Editor’s Notice: The following story incorporates some spoilers for “Poker Face” Season 2, Episode 6.
Season 2, Episode 6 shouldn’t be your typical episode of “Poker Face.” Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) has been working as lunch woman at an area elementary college, the place she meets the terrifying Stephanie (Eva Jade Halford), a pupil whose ambition compels her to humiliate certainly one of her friends and not directly kill the class pet.
It’s a demanding position even on paper, and one introduced to life beautifully by the 12-year-old Halford (the episode premiered on her birthday), who goes toe to toe with Lyonne, Margo Martindale, and Adrienne C. Moore all through the episode. It’s sufficient to shake a seasoned professional — however Halford is already on her manner to being simply that, having simply wrapped “The Final Day” with Alicia Vikander, Victoria Pedretti, and Wagner Moura, from first-time characteristic director Rachel Rose. As a toddler, she’s used to getting forged for flashback scenes (she performs the younger Vikander) however had a sense that “Poker Face” was greater than that from the first auditions.
“My mother was like, ‘I feel a flashback scene, since you have a tendency to get these auditions,’ after which I used to be studying it and was like, ‘That’s in all probability not a flashback scene…’”
The scenes pointed towards the heavy lifting required of her in the episode; talking boldly to adults, intimidating classmates, and a few gentle blackmail. Stephanie is hardly reformed by the penalties of her actions, and the ending means that that is one miscreant Charlie may need to be careful for in the future.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
IndieWire: Inform me about how you bought this half.
Eva Jade Halford: I acquired an audition from, I feel, my supervisor, and I did the audition, after which I despatched it in and was like, “I’ll in all probability not get that as a result of it’s type of a giant half.” My mother was like, “Yeah, possibly not, however little small issues first.” Then I acquired a callback, and I used to be tremendous excited as a result of they mentioned they actually preferred me, and I used to be like, “Ooh, yay!” It was tremendous enjoyable, and I acquired excited as a result of after I was about to depart, [director Adam Arkin] mentioned, “See you quickly. You’ll be listening to from us.” So I used to be like, “OMG, I would get this half.” Once I acquired the e mail that I acquired in the half, I acquired tremendous excited and was leaping in every single place.
I wager! Do you bear in mind what scene you learn?
I learn scene the place I’m on the slide, and he or she’s simply at the finish of the slide ready for me. I learn the scene the place I’m backstage with Elijah, and he finds out that the projector has his child image, and I feel I additionally did the toilet scene.
Oh wow, three large ones. What did you consider the character while you first learn even these scenes, or the entire episode as soon as you bought the half?
Once I acquired the script, I used to be tremendous excited, so I used to be studying by means of it numerous occasions. I used to be like, “OK, diva, she’s tremendous baddie! Sure, blackmail your principal!”
So was it exhausting to play somebody like her?
I imply, not essentially, as a result of my sister says I act like Stephanie all the time. So it wasn’t actually exhausting, however it was actually enjoyable.
Yeah, it’s enjoyable to play the baddie. The first a part of this episode, once we don’t precisely know what’s taking place, you have got to do numerous performing with simply your face, which is de facto exhausting for even some seasoned professionals. What was some stuff that you just did to try to present Stephanie’s feelings and assist us get to know the character earlier than she actually says loads?
Nicely, I’m a really emotional particular person myself, so I like to use my facial expressions and furrow my eyebrows a bit, or twitch my eye or flare my nostrils, or make sudden little actions with my face that you may simply inform is like, “Oh she’s pissed,” or “Oh she’s pleased,” or like, “Oh she’s planning to homicide a gerbil.”
What was your favourite scene to shoot?
My favourite scene — though it was the hardest, it was positively the funnest — was positively the toilet scene.
What was particularly enjoyable and tough about it?
It was enjoyable as a result of I acquired to hang around with Natasha and Margo. [The crew] had been eradicating partitions and eradicating the ceiling to get all the totally different photographs and I believed it was actually cool as a result of it was on the soundstage. It was actually fascinating — having to take away the partitions after which organising the digital camera once more, after which putting again the partitions and eradicating a special wall and putting the digital camera there and getting totally different angles. I believed it was actually cool. One thing tough about it was in all probability the singing, as a result of after I skip off and I’m singing, they didn’t give me any tunes; they solely gave me lyrics. They didn’t give me a melody or something. I type of simply had to improv it after I was singing, so it no two takes for the identical.
Oh, that’s enjoyable. You talked about working with Natasha and with Margo, so what did you be taught from them and the different professionals on this shoot?
It was actually fascinating to watch the course of and the way they do issues. I didn’t actually develop any habits from them, however for instance — Adam was tremendous explicit with each single take that he would simply need it to be simply good. I feel he had a imaginative and prescient, and I feel he positively made it come to life.
That is such a juicy position to do, what would you like to do subsequent?
I simply completed this characteristic movie with Alicia Vikander, and it was actually enjoyable. And I’m hoping to do possibly a present on Broadway, or one other large present the place I’m a much bigger half as an alternative of like slightly child half, as a result of I feel it’d be tremendous thrilling.
For those who met Stephanie in actual life, what would you say to her?
I feel I’d see her, and he or she’d be like, “Who’re you?” And I’d be like, “I’m you.” After which she’d be like, “Oh, that’s fairly cool.” After which I’d be like, “Would you like to go get some stars?” She’d be like, “Yeah.” After which we’d simply skip off into the sundown.
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