog, and the next she has a cat.
“Any time you’re having shifting realities in different time periods, it’s a lot of charts.
A lot of timelines.
“The book has multiple perspectives.
For me, the character who I connected with most was Kirby,” she says.
“And so, I really wanted us to be with her along that journey.
(Watch how it all came together in the behind-the-scenes footage, below.)
“It was incredibly challenging, honestly.
You always shoot everything out of order, when you’re making anything, of course.
What hadn’t happened?
What was about to happen?
Wagner Moura plays Dan in ‘Shining Girls.’.
It was definitely one of the most complicated things I’ve ever done.”
in an effort to make things feel “really grounded and real,” says MacLaren.
“We didn’t want them to feel supernatural.
Jamie Bell plays Harper in ‘Shining Girls.'.apple tv+
We didn’t want it to be a lot of CGI.
So, we started out very simply and did it editorially.
And then they grew, as they get bigger and bigger.
But I think we always kept them pretty grounded.
It’s more tangible for the audience.”
So, did they manage to keep it all straight?
Another special part of the show’s DNA is Moura’s character, Dan.
For the Brazilian actor, it was a dream come true to play a journalist.
Naturally, the role allowed him to return to those roots.
The other way into his character was understanding the relationship between him and Kirby.
“I love the way these characters recognize in each other the same wounds and scars.
And they both are trying to get their lives back on track.
That was really also a way for me to get in Dan’s universe,” Moura says.
Bell plays the show’s killer, Harper, whom the actor describes as a “deranged sociopath.”
I did it.’
So then, the journey of the rest of the show is not, who done it?
But it’s, how did he do it?”
Bell explains, adding that he was very careful to not play him as a “boogeyman.”
“If you just play him as threatening and creepy, it’s not really creepy.
Or, maybe it’s a meet-cute, actually, in his mind.
Or it’s a dream or a fantasy.
It was always trying to find the other things to play in it,” he says.
“I still consider myself, really, a student of this stuff.
I’ve been doing it for 20 years or whatever, but I’m learning constantly.
And I’m only doing one job here.
Moura agrees, calling the set “a great environment to work” despite the heavy subject mattersShining Girlstackles.
“This is a series it’s a mix of genres.
It’s a crime story.
It [also has] sci-fi elements.
“It’s a very heavy thing.
I felt great doing the scenes with her.
So, this was great.
I was very happy.
It’s great when you leave the set feeling like, ‘Oh, that was great.’
That doesn’t happen all the time.”
For more with the cast and crew ofShining Girls, watch the fullAround the Tablevideo above.
Check out ourdaily must-see picks plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more onEW’sWhat to Watchpodcast.
