- 5 weeks ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Well, if I had known from earlier that I would be playing her, I don't think I would have put the sex scene in because it was probably one of the most uncomfortable things in my life.
00:09I love it.
00:14Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Walsh Sisters Companion Podcast with me, Stephanie Preissner.
00:21And me, Marion Keyes. And we are kicking the show off by throwing straight to a clip.
00:25Yeah, listen to this.
00:27Did you hear what I said?
00:30About in.
00:30I did. We have tickets to Glastonbury and we had seven laptops online and two phones just to get out of the queue.
00:39Poor Anna.
00:41And to discuss this phenomenal episode, we have Louisa Harland with us, joining us via Space Link.
00:51The miracle of satellite.
00:54Welcome, Louisa.
00:56Thanks for having me.
00:57Hi, Louisa. Thank you so much for being Anna Walsh so beautifully.
01:02And actually, and you and Aidan are beautiful together.
01:05Yes.
01:06I mean, I love Aidan. I mean, who doesn't?
01:10But, you know, that scene in the Glastonbury scene, obviously Anna's in shock.
01:15And, you know, that was her emotional state.
01:19And then when the camera turned around on Aidan Quinn, that's when I would just, like, weep.
01:25You would genuinely weep.
01:27Yes.
01:28Because I wasn't allowed.
01:31I mean, you know, it wasn't a story.
01:32You know, she was, like, letting out emotions.
01:36And when the camera turned around on Aidan, I just and I find I find him as daddy so moving.
01:42I mean, I love him.
01:43He's a legend.
01:44But I just found him so moving.
01:46And like, you really felt like he was a father of women.
01:51You know, he was incredible with all of us.
01:55Did you mean Aidan Quinn or Samuel Anderson as Aidan, Marion?
01:59Oh, God, no.
01:59Sorry, Aidan Quinn, I meant.
02:00Oh, you meant Aidan Quinn.
02:01Yeah, Quinners.
02:02We had to call him Quinners on set because obviously Aidan.
02:04Yeah, Quinners.
02:06Yeah.
02:07No, I really feel Quinners has a very loving fatherly energy of him.
02:14Yeah.
02:14Oh, my God.
02:16Like, totally.
02:16Like, and he's so great to work with.
02:19And, yeah, he just really moves me.
02:22Even, you know, watching him with other sisters or watching some of the episodes back.
02:27And I love the relationship he has with us all.
02:29I find, obviously, the relationship he has with Maggie particularly moving.
02:32And, you know, I'm incredibly close to my dad.
02:34So, yeah, I mean, we were just so lucky to have Aidan play daddy, weren't we?
02:39And I just loved it.
02:41But I did.
02:41I just found, I think as well because Anna's in shock.
02:47But I obviously, you know, found the whole story so emotional.
02:53I think I always, yeah, I mean, we were all crying so much.
02:57It has to be said, weren't we?
02:59In places where we were crying.
03:02I remember in episode, Aidan Quinn, in episode six, when we, you'll get to episode six, but it's quite like an emotional climax.
03:11And Anna has a speech that she delivers.
03:13And Aidan came to me afterwards and he was like, that take, that is the take you have to use.
03:21That woman is incredible.
03:22I've never seen someone move through a speech like that.
03:25Where did you find that actress?
03:26She is unbelievable.
03:27And I was like, I know.
03:29And kind of like flicking fake dandruff off my shoulders because I was so small.
03:33I was like, she's incredible.
03:36But even that Glastonbury scene, like so many, it's quite a strange scene.
03:42Okay.
03:42So she's just found out that the love of her life is dead.
03:45And her instinct is to go straight to, hey, I'd like to sell these Glastonbury tickets.
03:50But she was in shock.
03:52She was in shock.
03:53I mean, she was sidestepping reality because it was too awful.
03:57Yeah.
03:58And, but people do things like that.
04:00Well, they definitely do in your books and in your world.
04:02I suppose maybe, I mean.
04:04I think they do in the real world as well.
04:05I do think in real life as well.
04:07It just doesn't fit the narrative, you know, that we have of grief or bereavement.
04:12In the books, we get the, that sense of finding out that he's dead and her absolute lack of ability to process that information.
04:22Yeah.
04:23Like for the first half of a 600 page book, she is in denial.
04:27And, but it's through letters, so it's much easier to do.
04:30And you can't do letters on screen.
04:31Right.
04:31So I was like, how do I get the sense that this girl, she's not crazy, but she is so broken that she cannot process the fact that this man is gone.
04:43And so that's how I came up with this sort of denial.
04:45But in the hands of another actor, she could have seemed, like my husband is a widower and lost his wife.
04:55Kind of, they got married very quickly when they realized that she was going to die.
04:59And he has watched these episodes and he is always in bits about Louisa.
05:04He doesn't know how she's able to tap into that.
05:06It's so real and in the hands of someone else, that scene with the Glastonbury could have been very trite or whimsical or not grounded in the, you did so much work in grounding.
05:19Everything has to be believable.
05:20You said it every single day, like has to be truthful, has to be truthful, has to be truthful.
05:25That is such a good point.
05:26Yeah, I mean, I just always want to, I always want it like, you know, that we're real people and we're really talking to each other.
05:32I think that's always key.
05:33And the scene, that scene is so jarring, like in a truthful way, but it is, it's jarring to watch.
05:39It was jarring to do.
05:40But, you know, that's like your books is in, you have to find the humor in things and like almost finding out, finding out he died.
05:47And then being like, how annoying, because we've lost him with tickets.
05:49Like that's just like how typical that he died.
05:51Because like, we tried so hard for these Glastonbury tickets and like so annoying and difficult that he's dead.
05:56And like, yes, but in a straight, like that makes a strange sort of sense.
06:01Yeah.
06:01You know, like it's not whimsical.
06:03And I think with your gravitas, Louisa, you absolutely convinced us that like it was a completely believable reaction.
06:11At no point did it seem silly or, or what's the word, kind of played for laughs.
06:18It was nothing like that.
06:19It was the sign of somebody in terrible shock and just finding reality just way, just impossible to process at that time.
06:30So.
06:30No, I also love Danny in that scene.
06:33And I, I, and Claire is the character who comes in and almost tries to burst the bubble to be like, no, Anna, you're being so weird.
06:40And I'm like, no, stop.
06:41Don't tell me I'm being weird.
06:42Yeah.
06:43Like leave me if you think so, because this is how I'm dealing with it right now.
06:45Yeah.
06:46Yeah.
06:47Danny's such a beautiful actor and I've known her.
06:50I, we went to Anne Cavanagh together and we did the Fesh Matthew together.
06:55And, um, I've always, it's just so special to work with her on this as well and play sisters.
06:59Cause I was a fan of hers when I was a child, I, I wanted to be here.
07:04I was like, she's the best in the class and I, I want to be like Danny and then seeing how well she's done in her career.
07:11Um, and, and, and now just getting to work together is just kind of the perfect project for us to, to, to work together for the first time on professionally.
07:20When she gets into that bed with you, it's just such a beautiful moment.
07:25And the, is that is in this episode, isn't it?
07:29Yeah.
07:30Yeah.
07:30Um, and then, um, again, undercut by Mammy, you know, I just love the idea of like the sisters having this beautiful moment.
07:39And then Mammy being like, God, these chairs are so uncomfortable.
07:41And Claire being like, just leave.
07:43It's like, I have this.
07:44Yeah.
07:44Go home.
07:45Go home.
07:45Um, and I love that, um, like juxtaposition of like, you know, how beautiful Danny looks in the bed and how put together she is.
07:54And obviously she has had, she's cried for Anna.
07:57You know what I mean?
07:58She's had her cry in the car and come back and she's just this beautiful, you know, picturesque.
08:03And obviously Anna is broken and wounded physically and obviously emotionally and her just lying beside seeing those two sisters like that.
08:09I think it's a lovely image.
08:11It is.
08:12So Anna and, uh, Aidan Maddox, her fiance's journey is a short one, but one that you worked really hard to make sure was really truthful.
08:27And while everyone around you is saying, but you don't even know this man, like why?
08:32Like we needed the audience and us needed to believe you do know him.
08:38And this isn't just one of your phases that you're going through.
08:41So, um, how was the process of working with Samuel Anderson and kind of your making that relationship real when he's dead for a lot of it?
08:53Yeah.
08:53I mean, I just really knew that like.
08:56You needed to believe that this relationship was real for Anna, even if nobody else around her believed it.
09:05And I think that almost pushed Anna into loving him more and, you know, going 10 toes down even more for Aidan.
09:14Um, I just really, I think we needed to believe that this was real and, um, yeah, I mean, Sam's so lovely and yeah, we were lucky to have him as well.
09:28I mean, we were so lucky across the board.
09:30I mean, it goes without saying, but God, we were so lucky with the cast.
09:34Yeah, he was a great character because he wasn't, he wasn't Mr. Sappy, like he wasn't Mr. Sweetness and Light, you know, when Rachel arrived into the bedroom and he says, you know, you don't knock.
09:46Um, like I liked that he was quite, not exactly abrasive, but he was not going to people please just to kind of win friends and influence people.
09:57Um, and then there's the scene when you're walking from Black Rock, uh, Dart Station and like you're so physically close to each other.
10:05And he said, so we're going to have to come for lunch like every week for the rest of our lives.
10:09And, and you said, um, well, no, he says until we die.
10:14Until we die.
10:15And you said, no, no, no, just until they die.
10:17And, and then even then you were so like, so he's kind of no, no, no, I shouldn't have said that.
10:22And even the flowers that they brought were such prestige flowers.
10:26Yeah.
10:27You know, they were like a good, a different couple to everybody else.
10:32Yeah.
10:33Like nothing like Rachel and Luke, obviously, but nothing like Garv and Maggie either.
10:37Yeah.
10:38And then Mammy holds up the flowers.
10:39No.
10:40I think you need to see them to be quite kind of like picturesque almost in the beginning.
10:43Yeah.
10:44And then to, you know, his physical makeup lying in that bed with all the tubes.
10:47It was so like, I found it so harrowing and emotional, you know?
10:52And the way he, he can hardly speak.
10:55Yeah.
10:56And his little swollen eyelids.
10:57Yeah.
10:58And then she's talking about like.
11:00Can we, when we dance at the wedding and.
11:02Yeah.
11:03The poor, anyway.
11:05But.
11:06He was brilliant as well.
11:07I mean, yeah.
11:08I, I think we, we, yeah.
11:10Again.
11:11I mean, um, we found that whole week in the hospital so incredibly moving and what you do
11:17so well, Marianne is, you know, you use humor and light in horrendous situations, which is
11:22what he, which is what humans do.
11:24Um, and we had to try and force ourselves to find the light within that week we were shooting
11:29in the hospital because.
11:30As staff will tell you, I really struggled.
11:33Like I, I really was a broken woman.
11:37I, I, I just found, I just found it very real.
11:41And I think that was quite late in our filming process as well, wasn't it?
11:44Like we.
11:45It was.
11:46Had already been shooting for quite a long time when we were, when we shot in that hospital.
11:50So, um, yeah, it was just.
11:53Yeah.
11:54Like I was saying in a previous episode about Claire being the litmus test of like what
11:58is real.
11:59So trying to find a way where Louisa, where we could see that Anna has been in a car crash,
12:05but in order for the audience to feel safe, to go with the humor and for the humor not
12:10to feel like grotesquely insensitive.
12:13Yeah.
12:14The audience need the security to be like, she's okay.
12:16So the first time we see Anna, we needed to be like, okay, Anna is definitely not in
12:22jeopardy, but you are allowed to reserve your fear for Aidan because things are not good
12:26there.
12:27But I, and that was a really difficult balance to get because we needed to keep it truthful.
12:31And Louisa is always on the hunt for like what's truthful.
12:34And so we're trying to find the balance of like, I've been in a car crash.
12:37I've got a punctured lung.
12:38I can't see my fiance.
12:41Like where can I pitch my, you know, my, my sadness, my fear, my emotions at.
12:47Um, so that was a really, really tricky week, but I don't.
12:51I just don't think anyone else.
12:54I certainly, if I was playing Anna, wouldn't have been able to do it.
12:56Like not in a million billion years, it would have been like the, the journey that you have
13:01to go on of like denial, shock, anger, because, okay, let's.
13:08Lost.
13:09Lost.
13:10And then you have at the end of episode three, we're going to play this clip now.
13:12Like you find out.
13:13Yes.
13:14Yeah.
13:15You think it's bad now, but yeah.
13:18Let's play that clip.
13:19Aiden.
13:20I just spoke to your mom.
13:22And I just needed to hear your voice.
13:25I.
13:26How could I have been with you last week and now you're gone.
13:31Alice Kremlberg.
13:32Alice Kremlberg.
13:33What an amazing.
13:34Yeah.
13:35What an amazing Janey.
13:36The one and only, I mean the only Janey.
13:37We were so, we were so blessed.
13:38So blessed.
13:39Yeah.
13:40But that's also down to casting director Louisa Harland.
13:41Another one of you.
13:53Another one of Louisa's skills is, um, casting, but also because Louisa is such a joy.
13:58Anyone who's ever worked with her.
13:59Yeah.
14:00Wants to work with her again.
14:01Yeah.
14:02She's like same.
14:03I feel the same.
14:04She was like, Alice can do it.
14:07She has a working visa for Ireland.
14:08for Ireland we were like you're joking like Alice Kremlberg from Orange is the New Black and The
14:13Sinner and Renegade Now. Louise was like yeah and then we made it happen. Alice Kremlberg who read
14:19your books Marian on her travels over to Dublin from New York or where LA or wherever she was at
14:26the time and is now your biggest fan. Stop it. That particular scene listening to the voice
14:32Aiden's voicemail and then obviously being interrupted by a call from Jamie and then the
14:38key obviously sentence is you know I was with you last week and and now you're gone how is this
14:44possible you know that's the real clangor. That's another scene where I was crying in between takes.
14:53Um I just you know what I loved as well but I think made everything so much more emotional as
14:59well on set was how much the crew loved the story and you know loved these women and loved the books
15:06and you know you really felt that you know you really felt the support but it all it all just felt
15:13so so um so sad you know and um like during Louise's scenes Eva who's our script supervisor
15:21would because she's sitting looking at the script the whole time to make sure we're staying on point
15:25and she was crying because Louisa was performing so beautifully but then part of Louise's story
15:32I mean the writing the writing is is is fairly good I have to say so just all the elements is why
15:38everyone found it so moving. But um that Louise's storyline is that she can't access those emotions
15:44and she can't cry and she's in shock so we'd have to be like hold back hold back hold back because
15:49oh yes yeah you can't cry yet. No and Marion I was listening to that voice now in a couple of takes
15:56and then I just feel the tears coming down and I'm like sorry Ian and Ian's like cut
16:01we can do this Louisa we can do this and I'm like no no no we can do this um again um exactly. Can I just
16:11segue slightly here and say how gorgeous Helen was trying to calm you down and doing the breathing and
16:17blow out the candle blow out the candle I've never heard that before that's so sweet. Yeah I think
16:23that was I think that was improvised on the day I mean Mairead is just such a brilliant actor like
16:27I remember a couple of years ago uh when my best mates Siobhan rang me because she had just been
16:31working with her and she used to ring me after set being like you have to work with this girl she's
16:36fabulous um and I've kind of been obsessed with Mairead ever since and I'm so again I know broken
16:44record but so lucky to have had her as Helen um yeah she's beautiful in that scene. She really is
16:51because I think so much of the time she feels she has nothing to offer. Yes. And and she was useful
16:57she knew she was helping you like it was lovely. And you can see Helen fighting her you know fear and
17:05you know worry for her sister in that moment to be strong for her sister in that moment that she had to
17:10step up yeah it was I loved it and it's such a small glimpse into you know what I hope if we get
17:19to make season two you know it's those insights where you get to see like Helen isn't just a snarky
17:27commentator like she has all of her own stuff and I got the sense that in that scene she knows what
17:32Louise is going through she's had her own panic attacks she knows like what it's like to be in this
17:37state and I just thought that was really moving. Yeah I loved it. Yeah uh Louisa if you wouldn't mind
17:43staying with us after the break we're going to talk about my sex life. Will? Yes sorry. Yes please.
17:49So we'll be back after this. Thank you.
17:55Welcome back to part two um the bit that you've all been waiting for um Maggie and Garve getting their
18:03moment with their sex schedule for those of you who don't remember let's let's let's have a little
18:08reminder. What's this? So I was doing this uh schedule for visiting Anna and I thought I would
18:14make one for us as well. Right we are having sex every day for a week. Yeah more than a week
18:23but I've put it into your calendar and um it'll just pop up on your screen. Sex now. What if I'm in a
18:30meeting? I'm I'm joking that's not gonna say that it's just my name. Very subtle no one will notice.
18:40Oh Maggie and Garve I'm so fond of them. Oh my god I love them. Love Maggie and Garve. Yeah they're gorgeous.
18:49They're such good friends. I just wish she would stand up for him a little bit when all the girls are
18:53rinsing him about his not paying his round and being stingy and dry and what. But that's definitely
19:00a sign of um of love. From the sisters. Yeah and closeness you can tell how close they are with Garve
19:09because they're so harsh to him. Yeah I guess it's an Irish thing. And it's almost like instinct at this
19:14stage. Do you know like nobody's kind of putting much thought into it. Yes it's just it's
19:20just what you do. If someone mentions money we need to say something about Garve. Yeah like
19:25there's barely any malice in it but it's a habit. Yeah. And it's just yeah it's always been done and
19:32will always happen. What a great performance from him as well. I love him. Has he done acting before?
19:38He has yeah and he's a stand-up comedian. I know I knew he was a stand-up. Yeah I think he's really good
19:43at this. Yeah I think he's very very. Oh he's so good. So natural. Also such a lovely energy to have
19:48on set. Just so so funny. So sound. I love Garve and Maggie together and there's something really
19:56even though I think there's they're probably some of the scenes where I laugh the most.
20:01You know that that's also because obviously I know this is such hiring stuff in this series. I mean that
20:06I find that storyline deeply sad as well. Yeah I didn't anticipate playing Maggie when I was writing it.
20:11But we we cast Anna and Rachel and Helen. So then we were auditioning for Claire and I was reading
20:17Maggie opposite Claire. Wow. To audition you know. Yeah yeah yeah. I read opposite lots of the actors
20:22for different roles. And Maureen Hughes said to me you know you make a really beautiful Maggie.
20:26And I was like ah I'm just reading like I know the words so well now. And she was like no I
20:30think you should audition for Maggie. And I was like huh. And I didn't have that immediate reaction of
20:36like no I'm not Maggie. This is not me. And where Maggie and I overlap like I've had my own fertility
20:43issues. And my husband and I had a sex schedule. Two failed rounds of IVF. Just trying to get
20:49pregnant for years and like five miscarriages. So I really relate to her and that grief.
20:56But it's sort of a nebulous thing because it's like grief for a life that you want. That's not
21:01definitely not happening but might not be happening. And and also there's so much going on in the
21:06family around her that she doesn't even really have time to fully go there. And and so I entertained
21:13the idea and then we did auditions and sent the videos to all the you know people who had a say. And
21:21that's how I came to be Maggie. But I think that's great. Yeah well if I had known from earlier that I
21:28would be playing her I don't think I would have put the sex scene in because it was probably one of
21:33the most uncomfortable things in my life. I love it. Hello. You said 7 30? I know but I didn't know
21:41how long it would take to find somewhere you know get set up. Set up? Do you bring a swing? I'm nervous.
21:49So am I there's still people here? Yeah but look they won't see. Ready Mr. Paul Garvin?
21:58You know if we ever do conceive from this we can't tell the kids okay? Do you like Maggie? Stop.
22:17Great. Great job. Thank you.
22:21But it's fantastic. They're on a shared mission. They are. But on that day of the shared mission.
22:33So I met Stephen who plays Garv. Yeah. For the second time ever that morning. And we met the
22:40intimacy coordinator and what you do is you kind of like choreograph a sex scene and you show two
22:45versions of it to the director and then he picks. So we had like one scene that you saw and then
22:50another one where like my legs are up on his shoulders. And Ian saw that when he was like
22:56it's too high comedy like let's try and keep it truthful. Yeah. And so that was fine. I had my
23:03modesty underwear and we decided that we were going to do skirt up knickers down rather than trousers
23:08down. So costume are all involved. And we were doing implied nudity. So there was just kind of like a
23:14scene or a shot of my tie where you'd see kind of this modesty underwear which looked like I had
23:19nothing on. So that was fine. We had that all organized and then it was like go back to the
23:23trailer and wait for like four hours because we're going to shoot a different scene and then we'll come
23:28to you. So I said fine we were waiting for night time anyway. Three hours pass. Like I better go to
23:33the toilet before we get all this set up. Period arrives. Oh god. Two weeks early out of absolutely
23:40nowhere. I was in bits. The body knows. Louisa wasn't I just in bits. I was so
23:48shook like so I rang the interview. The irony of it as well. I mean I think we were sinking as well
23:53past a certain point. Yeah all of us were. What do you mean sinking? Like all of the sisters like
23:58we're on the same period. Oh sinking. Oh that's sinking. Right I get you. Yes.
24:02We were catching each other's periods. Yeah. We just get texts into the WhatsApp group from
24:07someone's trailer being like oh. That is so fascinating isn't it? Yeah and I would be like
24:13guys my stomach's killing me. Is someone on their period? And they'd be like yeah. And I'm like what?
24:17Wow. And then so we had to change the whole thing. I had to wear I was like so I had to
24:24she came with her the intimacy coordinator came with like her period. She was amazing. What a legend.
24:32She had all of the options. And I was like I just don't want to have to tell like Ian the director.
24:38JJ the cameraman. Yeah. Johnny. Like the first thing. I don't have to tell these people
24:43we're changing how this looks now because I have my period. And she was like no that's fine. That's
24:47my job. This is all fine. But that's class. Yeah. So I got to wear my full briefs and we changed the
24:52shots and whatever and there was no embarrassment but it was very stressful and I was sweating. And in that
24:58scene I'm wearing like a silk like a silky shirt thing and I was like I'm sweating so much out of
25:05nerves which you'll know all about Louisa. Louisa's the sweetest actor. I'm a sweater.
25:12But also you know we had such an incredible lovely crew that like even if you even if you did you
25:18could say it. You know it was such a safe space wasn't it? It was. I don't think I felt that on like
25:24week three though. You know and it was my first. And for that particular scene. For that particular
25:29scene. And I didn't want Stephen to know and then she because I was like I don't want him to be like
25:34thrusting and he'll hear the rustle of something you know. And so then Ciara came with this you know
25:40like a Pilates ball. So it's like an exercise ball but yeah smaller. And so she was like I have this
25:46nine inch Pilates ball. And I was like why are we talking about inches? Nine inches. What are you
25:49talking about? So she was like I have this half deflated so this will go in between your pelvis
25:55and his pelvis. And so then he won't feel no one will feel anything and it will absorb a little bit
26:00of the thrust action. But that I mean that is really really innovative. Yeah. Kind. She has all of the
26:07tricks to make everyone feel comfortable and safe. But it meant that in that bit where I stand up and say
26:12good job. Actually there's a nine inch Pilates ball falling on the ground from between my legs
26:17which you can't see. And then the high five at the end of that scene was completely improvised by Garth
26:23and I think by Stephen. And I just think it's the sweetest moment. Beautiful. It really is. Yeah.
26:29They're a hugely convincing couple. So I really hope that they have success on their journey. Oh my
26:35God me too. Yeah. I mean they've put enough into it. They have indeed. Absolutely. I think
26:42we all fell in love with Stephen a bit though. Didn't we? On that night where we shot episode
26:46one. The first night that we all shot with Stephen and he just had us in stitches the whole night. Like
26:52it was one of the only times where I felt like everyone was annoyed with me because I couldn't
26:58stop laughing. Oh beautiful. Yes. And then Ina's like come on we can get through it. And you know
27:03then when people start getting cross it gets funnier. Definitely. So but it was all Stephen's fault.
27:08He just had us in high jinx the whole night. He really did. And you know yeah I mean just
27:16thinking right there I just love Ian so much. I know. Like one of the best directors I've ever
27:21worked with. I just. That is so lovely to hear. Brilliant actor as well which makes a brilliant
27:26director. But just as a person I mean instantly I think as soon as I met him. But you know as time
27:32went on and and now obviously there's been a gap since filming you know I miss him. Yeah. God yeah.
27:38He has such respect for you too. Like anytime I'm writing something and like I send it to him and
27:43we'll talk about he's like Louise is going to have a problem with this because this isn't there's no
27:48logic to this. Louise is going to need to know where she came from before this scene. And I'm like oh for
27:52God's sake. Yeah I mean seriously just what I mean such a great choice for this series and
28:01we just got into such a shorthand. He just you know he just held the room so well and all the crew
28:08and you know he has this you know no one makes me laugh like Ian either which I think is was very
28:13very useful for me playing Anna and I think for all of us obviously for Caroline and for us all you know.
28:17I don't know if I've spoken about Caroline yeah obviously how amazing to have like to see Rachel
28:27such a beloved character our like all of our lives to see her come to life so you know it's yeah she's
28:35amazing. I was going to ask you about that just before we finish like you said and I've said it as
28:40well that this is kind of a love story between Rachel and Anna and all of the stuff that Anna has to deal with.
28:46With all of the stuff that's after coming up for Rachel how did you sort of juggle those two
28:55I guess because those are the two plates that are spinning for you like all of this is happening
28:59like you can imagine a version where Aiden doesn't exist and Anna is just there
29:05but Rachel's storyline is continuing and that would be really upsetting for Anna also to be like
29:09Jesus Rachel's an addict and I didn't see it and what the hell am I going to do
29:13but you're dealing with that on top of the Aiden stuff yeah and the Janie stuff and the Janie stuff
29:18how is that like keeping Rachel in your mind when all of the Aiden stuff is happening?
29:24Well I mean she just had to um like convert that those emotions into anger and blame her for
29:31blame her for it yeah yeah yeah yeah because it's too too much it's too much it was it was far too much
29:42and you know she was so blinded by it I think you know Anna's was I think it's in episode three as
29:47well where Anna realizes just how who do we affect like by substances Rachel is and that guilt that she
29:58feels and you know I think you know she feels so guilty how she brushes it off with Luke and and I
30:06really love I say this is Steph all the time I and I know we don't get to see enough of it but I really
30:11love Anna and Luke's relationship because they know each other so well yeah but yeah I mean
30:20yeah I mean it is it is a love story between Anna and Rachel um I definitely had that the whole time
30:27in my mind you know and also I wasn't just grieving Aiden I was grieving Rachel um because obviously
30:35we were apart and we're never apart yes yeah and you having to deal with all of that without her
30:41yes and kind of Helen you can kind of see that as well maybe Helen stepping in
30:46the vacuum yeah I'll help you to breathe because probably it should have been Rachel or something
30:51yeah and I and yeah she does she she she tries to turn her relationship that she has with Rachel
30:57she tries yeah to to find that with Helen and I think she does you know um but Helen's so different
31:03to Rachel Helen's so mature yeah in in in comparison to Rachel obviously yeah she is yeah
31:12and it's so it's tricky that is what like as I wrote it that like Anna's continuing and like really
31:18trying to have this relationship with Helen that is supportive like it was with Rachel now we can't
31:24give too many spoilers away but I love like when we get to episodes four five and six you can see Anna trying
31:30to have conversations with Helen but they're going a completely different way than they would if
31:35they were conversations with Rachel yeah yeah you have to spell it out then yeah she's like no you're
31:40answering wrong this is how Rachel answered yes yes that's not what I expected or what I wanted to hear
31:49yeah and is in three is the Mary Black yeah were we talking about oh stop it yes
31:54yes yes I mean I don't know some people say it's the best song ever written but it is gas that you
32:00were listening to it trying to make yourself cry and the way Helen comes back in and goes Anna you know
32:08it's like just stop it would you that was very funny I I know I don't want to sound sycophantic but
32:15watching you do that scene sometimes it's just like a master class in acting so obviously when
32:20we're recording that scene the song isn't actually playing yeah oh because we're in continuity right
32:26so but you can see that Louisa her toes are moving to the music that's not playing there wow when we
32:34added over it all just looks so real yeah I remember watching it at the time being like you're a genius
32:40like who thinks of that and keeps going yeah have I just opened a door to the past says Helen yeah I
32:47loved that I know you know and then and then the follow-up line sorry I'm colonizing your room just
32:52so clever like it's just it's just so clever very yes um oh god I just love these girls so much
33:01I want to go and watch it now and yes thank you so much Louisa thank you for joining you're an angel
33:07and like an amazing actor and I'm so grateful I mean we could literally go on that couldn't we so
33:13it's just it's just nice before we finish we're gonna listen to um I mean you can stay with us if
33:20you want we're gonna listen to a clip from Mammy and Daddy's ISO your intolerance is impossible to
33:27live with expecting us all to be perfect are you joking you think I'm only happy when everyone else
33:33around me is perfect well no wonder I'm never fucking happy look maybe this was a bad idea
33:39we didn't come here to upset her Jack don't do that do what you always do this what you're so
33:47uncomfortable upsetting the girls you don't need to be getting into fights here it's not a fight
33:52sounds like a fight to me yeah calling me intolerant no Rachel she said you're intolerance
33:58oh shut up your wife beater I'm not putting up with this this is batshit
34:02she can't say that to them Rachel stop I'm sorry don't even make me out to be some unreasonable
34:08bitch who grew up abusing their poor meek parents you have no idea what it was like to live with them
34:14the teeniest mistake was a disaster mum tell them about the time that you you abandoned me all of us
34:21because I ate Maggie's easter egg when I was six what are you talking about I ate Maggie's easter egg and
34:26you left for a week and you didn't come back when I don't know easter granddad died love that's why
34:33she left I only ever left for a week when my father died and you thought it was your fault
34:43yeah I thought she was angry because I upset Maggie yeah my god intense I was just gonna say I've watched
34:51that scene three times because I um was so desperate to see it at the time I I read on the page so so well
34:58and I knew those three actors were just gonna nail it and even the surrounding people in the cloisters
35:03I just find it so moving and it still has the quintessential you Marion of that line about easter
35:09I don't know easter is in it again it's just a moment of like humor in in such a like an intense
35:15scene it's just perfect I know it seems really brutal but that's what happens that's kind of the
35:24whole point of those situations in rehab yeah that people are they break over the open each other's
35:33shells yeah you know to kind of get to the truth and there were so many drafts that I did of that scene
35:39oh and different people kept saying the easter egg thing isn't working I don't believe it I the
35:43easter egg there's no way that it's just about there's no way that she's carrying this easter egg
35:48thing and I think people who aren't addicts don't understand how one tiny thing like from your past
35:56can be held on to so much deeply and and chronically yeah yeah that it never dissipates that it remains
36:04as terrible as when you were six yeah and I think that the easter egg being such a fundamental part of
36:10the book I was like it can't be anything else it has to be this yeah and I think uh and and I'm kind
36:19of interested Louisa and Marion to think like and Marion your perspective will be slightly different
36:25but so Rachel says you left because I took Maggie's easter egg yeah and then Mammy's like my father died
36:33can you not see how self-centered you are and Rachel saying can you not see how as my mother
36:39it was your job to not make me feel like this for 20 years like who do you think is right there both of
36:45them are I agree Marion both of them are because it's just so truthful like Rachel was six and Mammy
36:52Walsh's dad had just died like they're both given like free get out of jail cards I mean neither of them
37:00were able to fight their corner or like Mammy Walsh didn't even realize it was affecting
37:07Rachel or any of them because she's a human being and she was a human being grieving
37:13and so you think that Rachel
37:18but do you not think that it's there's an onus on Rachel to say to her mother later in life here
37:23this thing really upset me I don't think that shame works that way okay sometimes people are
37:30too ashamed to mention things because yeah yeah you know because defending herself or asking for an
37:36explanation would involve like excavating the terrible thing that she did yeah and like she's
37:42still thinking of that as a six-year-old um and it was a terrible thing to do to eat your sister's
37:47Easter egg like a whole Easter egg belonging to your good sister yeah and she couldn't because
37:55the minute you start she would never have thought that she had any right to ask for an explanation
38:01ever yes okay and Mammy Walsh wouldn't even have known it had anything to do with Easter eggs or
38:08Rachel or anything and Louisa when you saw that scene did you think that Mammy was out of order for
38:17dropping the Aiden bomb as she did in the ISO or what was your reaction to it no I mean I think it's
38:24such an emotional space you know as as you're saying right so such an intense space no I don't um
38:33you know she can't she can't think she can't think in that moment I I I love that moment I mean I know
38:41it's so horrible but I just yeah I just love that scene I just I love it I couldn't wait to see it I
38:46loved reading it and I couldn't wait to see them do it and actually seeing it um yeah as I say I've
38:52watched it a few times now every I rewind times I think yeah that moment of her dropping that bomb
39:02like Aiden is dead and you didn't even think to ask just how on like there's just a bit of Mammy Walsh
39:10in Rachel and a bit of Rachel in Mammy Walsh yeah it's like you're being really inconsiderate here
39:15yeah but you don't even know that you're being how bad you're being yeah because you're so riled up
39:20yeah and Mammy Walsh is angry yeah like she's angry about a lot of things yeah and uh and in that
39:28moment she's very very angry with Rachel and it's a way to hurt her yeah but that is the thing
39:33actually it's a weapon she uses it as a weapon she does she uses it as a weapon um yeah I think uh
39:41Carrie Crowley as Mammy did an amazing job oh completely she's brilliant and then I mean god
39:48love the pair then Mammy and Daddy Walsh yeah like you know this isn't just about the sisters it's about
39:53their relationship and the way that she feels constantly undermined by him needing to be loved
39:58yeah he's got the please love me disease as well yeah although he's not an addict oh no I love Daddy
40:05Walsh so much oh no I adore him I adore him but I feel for Mammy Walsh because somebody has to be the
40:10bad cop and it's her and it's her he's incapable of being bad cops he's given money away left right and
40:17centre like you can't be a bad cop and do that uh I do also love the the I think it's so intense and so
40:26emotional that we really feel for Rachel I think for like the first time in a really visceral way
40:31yeah I mean the utter horror of him having died and it being her fault yeah and and nobody telling her
40:42like has Anna tried does Anna want to see me where like I need to talk to my sister and everyone's like
40:47no she doesn't want yeah she's not going to talk to you yeah like she's so abandoned like she's been
40:53abandoned by the person she loves the most which is Anna well I guess we're gonna have to hold off
40:59and wait and see if they can ever make it up uh yes watch this space absolutely watch the space
41:06next Sunday you absolute legend you are a complete gem you talented an icon a great actor thank you so
41:15much for joining us and thank you to everybody for listening to episode three thank you so much
41:19walsh sisters companion podcast join us next Monday when we will review and regurgitate episode four
41:27which is on Sunday night 9 30 on RT1 thank you
Comments