In Apple TV’s “Down Cemetery Road”, nothing is predictable. Not the mysteries, not the chaos, and certainly not the people at the center of it. Patrick Beatty sat down with Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson to talk about the bond between their characters, Zoe and Sarah.
Patrick B: What was the most interesting thing about the compromises that your character had to make, or what were some things that you didn’t realize that would end up being compromises as you were working on it?
Emma Thompson: I think one of the things, actually, I would say about Zoe is that she’s very uncompromising. And I suppose the compromises she’s forced to make are because she’s kind of got Sarah with her. So Sarah sometimes forces her to make compromises that are, in fact, a great deal more reckless and dangerous than things that she might do. They’re very surprising people, and they surprise one another. I think a lot that strange, jagged balance between them is something that we really enjoyed playing because it’s not like normal banter. Or is it because Sarah doesn’t know when Zoe’s just going to shut her down, and she doesn’t know when Sarah is going to run off and push someone down a stairwell? You know, so there’s a great kind of unexpected quality to both the characters and to their interactions and to their response to one another.
Patrick B: Ruth, with you working alongside Emma, who’s an executive producer on this. Does it feel more comforting or like you’re in safer hands working alongside her?
Ruth Wilson: I think sometimes when you have someone who’s so, knows their material so well, has a relationship to material and to the writer, the adapter, then, yes. And there’s a care and there’s an integrity and passion for the project, which makes you have equal passion and care. That was very nice knowing that Emma was on that side. But just working with her was a joy. And like you said, it was kind of. They’d take it in turns to lead the characters. And we never knew when that was going to happen in the scene.
Know. And I remember doing that first scene on the roof. We did it so many different ways. We suddenly were like, exploring it. It was the first time we’ve really played together. Yeah. And it was different every time. And it was really fun.
Emma Thompson: That’s the mark of great writing, that you can do it so many different ways. Bad writing, you can only do it one way, and it will always be bad writing.
Patrick B: The final question I have is if you, Emma Thompson, and Ruth could hire Zoe as your investigator, what’s the mystery you’d put her on?
Emma Thompson: Oh, something kind of corrupt. And–
Ruth Wilson: I was going to say Boris Johnson.
Emma Thompson: Yes, that’s absolutely right. How many children does he actually have? Oh, that would be very good because she’d enjoy that. Yeah, she would enjoy it. Enjoy the sleaze of it.
Ruth Wilson: Yeah. Looking at his car. Yeah. How full of like, rubbish it was?
“Down Cemetery Road” is streaming now on Apple TV.
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