It was troublesome to think about the charming Ella Purnell as a psychotic killer till her function within the Starz collection Sweetpea. On this present, she portrays Rhiannon Lewis, a woman who is commonly missed by others. Rhiannon manifests her suppressed rage by occurring a killing spree towards those that have wronged her. Throughout an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Purnell mentioned her strategy to enjoying a serial killer.
“I do know actors are by no means supposed to evaluate their characters, and I strive arduous to not decide my character,” she stated. The Yellowjackets star defined that she will neither justify homicide nor comprehend how individuals can take somebody’s life however she may relate to her character’s should be seen and heard.
“The sensation of being seen and having an affect. And, what could possibly be extra everlasting and impactful than ending somebody’s life?” was one thing she used to play her character. Her character’s arc goes from being a wallflower to a assassin to being a sexually and professionally in-charge lady.
The actress elaborated on enjoying completely different phases of her character and portraying the gradual transition she went by. “It was essential to me that I used to be capable of beat out very, very refined shifts,” she stated. “Each single scene ought to really feel like one p.c of change or one p.c of development. She is growing so shortly in real-time.”
When requested whether or not she would outline Lewis primarily based on her heinous actions or if there was one thing extra to her, Purnell stated she “struggles” to pinpoint it. “ I’m a really, very empathetic particular person. I can get inside anybody’s head, and I can justify something. And it’s arduous in a state of affairs like this to do it,” she added. The actress focuses on her character’s emotional motivations to know her actions.
No matter occurred to Lewis as a baby, she carried it by her maturity and created a sufferer mentality, which Purnell discovered flawed. “simply because these horrible issues have occurred to her, it doesn’t justify what she does — it makes you perceive why she’s doing it,” she defined.