TVLINE | I’m glad you brought that up, because there’s that scene at the end of Season 1 where Tommy says, “You could sell this now, still have more money than God, and start a foundation and do great things,” and she says, “No, I want to see this through.” Do you think that’s because of the legacy aspect?
I think for Cami, it’s not about the money. It’s about loss, loss of him. And so the way to hold onto him, to keep him alive, is to make sure that she doesn’t step in and lose everything that they’ve built.
TVLINE | There’s that moment in the premiere where Cami tells Tommy that she’s not going to learn if she keeps deferring to him, and he tells her he’ll handle the hard stuff for now. I watched that and I was like, “That’s a little bit patronizing,” even though he means well.
My first knee-jerk was exactly that: She’s looking weak. And the truth is, he’s actually protecting her. In a way, he’s actually educating her in that moment by saying, “Trust me, they’re going to go to you thinking that they can pull it over, so just let me in there.” In a way, both things are existing. It might be patronizing to a degree, but it’s also protective.
TVLINE | After she gives the speech at the luncheon, I’m #TeamCami, let’s do this, we go at dawn!
[Laughs] I know! When I read that in the script, that last line was just, oh yeah. [Moore’s dog, Pilaf, suddenly pops up on her lap and barks.] Oh, thank you, mouse. And there’s still a lot of room for what Cami brings, of who she is in that speech, to still unfold.
TVLINE | How many takes did you do for that speech?
We did quite a few, because we also had a lot of different angles. But the main, we probably did seven, eight all in. It was a lot. Literally that was my first day of shooting back. And I needed to know it and in my mind I had so much I was wrestling with, which is I want to get the accent right and I want to represent these women authentically. The women — Taylor and his wife, Nic[ole Muirbrook], set it up for me to meet quite a few of these women, one in particular that experienced the loss of her husband. These are fierce women who embody a lot of femininity, unapologetically. So when Cami says “I’m meaner,” I think it’s because there’s a fierceness to these women. And so, I hope I’ve made them proud.
TVLINE | How did that feel in your body when you knew you had the speech the way you wanted it?
First of all, I was relieved. But it was so fun, so juicy. His writing is really — I was talking to a friend who’s an actress this morning, and we were talking about what a gift it is to work with such great material. Really smart writing, and just the difference of what that is. It just makes it so much easier.
What did you think of Cami’s speech in the premiere? Hit the comments, and let us know!