battling nun, Sister Simone, inMrs.
Colliders ownSteve Weintraubhad the absolute pleasure of chatting with Gilpin and Kitsch to talk about all thingsAmerican Primeval.
COLLIDER: I really want to start, for both of you, with congratulations.
Image via Netflix
I watched the whole series.
You guys did great work.
BETTY GILPIN: Thank you.
Image via Netflix
TAYLOR KITSCH: Appreciate it.
So I know how TV and movies are made, and this looked like a backbreaking shoot.
Would you both say this is the toughest thing you’ve been involved in?
It’s a lot of night shoots in the snow, and a child actor, and Taylor Kitsch.
GILPIN: It was just a lot of elements of, “This is going to be tough.”
It was full-on, but it was what theshowdeserved.
It follows the gritty and adventurous exploration of the birth of the American West, the violent collisions of cults, religion, and men and women fighting for control of the new world.
It did 80% of the work for you because it felt real.
KITSCH: For me, it was hell.
[Laughs] No, I broke my foot early on, man, in the show.
Then I got out of the boot.
Then, I was in the boot again for six weeks.
So that was fun.
Riding a horse with a boot on is just easy.
GILPIN: It brought me joy.
KITSCH: [Laughs] Yeah.
“It was a tough shoot, but I hope youfeelthat energy.The sets were incredible Fort Bridger.
You’re just genuinely cold, and you wanna feel it and use it.
She said it: it put you in the moment.
For me, you guys filming on location adds so much to this material.
I love learning about the behind-the-scenes of making stuff.
It’s sort of a crapshoot of, “Is this person passionate about acting and scene work?
Do they enjoy being at work?
Have theymemorizedtheir lines and worked on their character?
Looking into his eyes, I was catapulted into, “Oh, this is really happening.
There’s so much action, and we’re on horses.
Isaac is a very silent, hard-to-get-in-there character.
Then there are these payoff scenes where we get to see them really connecting or trying to connect.
I would say those were the scenes that I felt most excited about.
KITSCH: That is thesweetestthing I’ve ever been told.
GILPIN: No problem.
I just want to make you cry because I enjoy seeing your tears.
KITSCH: Very sweet.
KITSCH: I can also echo that.
With Pete [Berg]’s process, she’s incredibly instinctual and very… Man, sheswings.
It’s a very infectious energy.
And that’s in the show.
I love the you’re coming with me, whether you’re ready or not kind of energy.
For me, I just love that challenge.
I was very grateful for that.
There’s the scene afterward where he says, Who are you?
and I give him the money.
That scene we were supposed to shoot the next day.
I’m gonna be on my phone.
I’m eating a protein bar.
KITSCH: No way!
GILPIN: Because Pete was like, Gilpin!
I was Oh my God!
I don’t even think my phone was silenced.
[Laughs]
KITSCH: Period.
American Primevalis available to stream on Netflix.
