In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo gets all of the answers while investigating “Under the Bridge.” The true crime Hulu series follows two women, a cop, and a reporter, who attempt to uncover the truth at the center of a young girl’s murder. The show stars Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough, Vritika Gupta, Chloe Guidry, Izzy G., Javon Walton, and more.
Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the thrilling true crime mini-series is Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Fancy Dance”). During the interview, Gladstone discussed this being the first part written with her in mind.
“It’s probably going be the instance I point to in my career where I walked in and changed literally nothing. It was [done],” Gladstone said. “[‘Under The Bridge’ director] Quinn [Shephard] did tell me at some point when we were making it that she was only thinking of me as she was writing it. So I feel like when you have somebody who’s found you through a film like ‘Certain Women,’ and then writes a piece for you from that, I mean, that’s true of Morissa Maltz, it’s true of Erica Tremblay, and it’s something Quinn integrated too. So that’s a great feeling as an actor.”
During the interview, Gladstone delved into spoilers particular to her character Cam, a First Nations adoptee who is revealed to be a victim of what’s now referred to as “The Sixties Scoop” or “The Scoop,” which was a period in Canada that enabled child welfare authorities to take Indigenous children from their families and communities for placement in foster homes, from which they would be adopted by white families.
“It was such a quiet thing, [Cam] learning about the Sixties Scoop,” Gladstone recalled. “There’s definitely a backstory to Cam that she never would have known about. She doesn’t get to learn in this show. That was the reality of Sixties Scoop survivors; they were often told that they were adopted from a province across the country when really they were within an hour of their birth family. They didn’t go that far. Cam landed with the Bentlands after being put into the foster care system and then learning about it. And what I figured probably was her case because I’m mixed race; a lot of Sixties Scoop survivors are mixed race. One of the things that you had to do to keep your kids in Canada at that time—if you were a single mother, a First Nations mother—you had to prove that the father was also First Nations to be able to hold on to your kid.”
There is a sense of finality to the ending of the series— the case is long solved, Rebecca writes the book on which the series is based, and Cam moves on to find her family and connect with her roots. Many would assume there’s no more story to tell. Gladstone seemed to hint at conversations that have occurred about a spin-off.
“You know, if there’s ever a spin-off of the show, it’s going to follow Cam. But, you know, it’s a big ‘if.”
Gladstone will be seen in Apple TV+’s “Fancy Dance” later this month. The film follows a woman who kidnaps her niece after the disappearance of her sister. The film had been on the shelf until “Killers of the Flower Moon” gave Gladstone a platform for a wider audience.
“I think the success of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ gave people an appetite for wanting more content about Indigenous women and our love for each other and our families and the realities that we deal with,” Gladstone said. “So, ‘Fancy Dance’ is a wonderful companion piece. Everybody who’s seen both has said you need to watch these films together. If you see ‘Killers…,’ you need to watch ‘Fancy Dance.’ It’s a continuation of the same problems for Indian women 100 years later on the same landscape.”
Gladstone is just off of a whirlwind Awards season, which saw her win a Golden Globe for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which ultimately went to Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” Many were surprised by the outcome, but Gladstone assured us that she didn’t put much thought into winning or losing the award.
“I mean, I always tried to keep an arm’s length from it,” Gladstone said. “Getting to engage in it, getting the campaign for it, getting to have the historical moment of it, it meant so much for Indigenous representation. It meant so much to Indian country. And I think it meant a lot to a lot of people. I was out there for them. When it comes to myself, you know, Emma [Stone] and I even had this conversation early on about how frustrating it was to have this competitive nature imposed upon something so subjective and personal as art. I was trying to focus on the award part of it, like the nomination, which is the celebration of the thing.”
“Yes, getting to be there and getting to have people’s interests peaked about something that maybe they wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I hate thinking of it as a campaign to win an award. It’s a moment to get to speak about your film,” she continued. “And this film was particularly important. It was so important that audiences had this moment to really fall in love with a Native woman, to feel protective of a Native woman in a society where we are disproportionately the ones that are not protected.”
Bingeworthy is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes The Playlist Podcast, Deep Focus, The Discourse and more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.
The Playlist Presents – Lily Gladstone’s Film Recommendation Playlist:
1.) “Dream Scenario” (2023) – Directed By Kristoffer Borgli
2.) “Adaptation.” (2002) – Directed By Spike Jonze
3.) “Paris, Texas” (1984) – Directed By Wim Wenders
Listen to the entire interview below:
