[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Grotesquerie.]
FromRyan Murphy,Jon Robin BaitzandJoe Baken, the FX 10-episode drama seriesGrotesqueriefollows Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) as she tries to identify and understand the motive of a serial killer committing heinous and sinister crimes. It’s as if the unknown but highly skilled embodiment of evil is sending her a direct message, and with more questions than answers, Lois finds herself turning to Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), a nun who’s also a journalist with a specific interest in cults, for help. As the pair works to put the pieces together, they find themselves faced with their own demons, unsure of where to turn next.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Nash-Betts explained that it’s always an automatic yes for her when she gets the call about a project from Murphy and that she was happy to partner with him on Grotesquerie. She also talked about how Murphy continues to stretch her as an actress, never wanting to turn in a lackluster performance, that she didn’t know the ending from the beginning and was trying to figure out who the killer was, her love of co-starTravis Kelce, and her next Murphy projectAll’s Fair, about an all-female law firm in Los Angeles.
Collider: When this series and character were presented to you, what were you told? How much did you know before you said yes? Is it an automatic yes, at this point, when it comes to Ryan Murphy?
NIECY NASH-BETTS: It’s an automatic yes for me, at this point, with Ryan. However, he has several scripts for different projects, and he said, “Take a look and see what jumps out.” I said, “Absolutely, I will do that.” And when I readGrotesquerie, I was like, “I don’t even understand the name, but this script is amazing.”I was happy to become Ryan’s partner on this.
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One of the things that I love about Ryan Murphy and the actors that he seems to collect over time is that he typically gives them roles that audiences haven’t seen them in. It certainly feels like that was the case withDahmerand with this. Were these roles that you knew you had in you? Do you feel like they’ve given you a different sense of what you had even realized you were capable of?
NASH-BETTS: Every time Ryan hands me something, I feel like it stretches me. It grows me as an artist and as a performer, and for that, I’m grateful. There is no phoning it in. You really have to dig deep, be present, and do the work, in order for it to come across on camera the way you wanted to. Every time Ryan calls me or texts me and tells me how much he loved watching a scene back, I just get so happy. I do consider Ryan a friend, but I would never wanna take advantage of that.I would never wanna turn in a performance that I didn’t like or that was a little lacklusterbecause I want him to love the choices. I want him to have it hard to choose between, “Am I gonna use take one or take two?” I feel like that’s how you love your friends. You show up, and you are the best version of yourself.
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Because you probably don’t get the whole season ahead of time, when you do a project like this, are there the challenges that you see that would be there immediately on day one, and then are there the challenges that come up along the way that you couldn’t have even imagined would happen?
NASH-BETTS: With this, there’s 10 episodes and, from the beginning, I got one through nine. I didn’t know how it was gonna end, butI knew everything that was gonna happen up to the ending. That still doesn’t mean things don’t pop up because this is Ryan. He will say, “I’m adding a layer. I want you to do this. I want you to do that.” You still have to leave room for magic, even though you know where the story is going.
Was there ever a day or a scene or a moment where you thought to yourself, “Maybe I shouldn’t have said yes to this”?
NASH-BETTS: There was never a moment when I wished I would have said no, but there were often moments where I was scratching my head trying to figure it all out. We had times when we would sit around with the cast and the crew trying to figure out who Grotesquerie was. It was interesting being in the process and filming with people who were still trying to figure it all out.
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What was it like to read the scripts for the first time? Do you have a process for reading scripts the first time? Do you have to be alone? Do you have to read the script from start to finish in one sitting? And what was your reaction to this one?
NASH-BETTS: When I first started reading it, I read it straight through because it’s a page-turner. I could not let it sit. I wanted to unpack it and say, “Wait, what?! What’s getting ready to happen? Oh, wait, what?” It was a constant discovery. But then, once I got the additional scripts, I poured me something to drink, crawled up underneath a blanket, and had a time. I had a field day reading them back to back to back to back. I couldn’t put it down.
This serial killer is a pretty horrific serial killer. If someone had told you to just imagine the worst serial killer you could think of, would it have even come close to what you ended up doing in this series?
NASH-BETTS: Absolutely not. I would not have come close. I look at Ryan sometimes and I’m like, “How did you think of this? How?!”
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Your character starts to feel as though this killer is committing these crimes to taunt her. Do other people understand that, or do they think that she’s imagining that?
NASH-BETTS: At the onset, I don’t know how many people really believe her. She has an unlikely partner in crime, in the character of Sister Megan, played by the lovely Micaela Diamond. Lois is used to moving around as a one-man band. But because these crimes have such a deep religious overtone, she leans into Sister Megan a little more, as a Cagney to her Lacey.
There’s always something super creepy about blending religious symbolism and horror, and there’s something so interesting about bringing a nun into this. What will those two get from working with each other? What was it like to find that relationship dynamic?
NASH-BETTS: She gets strength from Lois because, even in her addiction and with everything she’s going through, Lois is so strong. And what she gets from Sister Megan is invited to think differently and to know that maybe she doesn’t know everything.
Is it really better to look at evil than ignore it? I feel like it’s safer to at least keep at a distance, but can your character just not help but get involved?
NASH-BETTS: No, she can’t help herself. She absolutely cannot help herself. And all bets are off when she feels like some of these crimes are personal. Then, it becomes a war of good and evil.
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You’ve played some law enforcement officers before, but this is obviously a very different one. Is it less about what the character does and more about who the character is?
NASH-BETTS: Definitely. The job description can be close. I’ve been a detective, an FBI agent, a police officer, and a security guard, but all those women were really different from each other. Some of them were funny. Some I’ve played very broad. Some of them were a little more grounded. It just depends on what it is. First of all, the cop roles find me. I don’t know what the universe is trying to tell me there. But I can say that I do find something different to play in all of them.
Niecy Nash-Betts Is a Travis Kelce Fan, Both on and off Camera
Along with the fact that Ryan Murphy likes to continue to work with many of the same actors, he also seems to like to throw wild cards into the projects, from Lady Gaga to Kim Kardashian to Travis Kelce. What was it like to have Travis Kelce be a part of this? What did you see in him, as an actor?
NASH-BETTS: I love Travis so much. He’s so charming. He comes to work prepared and very professional. He takes notes well. I liked him, on and off camera, to be honest.I ran into him at a party with Taylor Swift, prior to him coming aboard.I knew it might happen, and then we ran into each other at the party, and they were both so kind and wonderful. And then, when he got to the set, it was more of the same. I’m like, “I guess I’m a Chiefs fan now.”
You already know the next Ryan Murphy project that you’ll be doing, withAll’s Fair. What are you most excited about with that? How much of that do you already know?
NASH-BETTS: I’m so excited to doAll’s Fair. What I’m excited about the most is the cast. It’s Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor, and myself. Oh, and Sarah Paulson, one of my faves. I’m just happy to work with these girls. I’m happy to be a part of something that just feels like sisterhood and girl power. Not every moment is gonna be a kumbaya, but just the idea of working with this all-female cast is dreamy.
Have you gotten to meet all of them yet?
NASH-BETTS: Yes, I’ve met them all. As a matter of fact, at this past Emmys, Naomi and I met, for the first time, face to face because we were seatmates. I had such a good time hanging out with her and her husband, Billy [Crudup]. And then, we saw Sarah Paulson go by and it was like, “All Ryan’s girls! Let’s take a picture!” It was a good time.
Grotesquerie
Grotesquerieairs on FX and is available to stream on Hulu. Check out the trailer:
