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In NetflixsDead to Me, Linda Cardellini has to cry.
Acting-wise, its a really athletic role, Cardellini says.
In the scene that opens thefourth episode, Jen and Judy drive home from burying Steves body.
We dont have very much rehearsal at all.
We execute the words and then we get in there and do it.
Youre shooting from so many different angles, so you pick up what works as you go along.
You pick up a response from the directors and everyone on set of what works and whats funny.
Christina [Applegate] and I just feel it.
You get to explore different ways of doing it.
We really trust everyone in the editing process as well to make it seem smooth.
That is what allows you to take a breath within the tension.
Even when [Jens] like, My phone!
The idea of that being broken up by, Oh!
Theres tons of improvising on our show.
And then shell call out, The berries work go with that!
The trees work go with that!
It was a really difficult scene.
Its alotof dialogue, coupled with a lot of emotion, and also were just sitting there.
And I think its important to see that duality in that relationship.
It would be easy to tell her not to mourn, but thats not who she is.
Jen protecting her is something that Judys heart sparks to because shes never had that in her life.
She loves Jens ability to be angry and stand up to somebody, because she cant.
When he walks away, Judy is still like, Poor guy!
She feels bad for him, and Jen doesnt.
That quality is aspirational in Judy because she has a hard time doing what Jen does easily.
Jen protects her heart at that moment and says to her, Ill be your person.
Will you be my person?
And that is all Judy wants to be.
As the character, I try toreallylisten when Jen is talking to Judy.
She really is looking for these morsels of love from people.
And then they become each others person.
Judy in that moment gets to have a breakthrough.
She gets to talk about what happened with Steve.
And she gets to have a friend to lean on.
And in trueDead to Mefashion, Jen has a huge secret that mirrors Judys secret from the first season!
Thats the brilliance of how the writers weave things together.
The characters have these wins, but they are always shadowed by these secrets and lies.
I love just saying oh fuck under my breath.
Judy is trying to have a smile on her face, but she is indeepshit at that moment.
And Diana is so wonderful.
I love the relationship our two characters have.
The idea of Judy being under that characters gaze, Judy giving her a compliment on that T-shirt.
Shes always trying to accommodate!
She knows thats how people let you in.
Shes a little bit like a vampire that way.
In theninth episode, Jens secret finally comes out.
He said something cruel, and she lashed out and attacked him while he was walking away.
For me, the scene is terribly painful and incredibly emotional.
In a typical show, you might have a scene about each of those.
Were doing it in the span of a few minutes.
And then Jen has to tell me her truth, which shes been trying to tell me but couldnt.
Its a terribly mean thing for Judy to have to digest.
But during all of that, I also feel sorry for Jen.
When she walks in with that, its already at an 11 for her.
So she immediately goes back to Jens side.
Judy sees everything as her fault.
She carries this shame; she carries this guilt and the stress.
You see that come out when she leaves the house and she takes it out on herself.
Judy is very accustomed to saying sorry.
Jen, less so.
Judy would never hurt somebody on purpose.
I didnt practice [the scream], so when it came out, it just sounded like that.
To me, it was a natural progression of how Judy deals with her feelings.
The scream is really rare for Judy.
You dont ever see her yell.
It is high stakes because this is the person who has crafted her whole identity.
She has longed for that mother-daughter relationship, that idea of family.
She thinks shes going to go in there and say, Sorry, Mom.
I couldnt get the money, which is a big deal for her.
She could have never done that without Jens friendship.
Its Judy coming into her own, and its reaffirming how essential the friendship is.
In the moment when she says, No, you havent changed.
Itisyou; its not me.
I was just a child, she forgives herself for some of the mistakes she made with her mother.
I didnt go big with that no.
I felt it was most powerful if it was almost casual, you know?
If youve been following the show, you know how much that no means.
She doesnt have to scream it because the act of saying it is the power that she holds.
