Niecy Nash-Betts has no appetite for horror. So it’s hard to understand her decision to play an alcoholic detective in the FX horror series Strangeness, which begins with a murdered family tied up and stuffed like a roast pig. But with an irresistible script by Ryan Murphy – with whom she has collaborated four times since 1999 – and also taking on the role of executive producer, how could she say no?
The series, which wrapped on October 31, follows hard-drinking Nashville detective Louis Tryon, who recruits a nun (Michaela Diamond) to help her investigate a series of gruesome murders. As the bodies pile up, Lois Merritt’s daughter (Raven Goodwin) has an eating disorder, her husband Marshall (Courtney B. Vance) slips into a coma, and she falls into a budding romance with a hospital employee named Ed (Travis Kelsey). ) And there’s at least one major twist along the way. To keep herself distracted from the melodrama, guts and gore, Nash-Bates says she told jokes on set with Kelsey and Goodwin and TikTok movies with crew members between takes.
She says of the filming process: “Giving them the ‘right time’ version of you takes a lot of energy, and then also making space for this broken person who’s going through all this trauma at the same time,” she says. “So I [went] Home is tired. A lot.”
Over the past decade, Nash-Pitts has deftly navigated between comedy and drama, playing roles as diverse as civil rights activist Richie Jackson in the movie “The Comedy.” Selma; Delores Wise, mother of accused teenager Corey Wise in Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five. When they see us; and whistleblower neighbor Glenda Cleveland The Beast: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, who got her first Emmy. She was a fraudulent nail salon owner in claws and a law enforcement officer in a sarcastic procedural cop Renault 911! (“You can’t fight crime if you’re not nice!”).
Nash Bates says: “What’s important to me and my legacy is that when you look back, when I’m dead and gone, you see the extent.” “That’s what’s important. I’m not a one-trick pony. I want to have something in my library for everyone.
in strangenessLois goes from a lead detective dealing with a series of grisly murders to a coma patient, with a diminished sense of reality. What was he playing as someone who went through such wild swings?
We meet Lois when she’s drowning in her addiction. She’s an alcoholic, and it’s hard to tell. [you’re addicted]. You never know, or you never will. I used to empty it with Ryan: “Where is she today? Is she hungry? Is she plastered? Is she drunk? Does she really want to drink and that’s what’s pissing her off?” So it’s really something that flowed throughout her entire journey. Trying to keep track of that and keep playing on the ground was a challenge.
In the end, Louise still wonders if she’s actually woken up from her coma or if she’s stuck in a nightmare. What is it?
Isn’t it great that art makes you think? It makes you curious. You have to go back to your friends and say: “Well, what do you think?” I think she’s awake in the last half.
Were there any scenes that were hard on the stomach?
Often I was in a place where I had to say to another actor, “Charge it to my art, not my heart.” [I] I have to say things, and it’s my job to make those words real. So when I’m sitting at the dinner table drunk, and I’m having a conversation with Ed and Merritt, played by Travis Kelsey and Raven Goodwin, and I have to say all these sordid things to them – and it’s uncomfortable for them. Kiani, not Lewis’ Kiani, but I don’t like him. So, that was just a challenge. I never want the other person to feel personally that my anger is real.
When Lois is in a borderline state of mind, she imagines that Merritt is starring in a show called “Half Ton Shock,” and throughout the series she is subjected to anti-fat comments.
We touch on a lot of things that are happening in the world. Shame, women not having control over their bodies, climate change, a black woman trying to rid the world of evil… We touch on a lot of things that we’re all experiencing together in real time.
Religion is a huge religion. The power of religion to influence and manipulate the population.
Oh yes. This too!
The show seemed really timely because of the presidential election. You mentioned climate change, you also addressed access to abortions… Why was it important to release this series this fall?
That’s what art does. It’s very expressive. It’s a sign of the times. It’s all woven throughout the series. Ryan doesn’t shy away from anything.
What was it like working with Travis Kelsey?
I love Travis. We just got off the phone together. I love his family. I love his mom, Mama Kelsey is my girl. I’m a fan of his [podcast] with his brother Jason. He’s beautiful and wants to do a good job. He shows up with passion. It makes you remember when you were a new actor and you were so excited to be a part of the world and baptize in any of these scenes. I’ve had the opportunity to visit him while he’s working as well and watch him play with the team [Kansas City] Heads. I just think he’s beautiful.
What went through your mind when you realized your character was going to have a romantic relationship with him?
The only thing on my mind was: “Okay, Ryan, are we going to do this?” Talking Some people have crazy fans, and I don’t even know what’s going to happen. I’m always professional. He’s very professional. But I just wanted to understand how it’s going to go. So, we know what happened, but we didn’t do it sees it happens.
Nash Bates, far right, in the movie “When They See Us”
Atsushi Nishijima/©Netflix/Everett Collection
This isn’t your first police procedural. You’ve played the role of a deputy Renault 911! And the finder in novice: Federalists. Did these roles influence your performance as Lewis?
I never gave them a second thought. It just occurred to me right here in this moment, this Renisha. [from 911] and Simon from bullish: Fed. They were too popular to be cops. Renisha didn’t know any better. Of course, Simone, being sexy was her superpower.
Which is very interesting, because Lois entered strangeness is the kind of role you’d expect to write as a middle-aged white man.
That’s the role that was usually reserved for someone who doesn’t look like me. So my hope was that the conclusion would be: “Oh, maybe we can think differently about some of these texts. Maybe we can flip it on these familiar metaphors and rely on a different method, a different lens, and see what we get.
In when they see usYou play the traumatized mother of Corey Wise, who was wrongfully convicted in the 1989 Central Park jogger case. Why did you want to be part of this project?
I was obsessed with the story of the Justified Five from the moment I heard about it and literally sent a text message, made a phone call, left a message, took two cans and tied them with string just to get the Ava contract [DuVernay] to say: “I’ll be anyone in this series. I’m not too proud of the test. I want to be part of telling this story. I’ve been obsessed with what happened to those kids since it happened.” She was like, “What? I’ll send you this: You’re Corey’s mom. She was a blessing and a curse on the set, and some of the five who were exonerated will show up. You had the responsibility of wanting to do it right.
How about Dahmer?
I said yes to Dahmer Even before we knew what it was. Ryan Murphy called me and said, “I have this thing I want you to do.” I said, “Okay.” And then he sent the script, and I said, “Zoinks! Okay, this is what we’re doing.”
Your first role in Ryan Murphy’s project was a talking lobster in the teen series common. What was it like working with him for 25 years?
He’s a great collaborative partner. He’s very creative. And I still don’t know how his mind works. How do you come up with these things? For a lot of people, he’s mysterious, he’s untouchable. He’s walking on set, people are in awe, and I’m like: “Hey Ryan, how are you!” I don’t care about any of that. I love him as a person, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner.
Shows like Dahmer and strangeness This central serial killer brings a lot of blood. Is there such a thing as too much? Have you ever felt that sometimes Ryan needs a do-over?
The short answer is no. I don’t feel that way. There’s so much art in the world, and it’s very personal, and you tend to what you’re interested in, there should be something for everyone. That’s the whole point about art. Don’t put limits on it. You let the mind go. These genres wouldn’t exist if people didn’t see them. Most people don’t go through an accident and look away. Everyone slows down. They want to see what’s happening.
What do you like to watch?
To be honest with you, it’s crazy, I don’t like horror. But I’m obsessed with true crime.
in strangenessLewis says: “Dreams are as close as you can get to the truth.” Have you reached your dreams?
I live them every day. To love, to be loved, to be able to have the job that I feel I was created for, I live them every day.
I don’t take my job lightly. It’s not something that seeks fame and fortune, because there are a lot of working actors who are not famous and don’t have a fortune. It’s a passion, and I’m grateful every day that I responded to the whisper.