While a show with two female leads is nothing new, it is still rare for a man to go so deep into the lives of these women. Firefly Lane doing. (Because of spoilers, I won’t stop saying more.) Chalke said, “Watching these two characters find their voice and go from making fun of others to being understand what they want – it was all one-horned work. That is so rare. ”
But Chalke and Heigl are the first to tell you that their careers didn’t come without healthy fear. Here, they open up about taking essential risks, the responsibility of being a claimant, and more.
Glamor: Katherine, you were given a choice to play Tully or Kate, so what drew you to Tully?
Katherine Heigl: It was very sad. I spent a good week going back and forth, because I just felt like I understood Kate better. She felt more “me,” as if I could psychologically dive into that character and maybe get there faster. But I had been talking to my mother, who is my production partner, and my husband about wanting a real challenge in my next project. I was just coming off Suits where I got this badass, strong, independent lawyer to play, and I wanted another challenge like that – a character that is not me. So I decided to just be brave and try to play Tully.
I’m glad you did.
Heigl: Thank you. There was nothing more fun than slipping into Tully’s skin. She is so brutal and so ambitious and, in fact, broken down in society. Women are not encouraged to be like that. So I’m navigating through my own brain scan, I thought, It’s too much. I didn’t know how to accept that. As I kept pouring through the book and the script and looking more at it from Tully’s perspective, my heart grew for this character. It was my instinct from the beginning, I want to be the same; I want people to enjoy me. I wasn’t sure I could take Tully off in a way that you would sympathize with, understand her, still love. Luckily I had good stuff to use, but it was scary.
