Patricia Arquette

They have a certain way that they sound. Like with the ice frozen this whole time from the late 1700s, early 1800s, this broke from Ireland, they'll eat things like a bowl of fried codfish tongues.

So, I mean, growing up in LA, I was a big fan like everybody of Drugstore Cowboy. And he was amazing in that movie. And then I was dating this guy at the time, John Philbin, was it his name? He was an actor. And I had to move. I was living in my mom's garage at the time and I was moving out. And so he had a friend come over to help me move all these boxes.

And I'm Patricia Arquette.

So I made him and his friend for helping me like some cookies, right? And I put in the cookies these walnuts. So I gave them some cookies when they were done. And his friend was James LeGrow, who was helping move all these boxes. And I was like, oh, thank you so much. And here's some cookies and things. And he was like, these are the best cookies I've ever had in my life.

And then I was like, oh, thank you very much.

Exactly. We're back to the cookies. But I tasted the cookies when he left. And I was like, these are salty. Because I didn't realize the walnuts were salted. Now, smash forward 30 years, everyone's adding salts, like caramel salts, like chocolates. So he meant it when he said they were good. But I was like, these are the worst salty cookies ever unmade.

But in 30 years, Mark will be wrong. James LeGrow was telling the truth.

They were delicious, and when we talked and we were working, he's like, oh, I remember those cookies.

Those were the greatest cookies.

I want coffee, but I want him to buy it for me.

Yeah.

Look, James LeGros is a heavy hitter. So sometimes, you know, you have those people and you're like, you don't have a lot of scenes to like establish this depth between people. Yeah. But there's something there and you could see them together and they're of this time together. And we could communicate in this way. And, you know, he's so good.

And Patricia Arquette.

I probably have, but I don't want to.

I feel like crying right now just connecting with you.

Yeah.

I'm trying to block it.

Yeah. There's a whole conversation about the sound of keening, the crying, that weeping that women do that kind of like. So you're losing a baby or you're losing a loved one. What is that kind of sound? And there is a spiritual kind of a power in that sound, I think, and an otherworldly power in that sound. And it is the mix of the adult and the baby. Yeah. Within you.

And I think she had that for her mom. And I took care of my mom when she was sick and dying. I took care of my sister. I've taken care of a lot of dying people in my own life.

And while I'm very different than Harmony, there's also that crossover where you can take that human element within your own experience and understand this strange lady, you know, who will never get what she needed from her mom. Yeah.

Jane Alexander. Amazing.

I had never, and I'd grown up like in the 70s watching her on TV, like, you know, everybody. And she's just this huge presence, incredibly generous, warm lady. And we're shooting in this old house up there. It didn't have any insulation. It was really the real deal, this old wallpaper kind of crumbling off and we're freezing. And boy, she was up for it.

Because subconsciously, as much as I hate my aunt. I am also structuring myself in my success to be like my aunt, to be like somebody that she would approve of. And again, this is somebody that I'm always going to for approval and who will never, ever give it to me.

So I've heard. And that's kind of the history of the world, right? Well, that people are inventing things and other people are usurping them and taking credit for it. And I mean, I think she's been so indoctrinated to this organization slash religion slash corporation for so long that. Even that, through her aunt's view, would be like that in itself would be amazing.

Good. He's going to enjoy it whether he enjoys it or not.

Part of the mindfuck of the whole thing is that you want to be humble. And so she needs to give it to Lumen and to the Eagans and not take it as her own. And yet it is from her.

Well, a lot of times these organizations, too, whether they're religions or military or corporations, they do set up this thing where it's like unseemly for you to question things, where it's tacky or it's bad or it's not a group think or it's not of the corporation or you're not somehow behaving the way that you're supposed to if you question these things.

Like there is not supposed to be an individual question.

Yeah, well, it's like whatever that archetypal even Greek kind of sad situation of these family relationships where people just cannot ever be seen by that person.

Was that an ad-lib?

Me too, guys. I love working with you. And also I really love these fans. They're super smart and cool and fun.

So engaged.

Yeah, and also they make really cute arts and crafts. And, you know, we're all into the arts and crafts too, like our wardrobe department and our props and our set dressing. So I feel like we're all making this thing all together.

Everything, and the Halloween costumes. I mean, it's just so fun.

I don't know. Who am I?

All right. Bye, boys.

Until we meet again.

Sorry, guys. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be back.

I'm doing it too.

I can do it like the boys.

I mean, I've seen episode one of season two.

Yeah.

I loved it. I loved it.

I do, and in general, I don't like seeing anything. Got it. It's kind of a little bit like dragging a mouse who has its nails out digging into wood.

Yeah, that's me.

I know. It's so big. You're so big up there and daunting.

I did, yeah.

I saw it once. I mean, I'll run into myself on TV sometimes. I'll be changing channels and I'll see like, oh my God, that's me in True Romance. And I might watch a bit.

And be like, wow, I'm so young. Or I'll see us in Flirting with Disaster.

That's funny. Look at it.

We had so much fun.

Yeah, yeah. As soon as we, like, were back together, the gang was back together.

You know, it was like the Beatles getting back together. I mean, I wish.

We're all Ringo.

Listen, I don't think Ringo's a joke. Don't get me wrong.

I love Ringo.

I don't know. I vaguely feel like maybe I did for one second.

Just too much trauma.

Yeah. And sever.

I did. And also I have an NGO. Paul McCartney was one of the first people to donate to it, which was really cool. My sister actually dated him for a while.

Yes, exactly. Whoa. Okay. My sister dated a Beatle.

Come on. I'm not a kiss and tell sweetheart.

Make something up here. I have to find a dead person to talk about.

He's the old man in Waiting for Goffman. The Waltons he was on.

And also that kind of sense of humor. And there's something about the time we grew up. It was a very strange time in the world. Like it was a really inappropriate time and funny.

Yeah, like there was a lot of satire on television, political satire and public.

Oh, I love those.

Yeah, I think Jim Henrich was on acid on one of them.

Well, Ben, you know damn well you only gave me the pilot. And you know damn well I'm barely in the pilot. So I was like, what the hell is he giving me this for? I'm like, Ben, who is this lady? What is this company doing? What is going on here? Wait, where is this going? What's my arc? And so you'd give me a few little cryptic answers.

Pay me yesterday. Why don't you?

Put the money in the bank before I even pick up the phone. So you guys just gave me all these cryptic answers. And finally, I just thought, OK, this is a really interesting genre. I haven't really done sci-fi, which I like. And this lady is inscrutable and interesting. And this is weird. And I totally trust Ben. So I'm going to go to this blind date and just jump in.

room to kind of experiment and figure it out which we kind of did over the course of the first season right yeah and even just finding the look and the character and everything i don't know why early on i was like you know i kind of see her with gray or white hair and you were like what what do you mean and i was like let's just try it you know let's just do a camera test a makeup test and we'll just have one of those wigs and look at it and and i think we were all like oh yeah there's something about that it's cool it's like silver hair

There was a lot of strict structure in the lumen world. And for a long time, I didn't really understand what the tone was. And then you cut it together and showed me.

Well, that to me was like something she had picked up from other people, like subconsciously decided like, oh, this is what upper management sounds like. And that's the sound of like success in the workplace. Like this is what I'm supposed to be and this is what I'm supposed to sound like. And how do I get up this ladder? I have to look like this, sound like this, be like this.

So she kind of had that.

Yeah, it was sort of like trying on what is it like to be a normal person, you know, like experimenting with the freedom of that. What is it like to make friends in a kind of normal way? I mean, there was a part of it first. It was this affectation of I'm going to disarm you with your mommy issues by being the fumbling, bumbling auntie, whatever, next door.

Yeah. Yeah, next door neighbor's a little nosy, but you are a nice boy, so you're going to be nice to the mommy lady. And, you know, I'll insinuate myself into your life so I can sneak around more and find out. But then it also became like, are we chums? We are having fun. And, oh, is this what it's like to have fun with somebody in the world, you know, and go do things outside of work?

And, wow, what does this feel like?

There's a real close circle with the cookie thing, which we will get to later.

So cool, Ben.

I liked it. I mean, we had been talking for quite a while, quite a long while about her origin story sort of and the school that she'd grown up in and how Lumen had impacted her and her relationship with her mom and So to kind of see it more fleshed out and see the space and the coldness. And we went up to Newfoundland and it was very, it's such a special, unique place.

It's so difficult to get to and so difficult to live there that it's very locked in its own time. And it had this sort of difficult terrain to survive in. And then you can really see how Harmony is an extension of that.

Light the lights. We got nothing to hit but the heights. Starting here. Starting now. Honey, everything's coming up. Roses.

Appreciate it.