Colliders ownTania Hussainhad the privilege of sitting down with Smulders and Lovell to dive deep into Vals Story onAccused.
I’m so happy to chat with you guys today.
I watched this episode last night, and I was so in awe of it.
Custom image by Nimesh Niyomal Perera; production stills by Fox
It’s one of those really empowering episodes that we don’t really get enough of on TV.
You’re watching the show and you’re like,how did that happen to that person?
It feels all very human to me.
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That’s also [Dina Shihabi], who plays Jordan’s story as well.
It’s a really wonderful showcase of this relationship between these two women.
And thankfully, Vella comes in and really saves the day at the end of this episode.
Image via FOX
This episode, it was a real Power Women team.
It was really important for all of us to portray that asrealisticallyand as real as it possibly could be.
The wholeAccusedteam allowed us to play with the levels and hopefully we presented something that was very grounded.
Image via FOX
That was entertaining to watch and luckily kind of worked out in the end, we can say.
For these two women and for this beautiful little boy.
Vella, what about you?
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Anything to add, you know, for your own experience to that?
VELLA LOVELL: As always, Cobie says it really well and then I’m like, Yep.
You realize,oh, no, she’s going through the same thing.
Cobie Smulders on Depicting PTSD in Accused
That twist was something I did not expect.
It was such an interesting conversation to have though with the conclusion too, how it wraps up.
What was your reaction when you read that script?
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They are treated in that patriarchal sense where men can get away with it, but women cant.
Also, it’s so emotional and it’s so difficult.
It is so he said/ she said.
Image via FOX
In this case, I think it’s about appealing to humanity.
It’s clear who the bad guy is here.
Let’s look at what is the right thing to do.
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How did you prepare to portray the complexities of Mara’s role within the justice system?
LOVELL: I shouldn’t say this, but I watched a lot of legal dramas.
On a technical level, I got a lot of good ’90s movies in.
Chronicles ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary situations, where one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.
LikeRichardGereinPrimal Fear, and thenTomCruiseinAFewGoodMen.Presumed Innocenthad just come out, so I watched that.
Just off of what Cobie said,ultimatelythe strength of this episode is in the human moments.
Your job is just to defend them.
So just to make the decision that I believe Cobie and that there’s an instinct.
So it really is a case of my character believing her all the way till the very end.
But again, it’s human, it’s humanity.
It’s believing what she said and advocating for her.
I thought that was so profound, but also very sad.
Because that’s our instinct, we just have to do these things.
But, a lot of times we’re also not kind to each other.
We’re not kind to ourselves.
SMULDERS: There’s also another thing at play, there’s this little boy, right?
Val sees Jordan as not the enemy but someone who she hasn’t chosen to help raise her son.
So it is this sort of competitive energy.
Joel McHale and the rest of the team will return to TV early next year.
At the beginning, Val is very looked down upon because of her history of substance abuse.
The arc of the show is really the relationship between these women.
To have someempathy, I think is the word I’m looking for.
To have some empathy towards someone who is going through the exact same thing you went through.
You have to risk it again.
I think all three of these women are inherently good people.
And to be good, you have to step out of yourself.
I kind of wanted more.
Also, I will say, I love that you guys have amazing chemistry.
What was so fun about working on this project and having it be such an intense one, too?
It was such a joy.
Usually, when you guest star, you’re in and out.
You are trying not to disrupt or maybe make a friend and quietly slip into the night.
Were the show for these two weeks, that connective tissue.
And then, Dina is actually an old friend.
We’ve known each other for 14 years, I think.
It was really, really cool to reconnect with her.
Then to meet Cobie and Miley, who are these amazing powerhouse women and learn from them.
It was a really, really special team.
One of those special little gems.
SMULDERS: Theres like a hyperfocus that comes with doing something like this.
Then you’re reading scripts for coming.
You’re able to just go,this is our story.
How can we best tell it?
Who were the best people to gather?We were so lucky that all those things came into place.
I will also say one of the big takeaways is poutine, which we had.
I fell in love.
I just ate it quietly in my trailer.
SMULDERS: It was really all we had.
We had an amazing crew in Toronto, too.
Everyone from beginning to end.
The wardrobe department had to put us all in, like,freaking 20 changes.
To do that for a two-week thing, and then do it over and over again like it was.
It was an incredible team that we were constantly surrounded by.
Cobie, I know you’re Canadian, right?
SMULDERS: I’m Canadian first.
Do you say it poutine or poo-tin?
SMULDERS: I speak poutine because I’m from the West coast.
But its poo-tin on the east.
I just want to shift gears a little bit.
Vella, you know what I’m going to ask about because you know how much I loveAnimal Control.
I know it’s coming back in January.
Is there anything you’ve got the option to tease about the return to share with fans?
LOVELL: There’s no animals this season.
We’re actually in space, there’s no animals, and no gravity.
I would say this is our best season yet, which is really cool.
Obviously, that comes from, it’s our third try.
It’s definitely a really, really great season.
Some relationships come to a head.
I think there is a baby kangaroo in an episode.
SMULDERS: A joey?
Do you mean a joey?
LOVELL: And what I meant was a joey.
SMULDERS: Oh, I love my daughter’s name is Joey, so I love a baby kangaroo.
LOVELL: It’s so cute.
Yeah, Joeys in it.
Will There Be More ‘How I Met Your Mother’?
SMULDERS: Always, anytime.
But there’s nothing yet.That Im in!
I hope we get to see you on, TV again.
I was just like, No, why would you kill Maria Hill?
She was my favorite.
I loved her so much.
I’m just so very disappointed.
SMULDERS: Yeah, for sure!
