The FX on Hulu miniseries is adapted from from Hannah Fidell’s 2013 film.
EW spoke with the stars about their experience making the series.
What is society’s fascination with these relationships?
Credit: Chris Large/FX
NICK ROBINSON:There is a definite fascination with these kinds of relationships.
The Mary Kay Letourneau story is probably the most famous, but these happen all the time.
I don’t know what the fascination is, it’s sort of dangerous and taboo and wrong.
KATE MARA:Well, it’s very thought-provoking, right?
ROBINSON:Yeah, it is.
“Why would this person do this?”
What did you discover in your research for these roles?
ROBINSON:I was really surprised by how many cases there were, and how many probably go unreported.
MARA:Yeah, all you have to do is Google-search it, and it’s sort of endless.
So it was really interesting to hear him talk about it.
Eric is not immediately seen as a victim.
What is it that Eric and Claire see in each other?
ROBINSON:They both see a sort of escape in each other, in different ways.
Eric sees Claire, in a weird way, as his ticket to adulthood and real love and manhood.
But at first, yeah, he just has a crush I think and acts out on it.
It’s interesting, the lies that she tells herself to justify her behavior.
This show also explores what happens after they’re found out.
How does their dynamic shift when that happens?
It’s a really fascinating journey to go on, to see from both of their points of view.
A version of this article appears in the November issue ofEntertainment Weekly,on newsstands now orbuy it here.
