Its a reflection of who we are.
And thats almost scarier.
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This interview includes spoilers for the season finale ofMrs.
Davis, The Final Intercut: So Im Your Horse.
Its the right decision, maybe, possibly or is it?
After speaking with creatorsTara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof, Gilpin wanted Simones choice to be believably fraught.
Then they told me, and I was like, Oh, I wish I hadnt known.
So I tried to forget it the second they told me.
I thought it was a very silly and intelligent way to end our season.
Its a reflection of who we are.
And thats almost scarier.
Right before we started shootingMrs.
Did I create a hole in the space-time continuum in 2004 and make this?
You were just made to satisfy.
But she has a lot of growing to do.
Seeing how Mrs. Davis operates points out the flaws and holes in her faith and practice.
If she started as a nun with proof of Jesus, thats cheating.
Thats not being a person of faith.
Its having a boyfriend youre making out with in front of you.
Thats not what life is about.
We found out on a Friday that we were going to have to do it on a Monday.
They handed me all the outlines for these unwritten scripts, and I crammed all this information in.
Its all about mothers and their children, and Mary is the ultimate mother.
Its a relatable thing to want to find a cheat out of that feeling.
Even Mary wanted to find a cheat out of that feeling.
But we often use them as the opposite to disconnect and hide in our own echo chambers.
The parallels there, especially as they come together in the finale, are really inspiring.
All of that converges in the scene where Simone talks to Mrs. Davis with Celeste as her proxy.
Simone was raised by two magicians, and I discovered through my research that most magicians are atheists.
But that proof part of her is still in Simone.
He looked like a wizard, it was incredible.
Theres a trick I do where I fake catching the card, and thats really all I learned.
But his sleight of hand is by far the bestwaybetter than mine in the show.
What was it like filming that?Shohreh was such a gift for that part.
It was an almost impossible task to come in for one episode and just fully commit like that.
These scripts are not actor-proof.
Its real text, and there are genre terms in every other sentence.
We just kept lucking out.
He is both clear and insane in a way that puts you exactly in our world.
Shohreh was like that too.
Her voice alone its like shes 1,000 miles deep with every single syllable.
The moment she walked on, I burst into tears.
It used to be that she enters and I say, Are you God?
And she says, No, Im Mary.
Then the first time she entered, I was like, Its so clear that shes Mary.
We have to change it.
We were all crying that day.
I mean, the Lazarus shroud is definitely the most uncomfortable costume Ive ever worn.
It weighed, like, a billion pounds.
I was like, Shohreh is giving such an amazing performance.
We cant have you squeegeeing my windshield every three seconds.
Ill just suffocate for Shohrehs performance.
Jake McDorman and I are possibly soul twins.
Its like, Shut up.
Im having so much fun.
I got lost in it.
Its such a serious scene, and I couldnt keep a straight face.
Im fascinated by Simones utility-jumpsuit habit.
What went into its design?
Is it really hot to wear?
Is it comfortable?The costume designer is Susie Coulthard.
We had my fitting in New York, and we chose wool.
Then we shot in the desert 103 degrees in the beating sun.
After the pilot, I was like, Susie, we must change the fabric.
How are we going to do this?
I also drew on all of my conversations with nuns.
Simones still Celestes daughter, shes still Montys daughter.
She engineered her habit to suit her life.
So we need a season two if only for me to pull a tampon out of my secret pocket.
We wrapped, and I was like,Fuck, I never did the tampon reveal.
It gets harder the more I scroll.
They are like living screens for what they would describe as the Holy Spirit.
And its not a machine in our show that Simone is a bride of Christ.
Nuns get married to Jesus.
They wear wedding rings.
It is a real relationship for them.
I didnt know any of that.
Its exactly the same for Mother Superior and all of the other nuns.
They just dont need proof.
They dont need to be fed falafel and told everythings going to be okay all the time.
You do so much eating on-camera as Simone.She loves to eat.
I was like,you’re free to do it when youre 10.
You cant do it at 36.
It seemed like a niche thing that I had seen a few headlines about.
Now it feels so much a part of the mainstream conversation.
I have a 2-year-old.
I had to fumble through a decision or experience on my own and come to a conclusion.
Now Im in this phase of my career when interaction with the internet is available.
Do you want to participate in your own parade?
Im sure its the same with writing.
Its not just putting something out into the ether and it disappears.
you might get trapped in a result and unable to create again.
It fucking freaks me out.
Right now, I know that the show is out.
No compliment or insult is ever going to be as much of a ten as those feelings.
I work for a corporation.
Theres a machine happening.
I was happy for Simone that her horse returns at the end of the series.Thank God!
I was so sad when I thought the horse had exploded.
They did not tell me it was coming back.
I really thought the horse was dead the whole time.
Sadly, in real life, that horse could not have hated me more.
This piece of snot was the size of an otter.
I cant believe everyone didnt throw up simultaneously.
Its on-camera, so maybe thats a blooper that will live forever.
The crew was very divided on what the moving windmill was.
I even forget where Tara and Damon stand on it.
She has to learn how to be an actual person of faith.
Shes out there without falafel to go to whenever she has a problem.
Mrs. Davis offers answers to all of those problems, offers a relationship without risk.
I wonder if that is a tempting thing for somebody who is newly on baby-deer legs.
Its the ultimate Turkish delight or Everlasting Gobstopper maybe.
But thats up to Tara and Damon.
Im just the puppet.
I put on the eyeliner and say the lines.
I get covered in horse snot, then I drive home.
Do you have a favorite absurd detail from the truly absurd lore of theMrs.
Then she has this realization that its not this evil queen Im here to destroy.
Its actually a little kid who just wants to yo their own mom.
Realizing,Oh, God, its a baby!was devastating to me.
And I love that the grail is just a brown bowl skull.
I was like, Im so sorry.
I cant move in this suit!
What is it made out of?I dont remember what it was made of.
It was very light.
Able to be washed away.Yeah, yeah.
It wasnt my fault!
This interview has been edited and condensed.
