Maggie Gyllenhaal Is Having A Moment With ‘The Deuce’ And ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’

It goes without saying the lingering accusations against James Franco have clouded the Emmy campaign for David Simon and George Pelecanos’ “The Deuce,” but one member of its ensemble is rightfully getting the attention she deserves.  A previous Emmy nominee for  the mini-series “The Honourable Woman,” Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s charismatic turn as Candy was the highlight of the inaugural season of the HBO series.

A call girl who is tiring of life on the rough streets of Manhattan, Candy becomes fascinated with the burgeoning world of ’70s porn film production where her creative talents can finally be properly exploited.  Gyllenhaal and Simon avoid the obvious cliche’s you’ve seen with the portrayal of most prostitutes at the end of their careers avoiding even a hint of desperation, drug addiction or physical abuse (as for some of the other hookers in the cast, well…).  Candy has her flaws, but Gyllenhaal transforms her into arguably the most well-rounded characters by the end of the show’s first eight episodes.  It comes across as a surprise even though it shouldn’t. The Oscar-nominee for “Crazy Heart” has been bringing it since she burst onto the scene in 2002’s “Secretary.”  

READ MORE: Maggie Gyllenhaal is splendidly obsessive but ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’ falters [Review]

The 40-year-old actress jumped on the phone recently to talk about her work on “The Deuce,” currently filming its second season, and her acclaimed performance in the Sundance drama “The Kindergarten Teacher” which Netflix should release later this year. 

Note: There are spoilers about the first season of “The Deuce” in the context of the interview.

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Gregory Ellwood: Hi Maggie, how you doing?

Maggie Gyllenhal: Hello!.

When David originally pitched you the show did he give you a long term arc for Candy? Or was that just something that you sort of garnered from the pilot?

Sort of. He gave me three episodes. And he told me sort of generally what he was thinking. Some of those things, you know, now that we’re halfway through [filming season two]…actually, halfway through the entire thing, because the idea is that it would be a three-season show.  Some of the things have fallen by the wayside and others of them have stuck.  I mean, he gave me like a general idea of where he wanted her to go, but that really did shift and change as we shot season one.  That was part of the reason why I wanted to be a producer on the show when they came to me with it. I’d never worked on anything before where I didn’t have the whole script.  And it was this long, long time commitment, playing a sex worker and taking my clothes off all the time.  And I thought, “You know, what is the story we’re telling? Where are we going?”  So they did come to me with, like, some basic fundamentals. But the details of that have been a collaboration and something we’ve thought through together all the way through it.

By the end of the first season it’s suggested that Candy has stopped being a full-time sex worker and has become a director of porn films. Is that her direction for season two?

Well, I can’t really say.  What I can say is that originally I think that George and David thought that Candy was going to be a producer. You know, she’s very business-minded.  She doesn’t have a pimp. she takes care of her own shit.  I think she was going to be more of, like, the money and logistics person.  And as I sort of got involved, and then the ways that we started playing the scenes, I think it became clear that she had to be a director.  That she was an artist.  And yeah, she’s good with money.  And I think anyone who is going to make it in trying to finance any kind of movies is going to have to have some sense of how to get money because it is not easy.  But I think she’s really an artist. And I think that emerged as we shot season one.

Was there anyone specific they said she was based on?

You know, it’s funny. There was somebody who they had sort of partially based her on,  combination of a couple of people. I think all of the stories are sort of loosely based on the stories of some real people. I think David said some of it did happen. But all of it could have happened.  And so, Candy was based on somebody, at first, I think loosely.  And then we all kind of discovered Candida Royalle, who of course, shared Candy’s name, but was a woman who was involved in porn as an actress and then became a serious porn director.  And we all got inspired by her.  She passed away right before we started shooting, but we listened to archives of interviews with her and watched her movies.  And we talked to a lot of people who knew her well.  And I think she, at least for me, became an inspiration.  I don’t think Candy is meant to be Candida Royalle, but hearing her talk, talking to people who knew her, she was definitely one of a few serious inspirations for me.

Was there any research you did of New York at the time and what women on the streets or in those positions were doing?  Or did the script tell you everything you needed to know?

I mean, both.  I talked to some women who are sex workers now.  But I actually found it most helpful to talk to women who were in their sixties now, who were sex workers then.  And they gave me a lot of really helpful inspiration and information. You know, like, “How many people would you fuck in one night? How much did you get paid? What would you do it if was really super freezing cold outside?”  I talked to people who were mothers and had small children, like my character did at that time, and who were sex workers on the street.  “What’s the difference between working in a parlor and working on the street?”  So, yes, I had a lot of really interesting conversations and met some really interesting women.  In terms of, like, the ’70s, you know what I found really helpful, was watching good movies from that time. Watching “Mean Streets, “Panic in Needle Park” and “Serpico.”  Oh, and “Dog Day Afternoon.”  Just that vibe, that time. And “Mean Streets” really is, like, New York in the ’70s.  It gives you that feeling.

I’ve always been curious about this, but where do you find the proper backdrops to shoot in Manhattan? Because that part of the city barely looks like what it did 15 years ago let alone forty years ago.

Well, we can’t use Times Square, because that really has been totally changed.  We never, ever shot in Times Square.  We sometimes shoot in the 30s. Some of the side streets in the 30s, which is where one of the bars is supposed to be, but we do most of the Times Square stuff up in Washington Heights.   I had a scene in like 164th  Street.  And still, you know, we have to do a lot of CGI stuff.  We have to dress all the streets, make them look like the ’70s.  They do such an incredible job of that. One thing that a lot of people say is that there were no trees in the ’70s in New York. And so you can’t shoot places where there are trees.

What have you enjoyed about being a producer on the show?

Well, I think that really is the thing that I’ve liked is being able to see the cuts and comment on them. And have my notes be incorporated into the final product.  Being able to see the scripts early, when they can still be shifted and changed.  And getting to see that my artistic input has an effect on the final product.  I don’t know if you know this, but most departments have a department head.  The art department head, the camera department head, [etc.]. And acting?   Actors don’t have a department head. And so, I’ve also enjoyed sometimes being able to be a go-between for the things that the actors need onset and the rest of the producers.  And [being] a voice for what’s important to different actors at different times, artistically.