Considering its streaming success, the fact that “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” was renewed for a second season by Prime Video wasn’t surprising. But when we spoke with Maya Erskine, “Mrs. Smith” herself (or one of them), she wasn’t exactly sure what she could or couldn’t say. And that also includes whether she’ll be back because, well, that season finale cliffhanger was certainly ominous.
Originally pitched by co-creator Donald Glover, Erskine was intrigued by the concept of a grounded spy show that mixed in a relationship drama in the vein of Ingmar Bergman‘s landmark cinematic feat “Scenes from a Marriage” (or even the 2021 HBO mini-series for that matter). And while the comedic and dramatic moments were no doubt challenging, Erskine also embraced her first real action role. An opportunity she saw as a “privilege” except for one major challenge.
“I’m not a runner. I hate running. And there was so much running and so much running in boots. They would always pick shoes that I’m like, ‘Guys, do I have to wear these shoes? This whole episode where I’m running?’ But I learned some techniques of freezing your hand to run better. And by the final episode, which was where there was the most running, I feel like I actually was hauling ass and running really fast compared to before, but I can’t do it again. I don’t know if it’ll happen again.”
Throughout our conversation, which took place in early May, Erskine reflects on the disconnect of shooting the finale halfway through production, how an “arranged marriage” can be romantic in its own way, the open door for everyone to collaborate on the show, and much, much more.
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The Playlist: You’re making a show with Donald Glover. It’s this sort of IP that people know about and it’s Prime Video, but were you even surprised by how well it did?
Maya Erskine: Yeah. I mean, I never expect anything because it’s hard to expect anything because you want things to go well, of course. But yeah, I was definitely surprised. I tried to keep my head down a bit because I don’t like seeing reviews in case it makes me go in my head and I sort of ruin the experience for myself by just reading into anything. And so I asked people not to send, but then they just started sending and it was like, “Oh, I guess, O.K. People are watching it. They like it. This is great.” And yeah, it’s amazing.
I should probably wait till the end of this chat to ask, but would you return for a second season? Do you know anything at all if that’s happening?
I mean, I do know things, they could change it. I know that they’re starting a writer’s room this month, but I don’t think it’s official, so I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say that. But I have heard from [co-creator and executive producer Francesca Sloane] and Donald a couple of ideas that I’m really excited about and I would return, but I can’t say if I am being asked or not asked because that would ruin it.
Totally get it. On many shows you might receive the scripts for the first couple of episodes, but not the entire season. Was that the case this time around?
I didn’t get the entire season. I just kind of got scripts as we went along. But I did know all the goalposts that they were planning for the whole season, so I knew how it was going to end. I knew certain things that were going to happen, but of course, as we were filming, things would change and they would rewrite scripts and it would become a different script. And so at first, they sent me a couple that were then being rewritten and changed.
I don’t know if it was Donald who you talked to initially or Francesca or both of them, but how did they pitch the show to you?
So, Donald was the one I was talking to, and he really just kind of talked through the pilot idea with me, because I think they had written that already. And so he went through the whole scene by scene and then explained this one sequence that was really exciting to him. The reference was from “Children of Men” in the opening when the bomb goes off and how it’s so incredibly raw and gritty and real and very imminently feeling dangerous. And that is what he pitched to me is it feels like they’re doing this sort of basic task that is kind of not exciting. It’s almost like, “O.K., just deliver this box.” And then as soon as this bomb goes off, everything changes and the stakes are risen, and you’re kind of like, “Oh, sh*t. We’re watching something where people are bleeding and it’s not showy. It’s actually frightening, and it feels like you’re seeing a real aftermath of a bomb.” So that was exciting to me. Just even that pitch, I didn’t even know where it was going to go, but he did also include reference of “Scenes From A Marriage” that it was really going to focus on the relationship, and it’s about these two people who are really lonely, who are seeking connection. And so that just, I was like, “Yes.”
Do you feel by the end of this series that they truly did care for each other, or did you feel like it was the result of them being sort of in this environment together?
I think it’s both. I mean, I do think by the end, they absolutely care about each other. I mean, I think even by the third episode, Jane realizes how much she cares about this other person because she almost loses him. And so that really brings forth to the present mind of like, “O.K., this is someone that I don’t want to die. I want to be in my life. I need to be a better partner to this person, and I want him to be a better partner to me. So how do we make this work?” I also think it’s an arranged marriage. So, it’s one of those things where maybe if they had met on the street, they probably wouldn’t date. It probably wouldn’t evolve, but because they were put in this situation, which I think I’ve heard about several arranged marriages, it’s like you grow to love the person. It’s not love at first sight. It’s like a love that grows, and there’s something really romantic about that. And I do think by the end, they deeply, deeply care about each other, even though it’s a f**ked up way of showing it.
Francesca also told me you shot the final episode in New York and then had the entire rest of the season to still film.
Yes.
I don’t know if tough is the right word, but was that challenging? Would you have preferred those scenes towards the end of the shoot?
Maybe, I mean, it felt like the end of the shoot. That’s what was interesting is because it was the end of a big New York leg. We had done a lot of episodes in New York, so it was almost more difficult to then continue on after that. It was like, “Oh, we finished this.” And so then to go back, but it was Italy, so it was a different feeling and it was a different tone. Even it felt like we were just filming another movie on top of it. It was like, “Oh, O.K., another movie and another movie.” And the third episode I think was probably when I look back now, might’ve been the toughest because we were so close by then. That was one of the last things we filmed, and that’s where we’re just starting to develop our relationship and just starting to fall in love. So, I felt like to pair back our chemistry or to figure out how to fine tune that was probably difficult because we were already just so close as friends. I think it bled into it a bit.
Was there any time for rehearsals? Was it just all sort of worked out on set?
A lot of it, I mean, it was written before, and then if there were scenes that on the day we would run through in a rehearsal and it didn’t feel right, we would all come together and sort of collaborate on how to rewrite it or do certain things that would just help the scene in a way that made sense to everyone. That didn’t happen often, but it did feel like it was an open room for that, an open door to just voice your concerns, voice any opinions, and we could all figure it out together. The big fight scene, that was a huge one that we all came together in episode. The therapy episode, that was also a totally different episode before, it was not therapy that was reshoots, it was all in the woods that episode originally. So it changed actually drastically. But when we did that fight scene, we had to wait for the rain to stop, and it was a night shoot, and we were in the woods and we were in our trailer, and we just all came together, [director] Amy [Seimetz], Fran, Donald and I, and we just sat and started talking about fighting and how do we fight and what are the things that need to be said in this moment? And so that was one of my favorite moments because it was a challenge that we were faced with, and we all came together and got to really, it felt like theater kind of. It was like, “O.K., let’s figure this out together.” It was really great. But the writing, I mean, they did so much before, and then Fran is just a beast. She would be show running the show, having to prep each block, and then going back and rewriting on her own. There was just so much work on her shoulders, and I was really impressed. She had just had a baby too, so I was like, “I don’t know how you’re doing this now.”
One of the last scenes in the final episode is when your characters have taken the truth serum and you’re supposed to be loopy, but you’re supposed to also be coherent at the same time. It’s not an easy thing to pull off. You want it to feel grounded and not too “acting.”
Exactly.
Was there room in those scenes for improv? Did you feel like you had to rehearse those at all?
Yeah, I mean, that was a scary one to film. And I remember, I feel like there was a positive COVID test from someone in the crew when we walked into that room. And it was like, “O.K., so we were starting on this weird foot,” but then once we got into it, I mean, the way they filmed it allowed room for playing, but I feel like it was all script. So, the words weren’t so much improvised, but the way we went about it, each take was very different. And for me, I just had to think of anytime I’ve done any drugs, I don’t know if I can say that, but what does it make you feel like? What does it do to your body if you’re telling the truth and it feels euphoric to tell the truth, or it feels really emotional. It just needed to have different levels. So it’s not all the same. It was like a 12-page written scene, so it was very long.
I don’t think you’ve done anything close to this much action in anything previously. What was the most fun about it, and what was the most challenging about those scenes?
I mean, I loved every aspect of it. I wanted to do every part of it. I fell in love with it because it was so physical and it was so rewarding to learn a move and then do it. And sometimes I failed and I couldn’t do it. But it was just a great experience. It felt like acquiring a new skill or acquiring a new, just learning different things and the people that were doing the stunts and teaching us and were incredible top line people. So, it was a privilege to be able to even do it. And the challenge was running for me. I’m not a runner. I hate running. And there was so much running and so much running in boots. They would always pick shoes that I’m like, “Guys, do I have to wear these shoes? This whole episode where I’m running?” But I learned some techniques of freezing your hand to run better. And by the final episode, which was where there was the most running, I feel like I actually was hauling ass and running really fast compared to before, but I can’t do it again. I don’t know if it’ll happen again.
The one episode that I fees almost like a standalone movie sort is episode five, mostly set around Lake Como.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
And there you are running uphill and downstairs. It is a lot.
It is.
Did it feel like you were making a little movie?
Absolutely. I mean, that one was so action heavy, so it was like the running didn’t even feel so much as running. I felt like there were so much cobblestone. And [John and Jane] are transporting Ron Perlman, so we’re holding Ron so we can’t go too fast. So, that part was O.K. but it was a lot of driving. It was a lot of different ways of shooting car sequences. So, you’d either have someone on top who was controlling the car, or you’d have us controlling the car or on a bed, or it was just so much shooting for these sequences that are like 10 seconds. And that was wild to me, but I liked it. You could turn off your brain for a bit.
When you had originally talked to Donald, and then I’m sure Francisco came into it, did they tell you what Jane’s arc was?
Yes, they did. I, and I think it intensified and got more specific and deep as we went on, but I definitely think they knew where they wanted her to start in terms of guardedness and how she was entering this partnership and where she would end and what she would reveal about herself. There were things that Fran and Donald had already planned out. Here’s her backstory, this is her relationship with her father, her mother, all of that was there. Which is sort of rare to get for any [project]. I mean, the thing that I always say is the writing does so much of the work for you when you’re an actor, when it’s great, it’s like you don’t have to fill in so many holes when it’s so specific and it’s so thought out to make a full person. It’s like you don’t have to do all the extra work to fill in holes to make it feel authentic or anything. So that was such a nice break in a way.
I know you shot the show for a long time, but is there one sequence, one day that immediately think of when remembering “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”?
I mean so many, but one was probably the first night just because of the experience of it. It was a night shoot. We didn’t have to do too much. I just had to drive in a car and it was in Tribeca. I am wearing a red gown and he’s wearing a suit, and it’s this huge set and we’re just like, “How is this happening?” We felt like these who kind of got to walk onto this big set and that we were part of it, it felt really magical and we were really kind of relishing in it, and we felt like these college students that get to experience this, it felt like a dream. So that was a really exciting special moment.
Well, I do hope that Jane survives the door opening at the end of the finale and you get to have more special moments in season two.
Thank you. I hope so too.
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is available to stream on Prime Video
