Sarah Pidgeon - 'Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette'

24:10Sarah Pidgeon:Well, it almost didn't happen because we were in a musical. Yeah, that's right. And I don't totally understand the politics of, like, who performs and who doesn't. But it was announced who was performing, and I guess there was sort of an outrage on the Internet. When isn't there outrage on the Internet? Yeah, right. I was going to say. But this particular community was outraged. Because a play was going to get to do a musical thing on the Tony's? No, because we didn't. Oh, because you weren't. We didn't get it. And I was sort of like, oh, you know what? I mean, we're going to be in these dresses and like, do we really want to like get out of that?

24:40Sarah Pidgeon:And like, and then like three days before the producers came in there. So we actually are going to be performing on the Tonys. And you know what? I'm so glad we did because it was really thrilling. And at that point we had done so many performances. And I think my sort of stage fright with, with performing live, like that was a little different, but I was locked into Tom Basinka's eyes during that. I did not look out. But here's another thing. Did you guys ever properly film the production? There's a Lincoln Center archive. Okay. But this would have been the best quality. If they want to see a little snapshot of what you were a part of for that.

25:21You can see it there. That was the biggest, right? There's no question that was the biggest game changer up to that point. In terms of my career? Yeah.

25:28Sarah Pidgeon:Absolutely. Absolutely. What's also really wonderful is understanding that while there obviously is a very tight-knit theater community, so many people from TV and film casting, writers, people come and see theater. And hearing that people see the show, whether it be the play or anything that I've ever been in, I can't remember if I said this earlier, but the insular experience, it is in making something. And obviously theater is a little different because you can look at it at the end of the night and like see everyone that's there. But it really is like the – it feels so – I always get shocked knowing that someone's going to watch it.

26:08Sarah Pidgeon:And like your relationship to it changes. But yeah, so many people – I was so excited to hear who was coming to see it that night. I would ask before I went on stage. Oh, you would? Because some people don't want to know. That's interesting. No, I want to know. I want to know. I mean at the beginning I didn't want to know because I – this sort of stage fright and nerves. I had to smoke cigarettes at the beginning of the show and my hands just wouldn't stop shaking. Based on who was out there? Just based on, oh God, we're doing this for an audience. And that was really nerve wracking. And then slowly but surely, things go wrong in live theater all the time and you figure out how to fix it.

26:43Sarah Pidgeon:Where did I hear a door handle came up? That was me. That was you. Yeah, it's after Peter and Diana break up. Yeah. and Tom and I walk in on Peter who played Peter and Diana we walk in on the same side and I went to open the door and it fell right off into my hand and I'm like you know our stage manager like Andy Andy and Tom's there like trying to put his fingers in between the crack to open it up so I didn't know what to do and we could have just walked around the back but you know of course I'm not bad in a crisis if I've learned anything about myself I'm terrible in a crisis okay okay so instead I knocked.

27:23Sarah Pidgeon:I knocked and knocked and knocked and knocked and knocked. And then when I opened it, I thought I was so smart. I ad-libbed a line and said, fix the door. That's pretty good. Not bad. Yeah, yeah. Things happen all the time. You mentioned a lot of people came to see Stereophonic. Can you point to, well, first of all, one of them was, was it not Brad Simpson? It was Brad Simpson. casting or you know producer I guess of Love Story but we'll come to that what were the I think it it if I read correctly you know he did that was not why he pursued you but when he realized that you were the person who he had seen and thought so highly of in uh Stereophonic you know that was a positive obviously a pro but like were there things that were directly that directly came out of people seeing you in Stereophonic I mean I think like what you said that played a large part in in navigating the audition process for Love Story.

28:20Sarah Pidgeon:Right after that though I went and did an indie that shot in Paducah Kentucky for a couple I think I had like a day off between my last bow to get to Kentucky and then I was at the very end of that production so I was there for about four days. Got back on a plane went to New York had two days and then I went to Australia at a film I Know What You Did last summer. And I had gotten that job like in June or July while I was still on the show of I Know What You Did last summer. But I think it really is always just such a shock. Like, you know, this person saw your – we're going on two years now or close to two years.

28:59Sarah Pidgeon:So it blows my mind that people saw it and, you know, think to say something. But you think, did I Know What You Did? So in I Know What You Did last summer, this remake, Like, it was not because somebody said, like, oh, you were so great in that. We want to offer you this. Oh, I auditioned. I auditioned. I had a butcher knife on Zoom. Because it was like, oh, my gosh. I had a butcher knife. And Ashley, our house director, was like, are you sure? Is that safe? Like, maybe put it down for this one because I don't want to freak the studio out. Like, they'll be thinking that you're going to cut yourself the entire time, you know, like, accidentally slip and nick something.

29:37Sarah Pidgeon:But yeah, we put the – I taped that, I don't know, like 20 times and then Ashley helped pick the best take to send to the studio. But I think Ashley had seen me in stereophonic. I'm not sure. I just can't believe that. And if it helped to lead to – I know what you did last summer. That's great. But I can't believe that a zillion more people didn't come out of that. an immediate like the moment that you're experiencing now with Love Story I would have assumed would have come out of stereophonic because it was it and you were so extraordinary that it's just interesting it does you know you're saying on the one hand yes it is you see a lot of notable people do actually show up at the theater which is great and I hope that continues but like you have to be blind to not uh no seriously like now it's interesting though anyway let me let you Because it was while you were doing I Know What You Did Last Summer that you first heard about Love Story?

30:39Sarah Pidgeon:Yes. We shot for two months at the end of the year in Australia. And then in 2025, like end of January, I got an audition. And I sent in like two takes of each side. Had my agent and manager pick which one is. They were probably like identical. But I couldn't choose. and then I was meant to go like 10 days later to LA to finish up some reshoots and additional photography for I Know What You Did Last Summer. And before I left, my agent called and said, you know, they really liked your tape. It's sitting with producers. There might be like a producer session when you're in LA. So I go to LA and then like a couple days later, I get a call that actually you're just going straight to test.

31:18Sarah Pidgeon:So you'll be in the room with Brad and Nina and Ryan and casting. Was this, like, to you very exciting? Well, I was like, oh, I'm not going to get it. Because, again, in terms of screen stuff, this would have been by far the biggest thing. Definitely. Yeah, I mean, at that point I obviously didn't get all the scripts, but the focus was on John and Carolyn's relationship. So I knew that if this went on to be mine, I don't even think I got that far at that point in my thought process. What were they having you do with those early reads or whatever? It was two scenes. It was the first date scene.

31:57Sarah Pidgeon:So in the restaurant and then when he loses his bike. Connor Hines's writing was so incredible. And, you know, I tried to do as much research as I could. I listened to Elizabeth Beller's book on tape anywhere I could walking around. I would come home and read it and then put my headphones in and like walk around the city. And I was driving in L.A. so I was listening to it all the time. I remember the log line saying like this is she's not an ice queen. were like examining who this enigmatic iconic woman is and inside of her relationship as well. I found that on the page, despite having been at the very, very tip of the iceberg in terms of my research, I felt like Connor's writing really captured a fully formed human being that had opinions, a sense of humor, sensitivities, a point of view really.

32:42Sarah Pidgeon:And I got ready for my test and I went in and they only had me do the scenes once. I thought, yeah, I'm not getting it. Like, they are definitely not giving an actor this role after seeing me tape for, what, maybe four minutes of acting. But I did what I wanted to do and I called my team and I said, yeah, you know, I did it. This is what happened. And, you know, I don't know if they liked it, but I know that that's what I prepared. And then, like, three days go by and I didn't hear anything. I thought, yeah, it was Saturday. It was close of business. Friday night, close the business. Then Saturday morning, I woke up and I was getting ready, brushing my teeth.

33:21I got a call and they told me.

33:24Sarah Pidgeon:And I was completely silent on the other end of the phone. So it was like, what? Gabby Katchman and Sandra Chang, my agent and my manager. Yeah, I was stunned because, yeah, I guess I just wasn't expecting it. And then you think like, oh, now the hard work begins. A couple of things I have to just make sure we document for the record. when you read you were not blonde i was not blonde you were never i've never been blonde i was blonde as a child as a baby okay so i'm actually going back to my roots but i was also bald for a long time as a kid maybe that's my next role yeah it's possible no i had i had brown my brown hair long brown hair and uh it was actually quite dark because we dyed it for i know what you did last summer and then my manager had photoshopped like targaryen blonde hair onto a photo just so that they could have a visual i think like yeah say something to you about ryan when i went in said where's the blonde hair sorry give me the part first yeah i take no credit for that but do you think it actually was like moved the needle at all to for to have that i don't know yeah you know Maybe.

34:37Sarah Pidgeon:You know, I suppose it is hard to imagine someone with a different color hair. Maybe not so much nowadays because, you know, the access to the Internet and you can plug a few things into a computer. But I think that obviously her physical presentation, Carolyn's, is so well known. And that was very integral and vital to really capturing, I think, her. And the hair transformation was as well. You know, we started with a wig and then we changed to extensions and dyeing my hair. I feel like, you know, I was in a wig for stereophonic and that was great for that because it's such stylized hair. But I really learned the power of just how it changed how I felt about myself.

35:19I was wondering if people, like, do people behave differently around you when you're blonde? I'm not sure if they behave differently.

35:25Sarah Pidgeon:I mean, maybe. But I think that I present myself differently. You know, my clothes look differently than they did on me when, like, color theory, it turns out, is a real thing. You know, my favorite clothes, I put them on and it's just like, oh, this doesn't, when I was Brunette, it just doesn't really work as well with the blonde. And I think that it catches people's eye more because it's a lighter color. And I've noticed that the roles I've been getting asked to read for are different. You know, where I used to be sort of like the girl who, you know, grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. And like now I am getting things like the perfect wife until she's not.

36:09That's all sense. So did they ever, they being I guess Ryan or Brad or anybody, like tell you what tipped them towards you? Like why they did want to go with you? Because, I mean, this was something that, as I understand it, a lot of people wanted to do. It's a potential game changer because it's changing things. And, you know, I don't want to say it's the role because it's a performance too, obviously. But, I mean, still, people wanted this badly. Did you ever get feedback about why they decided you were the person?

36:42Sarah Pidgeon:If they have to me, then I've completely forgotten it. But I think, you know, I was able to be on the other side of the audition when we were searching for Paul Anthony Kelly. And I think, you know, I have no doubt that the other women in that room were incredibly talented and did such an incredible job at like would have been wonderful for it as well. But having had that experience being on the other side of the audition table, despite I wasn't actually on the other side of the audition table, we were doing the scene together. But it's not really a question of like talent. It is just like, oh, this, for some reason, this just makes sense.

37:20Sarah Pidgeon:I do remember him saying, I can't remember, it was maybe, I think Brad was telling me, he said, you know, after your audition, one of us, maybe it was Ryan, I don't know, turned to the other and said, she doesn't realize she just got it. And I didn't. Well, I guess also, you know, it's the kind of thing where it would have to be somebody who is not yet recognizable on screen, right? I think that that is something, despite playing such a recognizable couple, I think because there wasn't an attachment to Paul and I, there was almost an easier time at projecting onto us, projecting these people onto us, which I think is interesting navigating this now because I said this earlier in the week, It's really easy to exceed someone's expectations when they don't have them.

38:15Sarah Pidgeon:I felt it sort of creep into my own head of like, well, what do I do next? And like, you know, I haven't known. Things have changed slightly on timeline of like when I know about projects. And, you know, preparation is always amazing. I mean, what is the key to success? You always want like slightly less time than you need. You know, in the past, I would like the wilds. I got that and like three days later I was on a plane to New Zealand. And same with Tiny Beautiful Things. I was in Australia, and a week later I had to be in L.A. You didn't have time to. Didn't really have time to think or plan.

38:50How long was it with this?

38:52Sarah Pidgeon:With this, I got it very end of February, and then we started shooting June. So I had about three months. Worked with Julia Crockett, this incredible movement coach. I actually just chatted with her yesterday. It's interesting that the thing that I've gained recognition for is playing a person who is not playing a real life person. Yeah, yeah. Well, there's so much meta stuff that I want to bring up in a moment. But I just think people also need to remember that, you know, okay, so you were like two when she passed away? I would have been three. I would have just turned three. Okay. So obviously no memory from that.

39:35She's not like a historical figure that you would have learned about in school. So what did you know about her when you first got the script?

39:43Sarah Pidgeon:I knew that she worked at Calvin Klein. I knew that she was married to John. Yeah. And I knew about the plane. Other than that, I really knew about, like, the Kennedy family, JFK. That's what really started, you know, as soon as I got this audition. That's really just started this deep dive into everything that I could learn about her. And despite the Internet sometimes being a very dark and scary place, it really understood that I was interested in Carolyn Bessette. And it would just feed me tons and tons of information and little clips from excerpts from books that I had read. But what was really helpful in the process of making it was that I'm sort of reminded of something.

40:26But there's only so much to pick from with her, right? It's true.

40:28Sarah Pidgeon:She never sat down for an interview. I cannot imagine her sitting down in the podcast. I think there were so many clues, at least to my interpretation of, you know, while there was research of where she grew up and her family and her friends and where she lived and how friends recounted how she behaved and stories about her. Understanding that she never sat down for an interview despite having being at the advent of tabloid culture. And I mean, they really just dragged her and many other women through the mud. But she never corrected the record. And I thought that takes so much self-possession and that starts making all the other things that I've learned about you make a lot more sense.

41:08Sarah Pidgeon:And then it also makes sense as to why you are so iconic for your clothing. Because one, you understood that they were sending a message without you having to speak. That you saw Carolyn first despite her wearing incredible outfits. Because there was this self-possession, this knowing, this backing yourself, these strong opinions. I think she had this sense of being really knowing who she was from a very young age. So how I was really nervous because there are people that knew and loved her and still love her that are with us today. And like have every ability to be like that. This is not, you know, I will never be Carolyn Bessette.

41:51But I really tried my best to try and embody who I thought that she was. We just have to note here that there was this kind of crazy moment when you were nice enough to do our Emmys roundtable where Claire Danes was just like, oh, yeah, I knew her. And like you nailed her.

42:06Sarah Pidgeon:Yeah, that was incredibly kind of her to say. Also, on that note, Claire Danes is so incredible and someone I admire so greatly. That meant a lot to me that she shared that. Let me ask you this. Like, if you had the opportunity, obviously this is somewhat ridiculous, but if you'd had the opportunity to ask one question to Carolyn Pissett, what would it have been? That you would have wanted to know something that would have helped you to crack some mystery about her that you were grappling with. God, there's so many questions went through my head. I mean, it's so hard to condense six, seven years of someone's relationship into the nine episodes.

42:44Sarah Pidgeon:So there were themes that we touched on, But obviously there were certain ideas that we really zeroed in on per each episode. But I think that time where she, after she left Calvin Klein, she was quite involved in George. But it wasn't actually until halfway through shooting that I learned that she had interviewed at Ralph Lauren, which is an episode that we, is involved in episode seven. But I think I would have asked, despite feeling like she was so really new herself, what that time in her life when she didn't have someplace like Calvin Klein and when she so clearly carved out a path for herself and was so good at that.

43:29Sarah Pidgeon:And I mean, it goes to show just how talented she was because she climbed the ranks incredibly quickly at that company. What did that sort of evolution in your identity feel like when you were known as someone's spouse to someone that I believe she loved incredibly dearly? But I think she seems like someone who has so much energy and needs to focus it. There's like a restlessness to her. I guess I just would have asked her what that time in her – and she's very young. She's like 30 years old. She's my age. I guess that's not really a clear question. But I think that was one of the most interesting parts of the series for me.

44:09And then when you were working with the movement coach who you mentioned, like that's also to some degree solving – trying to solve – like why does somebody walk the way they walk? Why do – right? Their posture. Why are they touching their hair? All of those things. what were the what were the things you guys most focused on i mean it was such a such a process

44:28Sarah Pidgeon:you know i was writing down all of these descriptors whenever i found them and from the books or the interviews that people had done about her and made this list we had all of these photos so we could sort of see where her physical center was her eyes are so alive and she people described her as really being able to connect with people like like she had known them for years even if she had just met them that night and then you see in some of these paparazzi photos there is this intensity because it's you know she's being like watched and stalked and and sort of starting to kind of track what that character arc could be of how like how do we want her physicality to to begin and what what is like a temple what is her foundation that exists no matter her age or her experience but then how can that you know go from 26 years old no one knows who you are you have all the anonymity of the world this wild you know curly hair no boyfriend and then become one of the most famous women in the america if not the world and you know you see her physically change as i projected onto her as she loses her anonymity as she becomes you know that there's potentially a promise that this is a political couple in the future, it was very important to me that there be an evolution because it was not only apparent in this physical evidence, but also understanding how different one is between, I haven't gotten to 33 yet, but between 26 and 30, at least for me, is very, your body changes, your brain changes, your life experience happens.

46:03And so that was sort of the end goal.

46:07Sarah Pidgeon:But we did things like taking all of this information and like what does that feel like? What image comes to mind? And we had this like mossy ball and it can spin really fast because she was described as like a bowling ball down these streets of New York. And I know what it's like to be in New York and be like late to work. And you take no prisoners. You're like weaving. She talked with her hands. There's like this playfulness. So I would just imagine being this like mossy ball and that would make my hand move. in all these crazy different ways. And then sort of you start consolidating that or that's like the energy that you wake up inside your body and there's something to go back to.

46:50Sarah Pidgeon:Sloppy puppy was something else. Everyone listening is like, what the hell is she talking about? But being a sloppy puppy's... This is a new meme. And imagining that that sort of made me feel differently. And thinking about always, she touched people a lot. So like, you know, and we don't really, especially in the States, we don't touch. We're very, you're in your little section and I'm in mine. But she had so much connection with people. So just like, I would start practicing it in my real life. Sounds insane. You know, trying when I saw my friends to like. Grab them. Yeah, like give them a little squeeze.

47:32Sarah Pidgeon:And I was walking around New York in heels because I am wearing them right now, but I don't wear heels. Not your thing. Especially in New York. That's mental. Is that because of the streets? I mean, or you're already very tall. I'm already very tall. I believe I have weak ankles for those at home. And, yeah, I think, you know, I like to walk a lot. I like to take the subway. And it's hard to navigate those in three inches. And grates and street grates. Yeah, there's just a lot happening in that city. The meta stuff, I think, is really interesting. And I guess the first step of talking about that is that in the summer of 2025, shortly after you guys started shooting this, largely on the streets of New York, right, there were, I guess it's unavoidable in this day and age when everybody is essentially a paparazzi.

48:28Or a paparazzi, I don't know, whatever. but they start pictures start making it to the internet right and I wonder if you can describe Max Winkler who directed the whole show has said quote we are so so lucky that they spoke out and that those images got leaked because without it we could have been doing the whole thing wrong and then that all would have happened in the trailer it's the greatest thing to ever happen to us close quote for some reason I don't get the sense that you fully agree with that it was not a pleasant

48:58Sarah Pidgeon:thing like it wasn't fun because what was for people who don't know like what was people's issue my physical form did not match and i agree did not though from what those photos were to where we ended up in the show was vastly different and much more accurate and it felt much better as an actor once those changes were made. It was a very new experience to try and navigate this understanding that there's a conversation happening about something that I'm, it was early, I think that happened on the third day of filming. So of course you already have imposter syndrome and who doesn't, everybody has it.

49:39Sarah Pidgeon:But knowing that the things that I'm saying in my head and your fears are being echoed by the people that you hope will watch your show one day, That was something new. I agree with Max. I'm really glad it happened. I think that where we ended up was an accurate representation of the person, of how I wanted to look. It changed how I wanted to embody her. You know, it's funny. Not that that's a bad thing that happened to me. It was an intense thing that happened to me. But I feel like— What was your first taste of, like, being dissected, right? Yeah. And also, this is the kind—it's a bit of a variation, but it's like the kind of shit that made Eddie Murphy say, I'm not doing stand-up anymore because my jokes that I'm trying to work out in comedy clubs before I'm ready for primetime are being leaked and discussed before people can even see them in their final form, right?

50:30Well, I think, yeah, I have no idea what it's like to do stand-up.

50:35Sarah Pidgeon:That makes me even more terrified than having to sing in a band on a stage. It was new, and it was, yeah, it was something I wasn't used to. I had to learn what was helpful and what wasn't sort of thought you know whatever whatever I'm reading curiosity killed the cat and it always kills the cat and I just had to back myself and in that way I actually think I got closer to an interpretation of Carolyn because she really backed herself and really just like digging my heels in and head down do your job and I think when I guess maybe it's different from comedy but while a lot of photos can be taken when you're filming outside in New York, such a different energy is captured on a film camera than someone's iPhone that's like zoomed in three times.

51:19Sarah Pidgeon:You know, you just, you feel the exchange of energy between the actors and like what the focus is and how film is so visual and atmospheric and you, there's so many elements that you are missing. So I think sometimes it did shock me when I would see these photos of like, oh my God, that's what I, that's not what I wanted to do. That's not, no, that's not it. That's not it. What am I doing? and then you see the final form and sometimes I still feel that. It's like, Jesus, that's what I, that's, okay. Well, I guess another unique thing about this one is that this is the first project, I guess, where you were in some ways the more experienced person in the scenes, in most of the scenes, right?

51:58Because for Paul who plays JFK Jr., he never acted before or what was the story?

52:04Sarah Pidgeon:No, he had, he was in, I might get this wrong. I'm sorry, Paul. he was in a star show or a showtime show he had filmed some episodes and then he had been doing a lot of theater in in los angeles okay but this i think for paul was like i mean for both of us it was our biggest job yeah sure um but yeah working with him was such a delight seeing his transformation every single day and like just how he really embodied jfk jr was was so remarkable He says you quote, she's been in it for a little while and I have great admiration for her work but this was my first job, my first major role so at times I felt like I was a little in over my head but she was always there to even the keel as it were and just support me.

52:54It made me feel more comfortable being so vulnerable, close quote. So I guess you guys really, you know, if you're going to get thrown in the deep end, it's you're with somebody else. Sink or swim.

53:02Sarah Pidgeon:Yeah, I think, I mean, I guess to continue that metaphor, like we, he really was like my life jacket uh like boat yeah there was I think for the moment he walked in on in his audition and then throughout the entirety of filming it was like it's it's you and me yeah out came out came love story so was there when you think back on the whole experience and this is again nine episodes covering seven years right approximately like was there a an episode or a scene in particular that that was just the most that challenged you the most I heard a lot about episode eight, which was just to remind folks when she's kind of holed up at home, I think you guys did it in just a very short amount of time, covered a lot of material.

53:44But I don't want to lead. I'm not meaning to ask a leading question.

53:47Sarah Pidgeon:No, I really loved episode eight. That was something that I felt like I really could sing my teeth into in a different way. So much of, because television, you know, you're telling so much of a story in such a short amount of time. A lot of the scenes start halfway through a conversation. And to be able to have the scene begin when John walks through the door and then you know as an actor where you'll find the conflict or where you'll find the misfirings or what event will happen. And to be able to have such big run-ups. So I feel like you could take a bigger swing at it. And it felt like a play, which I have an affinity for.

54:21Sarah Pidgeon:What was challenging was in 7 and 8, I think there's a lot more frustration that we investigate. and I kept wanting to make it have a bit more bite. And Brad Simpson kept saying, we're making love story, not marriage story. We're making love story, not marriage story. And he said, we're not looking for a woman under the influence. And I was like, that has been my biggest source of inspiration for this block. So I don't know what you want me to do, but I'm trying to do this. And I think those particular episodes were quite intense emotionally, I'd say. But I would also argue that sometimes joy can be much more difficult to capture than, you know, I think as people we tend to drift towards sadness or frustration or anger.

55:10Sarah Pidgeon:Those are emotions that want to keep you in them and draw you down deeper. Whereas joy is so vulnerable because to be truly joyous, you can't watch yourself, you know. Like those belly laughs you have, like you're not thinking about what your face looks like. You're like, you know, like snot comes out of your nose. But while those were heavy emotionally, I think understanding that I was one part of a much bigger story and what, because this is so much of someone's life condensed into nine episodes. It was challenging for me in those moments when I wanted to Jenna Rollins it and understand that there was, that there was, the story that we were telling was not necessarily, it didn't need to have the turn that I wanted.

55:57Sarah Pidgeon:to have. So yeah, I guess, I guess understanding big picture is not something that is necessarily my forte, but something I'm working on. All right. Well, with the last couple of minutes here, I just want to kind of some big picture stuff. What was it like for you to watch the finished show? I don't particularly enjoy watching myself. It's very helpful. I definitely learned from it. There wasn't like dailies or stuff along the way though. You're, you're just seeing it for the first time. I see screen grabs. I, in the hair and makeup trailer, I would look through like their continuity photos and see what was if I was doing my like sloppy puppy and my eyes but I think that yeah it's like listening to a voicemail you're like oh that's what I sound like and there were some moments when I wasn't on screen that I just got completely lost in it I mean you just got totally lost in the story and those performances you know Grace Gummer or Constance Zimmer Alessandra Nivola Paul Anthony Kelly Ben Shankman and you name it I hated watching the pilot with everyone in the audience and we were like are you going to do a watch party I'm like oh no I'm not doing a watch party and that was your first time seeing it or you had seen it no I had seen it I watched it I was vacationing with my family overseas and I got them around the holidays in December and since I was over for some reason I have a bit of an issue deciding to log into Wi-Fi like in a hotel.

57:30Sarah Pidgeon:I'm just like, you know, I'll use the data. But I had used so much data that I had had. I was working off of like 3G internet speed. And I was trying to watch these screeners. So I was watching them. I wasn't able to make them full screen. I could only watch it with my phone upright. Right. So I had like one inch, one and a half inches by two inches, which was like watching it the best way to watch it. Because it's like watching it through a crack in the door. So you get the vibe. But you're not picking apart every four and every. Yeah. Not that you have. Anyway. We're in a lot of makeup here.

58:10Okay. So whose opinion about your work do you actually care about? I've got some friends and some family that will be honest with me.

58:20Sarah Pidgeon:Some I went to theater school with. You know, and of course, I do think a good friend leads with, you were amazing. No one will ever do anything like that ever again. Like, you are one of a kind. And then, yeah, that's like, okay, but tell me what you really think. And they're like, OK, so if I was director for a day. But, yeah, I think they – I have some people that I really admire and trust. And I admire them because they'll be honest with me. Right. I guess once the show started rolling out, you were now, I would imagine, pretty quickly experiencing your own version of what Carolyn actually – Like, you know, not that you'd never been recognized before or even during the making of the show.

59:09As we noted, there are people that are starting to pay attention. But like once it's out, you're the person that people are talking about and photographing a lot. And in a way, that's a compliment because they care. But on the other hand, I'm sure it's not always pleasant as was her experience. And I know that there are things where it's become probably a bigger beast in a way than it was when she was around. because the internet wasn't really what it is today. I mean, I know that I go on, periodically will go on a social media feed and not seeking it out, just in my feed are, you know, there's something of like, you're at a park.

59:48I'm like, I don't think you knew you were being photographed or whatever. So I'm just wondering what that aspect of this has been like and how you're acclimating to it or feel about it or whatever.

59:59Sarah Pidgeon:Yeah, I, you know, it took a little while, I think because after we were in such a since the episodes came out weekly the press run for it was was pretty significant and I wasn't really out and about you know I would start get ready for the day and then get in a car and go and do you know whatever part of the job I had to do and and then I also went to Australia and I filmed Honeymoon with Harry and yeah it wasn't really until I was back I guess in June that I started feeling it and people had watched the show and we really become fans. Obviously, Carolyn's experience was something that was on my mind while filming it and has now sort of carried over into my own navigation of my life.

1:00:39Sarah Pidgeon:I feel very lucky that I don't have anyone outside my house and I don't have like cars following me. And you hear these horror stories of like, you know, public figures that really have no privacy. I can't say that I enjoy getting photographed when i'm you know in my private life hanging out in a park it's ridiculous but i also feel very grateful that i'm in work that resonates with people and that people are interested in you know i think our relationship to fame is a whole different conversation which even she was talking about i mean obviously they're kind of imagining i guess but like with the diana stuff that she's witnessing and and affected by right like so it's just a repeating pattern Yeah, you know, it's funny reading these headlines from the 90s.

1:01:31Sarah Pidgeon:It's so awful. But if you change a name or change a word, it doesn't sound that different from stuff that you see on gossip sites or Twitter. I mean, I don't really know what the answer is. But in the time that we are living in, this is part of everyone's life, really, to a certain extent. Everyone can become famous. Everyone can be, or at least known. And people can be part of a discussion. I think some really amazing things can come out of that. And obviously there are things that are uncomfortable. But I just know that I really want to be a part of things that are exciting to people, start a conversation, make people feel seen.

1:02:06Sarah Pidgeon:And that's just sort of what comes with it, I suppose, in 2026. You are now nominated for an Emmy. I don't know if you're aware of that. In a category where I saw you were with one of your fellow nominees at The Thing the other night, Sally Field. Yes. As well as Claire Danes, who we mentioned earlier, as well as Carey Mulligan, as well as Sarish Snook. Like that's an insane category. And I just wonder, you know, what it means to be nominated, to be nominated with that kind of group, how you're feeling ahead of the Emmys, just the whole Emmy side of all this. Yeah, I was so shocking and thrilling and surprising.

1:02:45Sarah Pidgeon:And I felt so honored. I was with my sister. We were traveling and found out together. and it was really so special. I called my mom immediately. She's like, wait, wait, wait, Sarah, Sarah, I'm checking out, I'm checking out. But to be able to share that moment with family, you know, people who have been coming to my place since I was a child and who are like my biggest supporters. Talk about the people that I really trust their opinions on. To be able to share that moment with my sister was really, really special. And then my mother. It is so mind-blowing to see my name next to all of those women who are so inspiring, so talented, just like the top of their game, and I think have carved out very unique career trajectories for themselves and pick really interesting projects.

1:03:33Sarah Pidgeon:To just be in their company is really wild and such an honor. It's crazy that September is really soon. When I think about... I really have been... I thought it was like August 2nd this week, but it's the 17th. You're pretty far into it. What's today? The 13th? Today is the 14th. The 14th. See? Yeah, I thought I was 10 days behind the calendar. And I guess they're a couple weeks away. But the closest thing I've experienced to this is being at the Tony's. And it's so amazing in that moment when I realized, granted, the theater community is quite small. but to feel so much camaraderie with with the my fellow actors and like while there are these incredibly huge names and like storied figures I wouldn't say that maybe they necessarily everyone looks at me like they're they're my they I am their peer or I don't know if they consider me that but it does feel like this this like this community and this understanding and people have treated me with they have welcomed me and been so generous with their time and their advice and you know going through love story and navigating this whole process from the beginning to the end I had so many people reach out and say like you this is my number you call me anytime and you know if you have Sarah Paulson she was who connected me with Julia Crockett my movement coach and Julia was vital I think to finding Carolyn and keeping my head on and there's just I felt such a such a surprising amount of just welcoming energy and like like that people really have each other's backs and really root for one another oh that's great to So, yeah, I can't wait to be with my peers.

1:05:31Last one is, obviously, as we've established, you've had some people that have been following you since probably Gotham. And then a lot more you pick up along the way with Stereophonic. And then finally now this is like the peak so far. It's going to only go from here. But because there are so many people that are now interested and fans of yours, I'm sure they want to know what's next. You referenced one project, Honeymoon with Harry, which maybe you can share about. I had seen at one point, I don't know if it's still the case, a Paul Schrader movie. I was curious if there could ever be a return to Broadway in some capacity.

1:06:09Sarah Pidgeon:Would love to get back on the stage. You would? Okay. Yeah. Maybe, you know, I keep saying like I want like a 100-minute long play, but I imagine the next time I go back it's going to be like three and a half hours again. Angels in America. Yeah. Honeymoon with Harry is wonderful. working with Jake Gyllenhaal and Kevin Costner. We're just, I mean, they're so talented. So talk about generous. Really wonderful actors. I got better just being around them. Or at least I would like to think I did. I felt like a more alive, better actor being around them. And it's a comedy? Or maybe not. It's a little bit of everything.

1:06:46Okay. Dan Fogelman wrote it. Dan Fogelman wrote it.

1:06:49Sarah Pidgeon:Okay. Glenn and John directed. I've never been directed by two directors before, and it was really amazing to see how they worked as a team. And they've known each other since their days at Pratt. So, you know, really long-standing artistic collaboration. So that's now in the can. That's in the can. I think right now I've been, I've really been enjoying my summer. I've been talking about this a lot, but I'm really trying to figure out, I think it's because I just turned 30, and I'm an all-or-nothing thinker. I really love a clean slate. What do I want this to represent? What sort of, what do I want to, who do I want to be as well as I'm trying to become this, you know, young woman?

1:07:28Sarah Pidgeon:And I'm trying to figure out what makes me feel like myself and what gives me satisfaction and fulfillment and a sense of identity outside of acting. Because I've, it is a really, the thing that's done, I've been turning over my head a lot. It's like, how do you take something that has been your form of self-expression? and now it is essentially, I've commodified it and it still is a form of self-expression, but it's called the business. Well, you're doing great. Congratulations on everything. Thank you so much for doing this. This was awesome. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.

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