Lily Gladstone gushes over her Under the bridge co-star Riley Q.
Speaking with ET’s Cassie DiLaura from the premiere of their new show in Los Angeles on Monday, the 37-year-old Oscar nominee said she immediately knew she wanted to be on the project once she found out who was attached to it.
“When I heard that Riley was attached, I was just dying to be with her — I’ve been dying to work with her for a long time, so it gave me a lot of confidence as well,” he shared. “There was a bit of reluctance to do true crime so soon after the crime Killers of the Flower Moon, but I knew that with Riley not only starring in it, but making it an EP that it would be a very compassionate deep dive into a story.”
The show is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s novel about the true story of 14-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who was brutally murdered after going to a party with friends and never came home. The series follows the investigation through Godfrey’s eyes, as well as through the eyes of Gladstone police officer Cam Bentland.
In Martin Scorsese‘small Killers of the Flower Moon — a film that earned Gladstone her first Oscar nomination and made her a household name — she starred as Molly Burkhart, a real-life member of the Osage Nation who was central to solving the Osage murders of the 1920s. This film was a adaptation of the 2017 non-fiction book written by David Gran detailing the murders, including those of Burkhart’s mother and siblings.
For Gladstone, the hesitation to jump from one true-crime adaptation to another so quickly was overcome by Keough, 34, and the assembled scripts, which she says tell the tragic story with nuance and respect.
Gladstone shared, “I feel like true crime is commercialized, it’s so sensationalized and we forget the element of truth instead of focusing on the crime. And the show has taken such a compassionate approach to how we see Reena — she’s with us every episode, you fall in love, you really empathize with her family.”
While the show clearly tackles some dark and heavy themes throughout its run, the actress told ET that she, Keough and their co-stars and crew were able to have a lot of fun off-camera to bring humor and light mood in the work.
“I feel like a lot of actors, when we’re immersed in stories that are so heavy, there’s a lightness that you bring to the play in between [scenes] because that’s what keeps you going through it,” o Fantastic dance said the star. “It’s so easy to be short and grumpy with people if something is bothering you and then it just affects the work. I think you honor the work by recognizing that it’s a privilege to be able to share these stories — we’re sharing other people’s stories and there’s a responsibility for this”.
As for whispers that Gladstone and Keough could see Emmy nominations for the show so soon after their respective Oscar and Emmy nominations — Keough received a nom for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for Prime Video Daisy Jones and the Six — The actress said she is not concerned with the awards that could come her way.
“This story gives you so many people, it gives you so many characters, and these kids are just incredible,” he said. “I remember telling Riley, it’s like, no matter what our story is, the kids are doing the show, and it’s going to be an exciting, amazing story that’s really unique.”
Watch the series trailer in the following player:
Under the bridge premieres on Hulu with the first two episodes on April 17, and subsequent episodes will drop weekly after that.
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