And she says, “Did he do anything? No, he stood there quaking like a flower, no more use to me than a flower.” And I think that she learned that if she’s got to protect herself, she has to be strong and carry that big stick and have no fear. There’s a line I say, and I’m just reflecting on it again now in retrospect-there was one guy who was always coming to grope, and he would grope her right in front of her husband. And I think she quickly learned when she first came there to protect herself. She’s in a little village where there’s a lot of danger, and the men are bigger and stronger and have more power.
The ovens weren’t really hot, but it was really wonderful. It was glorious to have this working kitchen. They put in running water I knew I wanted to be washing dishes at some point. I liked being in the kitchen and just getting a feel for the kitchen-where all the silverware is, all the bowls, all the food, the pantry. It was warm, it was cozy, there was a big fireplace. All the actors had green rooms, and I tried to stay in the inn. You have to behave as they do.Īnd I loved my inn.
As the scene called for, you’re walking in a street full of mud, and as you’re walking through the street, you have to lift your skirt. You were actually in those heavy woolen dresses. What ended up happening is, you really didn’t have to do a lot of imagining. MGH: Because the sets were so exquisite and they were so perfectly done, it was like taking something right out of that time-right out of the late 1600’s and opening up the doors for us.
What was it like for you to film in such a rich environment? PTV: The sets in Barkskins are impressive, particularly Mathilde’s inn. But it’s nice when you have the characters outlined in the book. It was more about creating her together, I think, then finding something in the book. I did research, just looking at the paintings and reading about what was going on France and why someone might’ve left France at that time to come to the new world. There’s some beautiful paintings of peasant women holding bread and innkeeper type of people. Certainly prototypes like her were, but she’s not in the book. And it often allows you to be more unique and make bolder choices. You have the storyline, the character storyline, helping you figure out who the character is. MGH: It’s actually nice when you have the research done for you in a book. PTV: Being familiar with the book, but with only so much of the novel making its way into the series, how much did having read it help you? How did you prepare to play Mathilde?
Then with Scott Rudin and Elwood, it just seemed like it was really going to be an interesting and oddly timely and completely unique series.
I was enthralled with it, and then I heard that they were possibly doing a series of it. When I was in the middle of reading the book. I knew her writing from Brokeback Mountain and The Shipping News. Precinct TV: What about Barkskins resonated with you originally? Watch Big Sky Season 2, Episode 16 live online.How many seasons of True Detective are there?.What is The Staircase on HBO Max about?.Is Big Sky canceled? (Has the show been renewed for Season 3?).Watch Big Sky Season 2, Episode 17 live online.