Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for the second season of The Great.
from the creator Tony McNamaraThe second season of the original Hulu series the great see Catherine (Elle FanningShe succeeds in her coup against Peter.Nicholas Hoult), took the Russian throne for herself. But that certainly isn’t the end of the battle, as she finds herself up against the court, her team, and even her mother (Gillian Anderson), and she must decide whether she will actually love the husband who has become a prisoner and who is also the father of her child.
During this interview with Collider, which you can watch and read, the stars share with you guilem lee (who plays Gregor, Peter’s best friend and Georgina’s husband) and Bayou Gbadamusa He (who plays Arkady, a loyal friend in Peter’s inner circle) talked about how much they enjoyed saying “Huzzah!” , the fun of playing these roles, how well they know where their characters are headed, Gregor and Peter’s relationship, and Arkady’s need for self-preservation, amazing costumes and sets.
Collider: I really enjoy this show. It’s so much fun watching all the craziness that’s going on. Could you imagine you would say “Shake!” Many times in one job? Does anyone have a running counter, in season?
Bayo Gbadamusi: No, but we must.
Guillem Lee: We must do it.
Gbadamusi: That’s a good idea.
Lee: They counted the amount of cups we broke during season one and it was in the hundreds. The “estate” becomes a twitch after a while. You say it so many times until you wake up in the middle of the night, “Shake! Estate!”
Gbadamusi: I love it because it can mean many different things. You can use it in many different contexts, and that’s great. At first, I remember when we first started filming, it took a while to get used to saying “shake!” And to feel it is something you might say. There is a harmony with this now that is very interesting.
Do you find that you have to actually stop saying that in real life because people will look at you like you’re crazy?
Lee: It’s very expressive. It’s a great word to say because it can mean a lot of different things. I find myself saying that a lot.
These characters are all big, bold and above all. Do you miss playing her between seasons, or is she a character you’d be happy to put away and rest a bit?
Lee: I’m really looking forward to the chance to do it again because it’s so much fun to play these parts. But then, at the same time, it’s time to break up, do something different, and challenge yourself in different ways. Nor are they the nicest people. Grigor and Arkady have their faults, right? They’re not hugely sympathetic characters, so it’s a good idea to walk away from that sometimes.
Gbadamusi: You are looking forward to playing these characters because they are so fun and the writing is amazing. It is a pleasure to be able to work with this text. It’s also a good idea to take a break and have this opportunity to look forward to getting back into it. It is about balance.
Aside from perhaps Catherine and Peter, it seems that the characters on this show may not get much information about them and that they have evolved and expanded as the seasons go on. How much did you already know about your character and who they would be, when you first signed on to do so, and has anything surprised you about them since then?
Gbadamusi: Yes. When we started, I didn’t really know much because they don’t rely on real people. It is completely fictional. But I’ve had a chat with Tony about the character, potential arcs, and where they’re headed, but we don’t get all the episodes when we start shooting. We get at it as we go, so it’s an ongoing discovery, which is pretty cool. It’s nice to be surprised and find out, along the way, the relationships and bits of history between characters you didn’t know existed. You’re not trying to play that somehow, it’s just the thing, and that’s great about the way we’re doing this show.
Lee: That’s the really rich thing about this season. Season 1 is about a lot about the setting and about who these characters are and what this world is like. But now that we know that by the end of Season 1, we can jump right into the deep end of Season 2. This season has given us the opportunity to explore some of the different depths of these characters and to explore a little more of the human side of them.
Gwilym, Grigor is in a very interesting position with his wife and close friend, which is not a position you want to be in, in marriage. Why do you think he tolerates what he does as long as he does? What does it feel like to play with someone like him and explore that?
Lee: Why would he bear it? Because he should, really. Standing up against someone like Peter is dangerous. He’s a voracious, dangerous and violent guy, so you can’t stand him. But equally, he doesn’t stand up to him [him] Because in the end he loves it. Peter loves. He is totally loyal to him. This is not about Gregor’s political status. It’s just a matter of connection and love. This is really getting tested in season two. Who will choose Gregor, his wife or Peter? It’s so much fun, who gets to choose it in the end. That’s what I find so interesting about this show and this world. There is no room for privacy in this court. It really is an intense pressure cooker mode. Everyone lives on top of each other in this very small environment. It is very difficult to have feelings and to deal with your feelings in this world.
What do you think these two relationships say about him, as a character? How does that define it for you?
Lee: He’s a very loyal person. He’s trying to be loyal to his wife and best friend, and that’s what puts him in this predicament. He has a lot of flaws, Gregor, but he’s actually quite decent, in that sense. This is one of his qualities, one of his virtues.
Bayou, what do you enjoy about Arkady and the relationship he has with people, as he navigates everyone else?
Gbadamusi: I feel he’s definitely in Peter’s camp, but also, I think he’s very aware and aware of his position within that camp. Although he is a close friend of Peter, he realizes that he does not necessarily enjoy the history and lifelong friendship that he has with Gregor. It is similar to the relationship he has with his wife Tatiana, played by Florence Keith Roach. Both are fully aware of this. They are a family, so there is an element of the choices they make to go along with the self-preservation of themselves and their families. This season has been so much fun because you get to see his Machiavellian side and his wrong side.
This show is visually stunning, the costumes are incredible, and the set looks extremely detailed. What do you think, what surprises viewers the most when it comes to all the details and what it takes for a show like this?
Gbadamusi: I am very impressed with the creative team for this show. I’m constantly talking about fashion and design. I came to lay down and say, “Wow, that’s unbelievable.” amazing thing. With each section, just as with the actors, you enter Season 2 knowing the world and you can be more expressive and creative in Season 2. I think this is true, across the board. Everyone in season two stepped up a bit. There are a lot of exciting and amazing things for the public to understand in this regard.
Lee: It’s an incredible attention to detail. There is a peculiarity that gives this show really richness and allows you to connect with it in plain sight. There is no general policy. There is always something specific and special about it. You read something in the script and don’t think too much about it, but then you turn up to get ready for the day you shoot and they create this crazy, crazy and eccentric world and we all dress up in these costumes with elaborate wigs, which is what makes them so eccentric and adorable. I think that’s what the audience is communicating with as well.
There seem to be a lot of little details about the sets, that you guys can see, but maybe we can’t even see, as viewers, but it changes the way you act or the way you move.
Gbadamusi: Absolutely because there is everything you can interact with, play with and be a part of. These details definitely tell the way you play. You can take advantage of this world very quickly and easily because there is everything that you can interact with. And then the costumes, the makeup, and everything tells you about the way you navigate this space, which is so much fun.
Lee: We’re also really encouraged not to wear these as costumes, but to imagine them as our actual clothes, so we’re always in different states of undressing. In some of the dramas you see, everyone is all put together and the wig is perfect. Oftentimes, we don’t wear our own wigs. They were just thrown on the table and we took off our jackets. It creates that world of chaos and chaos.
Gbadamusi: There is a lot of collaboration as well. There is an ongoing dialogue between you and the costume or makeup about what your character will wear in a scene and how you will wear it. Would they be a little more relaxed? Will they be more intuitive and convenient? There are scenes when [Gwilym] It is more relaxed and I am more glamorous and decent. He is talking to Arkady who wants to climb the ladder of power or feel threatened a lot. This is a constant conversation between us and fashion or between us and makeup. It’s nice because after that you don’t feel like you’re wearing a costume. You feel like you are wearing your own clothes. it’s great.
Seasons 1 and 2 of the great Now available to stream on Hulu.
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