My Body Didn’t Want To Bring That Knife Down

[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Sweetpea.]

The drama collection Sweetpea, accessible to look at on Starz, follows Rhiannon Lewis (Ella Purnell), a girl that goes largely unnoticed and is commonly neglected, in each her skilled and private life. Lastly getting pushed over the sting and dropping management leads to her stabbing and killing a person and dumping his physique. With the floodgates open, the kill record of people that have underestimated and wronged her turns into a lot much less of the mere fantasy it was earlier than and Rhiannon finds empowerment and a style for blood that turns into addicting.

Throughout this one-on-one interview with Collider, Purnell talked about how Rhiannon shocked her, attending to be within the writers’ room throughout improvement, the problem of getting the viewers into her character’s head, referring to her feelings however not her actions, why Rhiannon made her really feel “icky,” how her Sweetpea characters slot in with Jackie in Yellowjackets and Lucy in Fallout, the enjoyable of being an agent of chaos in a narrative, and the problem of capturing the homicide scenes.

Collider: What most shocked you about this character? Clearly, you knew what you have been going to be doing, going into it, however when you’re really in it, what shocked you that you just didn’t understand till you have been doing it?

ELLA PURNELL: God, that’s an excellent query. I underestimated her, and never within the homicide sense, however simply because somebody’s quiet doesn’t imply they don’t have so much to say. Within the early episodes, when Rhiannon is that this invisible wallflower that individuals don’t see and so they don’t take note of, she’s actually humorous and she or he’s actually sensible and she or he’s acquired plenty of love to present. She’s acquired these humorous little one-liners and humorous little quirks, it’s simply that nobody’s round to listen to them. What shocked me, really, was that I hadn’t taken that into consideration. I’d thought so much about how she was gonna find yourself and the way humorous she was gonna be in episode six, however I didn’t take into consideration that in episode one, again in pre-production.

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Do you know what her full journey could be while you began down this path, or did you solely have a few of her story, and then you definately realized what the top could be when you began capturing? How a lot do you know about what her arc was going to be?

PURNELL: I knew so much. I’m fortunate sufficient to be an government producer on this present. I got here on board perhaps 10 months earlier than we began filming and so they very graciously actually wished my enter and wished to collaborate in that method. So, I used to be within the writers’ room and we have been growing the collection define, studying scripts early, and giving suggestions on scripts, so I at all times knew the place she was gonna find yourself. I perhaps didn’t know the specifics of it, however I knew the place she was gonna find yourself. Additionally, it’s based mostly on a e book, however the present and the e book are very completely different. Within the e book, she’s much more superior. She’s undoubtedly totally Sweetpea. The present is the making of Sweetpea, however I used the e book as my finish aim for Rhiannon. Episode six of the present is chapter one within the e book, not perhaps when it comes to what she’s accomplished, however when it comes to who she is. You don’t at all times get that in TV. With TV, plenty of the time, you get the script the day earlier than, and then you definately simply wing it. They might let you know to do something and so they simply personal you. You’ve gotta do what you’re informed. However on this case, it was virtually like capturing a film, the place I really knew my A to B.

There may be a lot occurring with this character internally as a result of she doesn’t actually have individuals to have conversations and share her emotions with.

PURNELL: That was really one of many challenges we confronted after we have been growing the present. For the primary episode, she’s very lonely. She doesn’t actually have anybody to speak to. And while you’re telling a narrative, which is sort of a one-character perspective story, at the least within the first episode the place the entire thing is from Rhiannon’s eyes and it’s from her perspective, it’s very exhausting to get the viewers in her head, and to truly get them to grasp what she’s considering and her motives and get them to narrate to her, after they don’t know her. There’s no method for them to get in. There are methods you are able to do that with flashbacks or an expensive diary state of affairs or narration, however we didn’t have any of these gadgets at our disposal. The writers are fantastic and so they did an unimaginable job, however that was undoubtedly a problem.

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That is such an fascinating character as a result of she’s doing this terrible factor, however we will sympathize with the quiet lady who was bullied, who’s grieving a member of the family, and who’s being confronted with this particular person from her previous that she by no means totally recovered from. The breaking level is even comprehensible, till she crosses the road.

PURNELL: We relate to her feelings, however not her actions.

How did you end up most connecting along with her and what most scared you about her? Have been you ever involved about connecting along with her an excessive amount of?

PURNELL: That’s a very nice query. It’s a fragile line that you just’re continuously scuffling with. As an actor, you’re taught by no means to evaluate your characters. No unhealthy man thinks they’re the unhealthy man. It’s important to get into that character’s head and discover issues to narrate to, even in essentially the most dire circumstances. With Rhiannon, particularly, that first episode, she goes by a lot. Whenever you see what younger Rhiannon goes by, it’s very straightforward to empathize. I really discovered episode two to be essentially the most difficult, when it comes to judging my character. It was by no means the case that I acquired too shut. It was at all times the other of feeling icky. It was actually exhausting to play that character with a lot empathy, as an actor, when she does issues that really feel barely unforgivable, however you need to. Episode two, I discovered tough, along with her coming to phrases with who she is and what she’s accomplished. She’s developed this ethical code, as a determined try to persuade herself that she’s not a monster. She’s subconsciously looking for a solution to justify her actions, and that was difficult. Ella Jones might be my artistic soulmate. I simply adore her. At this level, we’re so in one another’s minds, we will virtually talk telepathically. There was such a trusting relationship there. She helped me by every little thing. Each query I had, each second I used to be caught, she at all times had a solution that was three thousand instances higher than mine. In these moments the place it did change into difficult, leaning on the creatives round me was the important thing.

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I learn a earlier interview that you just did the place you mentioned you like taking characters and both utterly destroying them, breaking them down or constructing them up. That acquired me fascinated by how Jackie was utterly destroyed in Yellowjackets. Lucy was damaged down in Season 1 of Fallout, though there’s nonetheless room to construct her backup in Season 2. And this character appears a bit trickier, within the sense that, she’s taking place this path of her personal making. The place do you’re feeling Rhiannon matches in along with your earlier characters, particularly your most up-to-date handful of them?

PURNELL: That’s an excellent query once more. I like these questions. In a bizarre method, with this one, I’m doing each. She develops over the collection and she or he beneficial properties this confidence. As she develops this intoxicating style for homicide, she grows in confidence. It’s that Jennifer’s Physique factor the place the extra she kills, the extra vibrant and alive she turns into. It’s like that with Rhiannon. She has this upward trajectory, however she doesn’t understand that she’s digging herself deeper and deeper and deeper into this morally corrupt kind of gap. After which, they arrive again collectively and the finale of the season is when these two factors meet once more and naturally implode. It is going to be fascinating to see what individuals assume by the top of the collection, if she’s up or if she’s down. I’ve acquired my theories.

Ella Purnell Enjoys Being an Agent of Chaos, Particularly With Her Unpredictable ‘Sweetpea’ Character

Relating to Yellowjackets, Fallout, and Sweetpea, you’re primarily the wrecking ball that is available in and throws issues into upheaval for everyone else. What have you ever most loved about enjoying these characters that actually shake up the world round them after which attempt to discover their place in that whether or not they’re alive or lifeless?

PURNELL: I like being an agent of chaos. It’s nice. There’s a certain quantity of freedom that comes with it. I suppose for those who dig deeper, it truly is as a result of, for those who take who a personality thinks she is or what a personality thinks they find out about themselves and also you disrupt that, you pull that material out and so they crumble, and then you definately get to do no matter you need. You get to do bizarre traces or throw-away feedback or say issues which are sudden, and it’s very artistic for me to not must be so caught on one path and constricted in that method. With Rhiannon, she turns into fairly unpredictable. You don’t have any concept who she’s gonna change into. She doesn’t even know who she’s gonna change into. She has no concept who she may very well be. That untapped potential is kind of candy. It’s virtually a coming of age story, however with homicide. It’s additionally terrifying as a result of you understand that she’s able to unthinkable issues. That makes her unpredictable, which makes my job actually enjoyable.

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Each time you got here right into a room with Jeremy Swift and he referred to as you “Sweetpea,” it simply made me cringe just a little bit inside. What was it wish to work with him on that dynamic?

PURNELL: I like Jeremy. I’m such an enormous Ted Lasso fan. I at all times tried to maintain it to myself. I knew I used to be appearing bizarre round him, so I simply needed to be like, “Look, I like you. I believe you’re nice.” He’s hilarious. He did plenty of improv that actually cracked me up. I’ve acquired no poker face in any respect. We needed to shoot his protection first, so he may do all of his humorous improv traces, and I may simply giggle to myself as a result of in any other case I’d spoil each single take. He’s additionally only a beautiful man. We had the nicest forged and the nicest crew on this job, which is vital while you’re doing a job that’s acquired heavy themes, to say the least. Having the ability to fiddle in between takes and get again to your self and maintain issues mild undoubtedly helps.

Ella Purnell Discovered the Homicide Scenes in ‘Sweetpea’ to Be Emotionally Difficult

What was it like to truly shoot the homicide scenes? Particularly when she’s stabbing males within the neck and blood is spurting out, how difficult was it to get every little thing timed precisely proper?

PURNELL: On a sensible degree, it’s in all probability the best component, really. I had just a little little bit of expertise with that sort of stuff on Fallout, with blood rigs and particular results and timing. It feels virtually the identical as ensuring you hit your marks or faking eyelines or doing technical issues which are simply a part of being an actor. It’s barely distracting typically while you’re attempting to essentially deal with the feelings of the scene, however completely mandatory and simply utilizing a special a part of your mind, actually. The emotional facet of it was difficult. I’ve by no means killed anybody on display screen earlier than, or in actual life. I don’t know if I’ve to say that, however I’m going to place that on the market as a disclaimer, simply in case. You don’t need to. It’s not pure. There’s plenty of resistance, bodily. I didn’t need to do it. My physique didn’t need to carry that knife down.

I mentioned “sorry” so much, the primary few instances, which can also be very British. Brits doing homicide exhibits is hilarious since you spend 99% of your time simply apologizing to the individuals you’re about to homicide. It’s really useful to lean into the extra technical facet of it, treating it like choreography, which it’s, and treating it like a severe stunt that might go unsuitable at any time, which it’s. It’s important to take away the precise human with regards to doing the actually emotional half, the half the place it’s a close-up of Rhiannon feeling what she feels or changing into an animal or dropping her inhibition or no matter it’s. We take away the human that’s being stabbed to help you open up extra and actually simply lose it. I don’t assume I may have accomplished that if I there was an precise particular person. It’s undoubtedly a bizarre, uncomfortable feeling.

Launch Date

October 10, 2024

Forged

Ella Purnell , Nicôle Lecky , Jon Pointing , Calam Lynch , Tim Samuels , Alexander Bellinfantie , Elliot Cable , Lucy Heath , Jessica Brindle , Dino Kelly , Leah Harvey , Jessye Romeo , Luke McGibney , Gurjot Dhaliwal , Alexandra Dowling , Nathan Corridor , Cain Aiden , Mark Rainsbury , Malcolm J Ok Baker , Lee Byford , Man Robbins

Primary Style

Drama

Increase

Sweetpea airs on Starz. Take a look at the trailer:

Watch on Starz