Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
While shootingMonarch, her second television series,Beth Dittooften went to her co-stars with acting questions.
But when the characters of the country-music soap opera hit the stage, the tables were turned.
And then Anna Friel was really nervous.
She was like, Oh, I cant stand that.
(This is your bang for your buck right here, she jokes.
Compared with theMonarchmelodrama, Dittos conversation with Vulture is loose and lighthearted.
I really did just pretend to be Chris Farley, she says of the Christmas scene.
We joked about it a lot because it was so silly and over the top.
It was hard to take that seriously, and I was afraid that was gonna come across.
This is your first acting gig to show off your musical side.
What made you want to do that?It was the pandemic, so musicians were scared to death.
Then this part comes in, and its a lesbian,plus-sizeis the word they used, country singer.
And Im like,Hello, yeah!
Who else are you gonna get?
And did I mention Im actually a Southerner, so I have experience in this country-music world?
Then they told me about Anna Friel and I was like, Oh my God, thats amazing!
And then Trace Adkins.
I was like, What?Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, can do!
But I love her.
Shes been a good, good source for me, cause Im not experienced.
And shes always open to it.
Thats what they call her.
Its on my mothers mantle every Christmas; shes had it since the 70s.
No, what is it?
They really have that in common.
Its a very southern kind of naivete; youll be like, So-and-sos having an affair.
And theyll be like, Whaaaat?!
And its like, Yeah, dont you see their car over there all the time?
Thats why theyre similar theyre based on these southern women I actually know.
Thats the thing about acting that Im not used to that itisacting.
Youre not being yourself.
And its really hard for me to not be myself.
I try really hard to suppress it or be quiet, but then I forget.
The more I focus on trying to behave, the more distracted I get.
Tell me more about playing those scenes.Me and Meagan talked about it a lot.
Maybe I was taking it too seriously.
Like, in your mind, youre making a drama.
Rick Rubin told me once name drop!
And he said, Well know when were finished.
It was like that with this show.
But we wanted to play it lovingly and real.
These nuances make me think about Gigis relationship with Nicky.
In some scenes, its really cutthroat, but in others, its clear they care for each other.
Nobody can be mean to her but me; thats a real sisterly dynamic.
Thats the thing with Gigi and Nicky.
Shes trying to keep the peace.
And shes also learned from her mom that playing dirty is okay.
She had a really bad role model.
Thats whats cool about Nicky and Gigi.
The conversations we had about how to be real-life sisters were deep and serious.
We wanted it to be realistic.
We didnt want it to be a catfight.
We wanted it to feel, I dont know, tasteful?Subduedmay be a better word.
I put outa solo recordin 2018.
Its just, the pandemic happened.
It was signed, sealed, delivered, and written a long time ago.
The final edits and mixes came in yesterday.
So theres a new Gossip record already done.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
