Academy Award-nominated actor Michelle Williams, star of the new FX series Dying for Sex, joins host Nikki Boyer to dive into the wild, heartbreaking, and deeply intimate story inspired by the hit Wondery podcast. She shares what it was like stepping into the role of Molly, filming some of the show’s rawest and most risqué moments, clicking instantly with Jenny Slate, and what the whole experience meant to her.Follow Dying for Sex plus all-new bonus episodes on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the entire original podcast early and ad-free, right now on Wondery+. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, by visiting wondery.com/links/dying-for-sex/ or by clicking one of the links below now.Wondery+ on WonderyWondery+ on Apple PodcastsWondery+ on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: Who is Michelle Williams and what is her connection to Molly?
I am so excited we're going into production on Dying for Sex and it's just, it's happening and I just, I don't even know how to react because I feel like we've been waiting So long for this to happen. I just, I'm a little beside myself. When you lose someone that you love, you know, you talk to them. I mean, I do. And not out loud, usually. But they're still there, in the room, you know?
And sometimes feeling them close makes you want to say something back. And for me, that meant hitting record. I am about to go on set today. So I will be meeting everyone for the first time today. So I'm just trying to play it cool. You know, like, yeah, no big deal. But on the inside, I feel like it's my first day of school.
I started making these little voice memos during the making of FX's new streaming series on Hulu, Dying for Sex. And I wasn't really planning on sharing them. I just think I wanted to feel like Molly was part of this moment. I'm walking around the set and all around are like little signs that say Dying for Sex this way, Dying for Sex wardrobe this way, production studios this way. And I just...
I'm getting emotional shit. It's like happening and everyone's working. There's catering, there's grips, there's wardrobe stylists, there's makeup people, and they're all working to tell her story. It's so beautiful and so humbling and so fucking cool.
This three-episode series is my chance to sit down with the insanely talented people who transformed a podcast about love, sex, and dying into a television series and talk about how they did it.
From the show's creators who brought the story of Molly's cancer journey to life... I hope it opens doors in people's minds of just sort of like, is there a way of approaching death with open arms a little bit? ...to the actors who stripped down emotionally and physically...
It might be the first cinematic crying mid-blow job scene of all times.
And how they captured the spirit of Molly, who chose life even in the face of death.
You know, the job brought together 120, 150 people working in their specific trades, doing what they do. But each and every one of those people was gathered around Molly's spirit. It's like a little bonfire was made. You know, this is our homage to her. That's Michelle Williams, who plays my brilliant friend Molly.
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Chapter 2: How did Michelle Williams discover and connect with the role of Molly?
When a young woman named Desiree vanishes without a trace, the trail leads to Cat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels. Binge all episodes of Don't Cross Cat early and ad-free on Wondery+.
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.
back to where it all began nikki i know i was just gonna say that this is so like full circle right it's so amazing um you know because i've been talking about the podcast and how i fell in love with it how hard i fell for it and so on this day when i've been remembering it and thinking about it so much so that'd be brought back together to be on the podcast um is very moving um
Well, just so you know, like last night I went to sleep and I was kind of crying and going like, why am I so emotional? But it feels like a little sliver of Molly, like I feel very connected to you in this way because of this. And I just am so grateful you're chatting with me and like you said, coming full circle and doing a podcast. I love it.
Likewise. Stop. I'm going to cry. Because I think, you know, our show owes everything to the podcast. And then it also deviates in some of its storytelling and in some of the ways that it elaborates. But really what it is, is like we're gathered around the spirit that the two of you created on the podcast. And And Molly's spirit that's no longer with us.
So she gets brought back to life in these moments when we can talk about her and say, yeah, she was like this. And these are the lessons that I take away from her. And then to also start to hear about people having their own experiences of watching it and what they take away from the spirit of you two together and Molly's spirit.
I just feel like there's so much I wanted to say to you and so much I wanted to ask you when we were on set. But, you know, you were busy working and playing my best friend. So I'm so I've been so looking forward to this conversation. But I have to know, I don't really know how you found out about the role of Molly. Like, I have no idea how it came to you.
It was all Liz Merriweather, the co-creator of the TV series.
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Chapter 3: What makes the female friendship in Dying for Sex so powerful?
Yeah.
It came to me, just kind of landed in my email inbox. This is the show that Liz is writing and producing and it's based on a podcast. And here's one episode and a link to the podcast. And I read the episode and I thought, is that as good as I think it is? And I went back and read it a second time and I said, yes, it is. And then I linked to the podcast.
and listened to it in its totality and was sobbing uncontrollably at the end and I couldn't communicate why to my husband. And so I thought, gosh, this thing really has a hold of me. I'm having such a strong response and such an emotional response. And that doesn't really happen to me so often anymore. And couldn't say why. So then it really had its hook in me because it was emotional.
It was mysterious. It was compelling. It was funny. I was in love with you guys. I was devastated that she was gone. What was it about?
I mean, I know you said you cried and you said you couldn't quite figure out the why. Looking back, sort of in retrospect, do you know why now? Like, is it clear to you?
So many things. So many things. Well, I think one, the unsung song of deep female friendship, which is to say it's a love affair. It may not be sexual. It isn't sexual by nature of it being a friendship, but it is a deep, passionate love affair. And that's how I feel about my closest female friends. And I haven't seen that kind of...
intense love between women, or I just don't see it enough, but I know I experience it in my own life. So I was so moved by how you guys represented that, how you lived that, how you are that. And then for me, her choice to live all the way to the end so bravely.
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Chapter 4: How did Michelle Williams prepare to embody Molly's character so authentically?
I was saying today to somebody that it's like when you're playing with a child and they build this big, beautiful structure of Legos or magnetiles or whatever, And the way they deconstruct it isn't piece by piece. They obliterate it. They use their arm like a wrecking ball and the whole thing comes crashing down.
And I was thinking about how when Molly got her diagnosis, that's what she did to her life. The structure of a marriage, the structure of society, the structure of... rules or human sexuality or what's acceptable. She just took a wrecking ball to it and said, this is not what I want with the time that I have left.
And the bravery of that, you know, the job brought together 120, 150 people to a place of employment, working in their specific trades, doing what they do. But each and every one of those people was gathered around Molly's spirit. I know. It's like a little bonfire was made. You know, this is our homage to her. This is our tribute.
I felt that so deeply. And, you know, the show covers a lot of really taboo topics like, of course, sex and cancer and death. Did you like was there a hesitation ever to take on a role that that did this?
No, not for me. I am a leap and then look kind of person. Yes. I've come to discover this about myself because when I fall in love, when I have an overwhelming response to a piece of material or a person or a place, I just start running. Right. Towards it. Right. Not away. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I love that. Oh, my gosh. You know, I've thought about this so many times and the fact that I get to now share this with you is so cool because, I mean, I knew her inside and out for so many years. I knew her heart. I knew her body. I have to say, like, this is the part that makes me really emotional because you embodied her so beautifully.
Her mannerisms, her expressions, her face, the way her mouth moved, her shoulders, her hands, and everything. I felt like there was something kind of almost spiritual going on because obviously you never met her. And there was only so much out there that you could look at. But there was something so magical happening. Like you carried her.
And I just needed to tell you that it was just such a beautiful thing to witness. And I just loved how much you felt and feel like her to me. I just needed to tell you that.
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Chapter 5: What was the on-set chemistry like between Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate?
I will be that for you for the rest of time. Okay. Thank you. That's such a beautiful thing to say. Thank you. Where did that come from? Like, there were things you wouldn't have ever known that you were doing. Like, what happened? I told her that I was completely available to seeing her in my dreams. I...
I think that when you're working on something, I think that life does kind of take on a sort of a mystical quality. And I am open to the energy of that person finding its way to me in whatever form, flickering, transmission, idea, song. I am here for it.
And then really, like you said earlier, the heart of the story is the female friendship. And when I think of Molly and Nikki, it's so funny to talk about myself in third person, but I'm so used to it at this point. But I think the show captures something that I haven't seen in a very long time that is just so effortless. Like, oh yeah, friendship can be a life-saving thing. Like it really can.
And I want to talk about that chemistry between you and Jenny and how you found those moments that felt so natural. It felt like you had been friends for so long.
Chapter 6: How was the mother-daughter relationship portrayed by Michelle Williams and Sissy Spacek?
Right. Because it's the person that you would drop everything for and they know it. You know, the chemistry with Jenny was just so easy from day one. It was like a conversation with no beginning and no end. And it continues to feel like that. Yeah.
Chapter 7: What was the experience of filming the emotional bathtub scene?
And I think we also bring to it the experience with our own best friendships, this enduring love that we share with our own best friends that has seen us through decades. And just the deep understanding of what that means to have that in your life and to be that for somebody else. And the feeling that you wouldn't have survived without them.
Yeah. You know, when Liz asked me, Liz Merriweather and Kim Rosenstock would check in on me and say, how does this feel? And I remember just saying, it feels like me and Molly. It feels like us.
But seriously, you never had an orgasm with Steve for 10 years? No. No, like I would get close. Like, you know when it feels like a little sneeze? I don't, I'm not sure.
No?
No, I haven't felt that. I'd like to try that. Yeah, yeah. No. Oh, my God, I can't with you. You can just, like, always come from sex. I like a good old-fashioned dick and vagina. I'm a real penetration patty.
Do you remember that moment where it clicked for you and Jenny? Yeah, I remember on that day that we did the chemistry read. We were wearing the same outfit, accidentally, of course, but we had just chosen to... Wait, are you kidding me? Yeah, we were dressed... We looked like the cover of a 70s record album, like... All black with cowboy boots and a shearling jacket. And I was like, oh, hello.
Hello, twin. Hello. I guess we're already on the same brainwaves. But it was magical.
Let's talk about Sissy Spacek. Because that relationship, the mother-daughter dynamic, is so layered and so intense. Did you and Sissy have conversations or discuss any of this beforehand? Like, I'm just... I wonder how you tapped into that magic of conveying that with her so incredibly well.
Well, because she's Sissy Spacek. I know. And she brings with her so much. So much lived experience as a person, a mother, an artist. So much enthusiasm and joy in doing what we do. And as with Jenny, immediately when I met Sissy... I thought she's my mom or we feel relational to each other. I feel as though I could be from her.
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Chapter 8: What is Michelle Williams’ experience working with Jay Duplass?
And the amount of emotions and the play of emotions that are coming through on everybody's faces, especially yours, were just so heartbreaking and astounding to me. I just want to know, what was that scene like? Was it challenging? What was it like to shoot that?
Oh, that scene. I can understand why you would say that that was one of your most emotional moments with her because it's also, it mirrors, it's a kind of birth and to be held as a woman by the mother who held you as a baby, to be held by your best friend and have your body cared for. I can't imagine what that was like when it happened for real.
It was very similar. It was, I think, not what she had expected. She pictured this warm, cozy bath just kind of enveloping her and making her feel better. And I think it was more of a struggle than she thought. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever done in my life was giving her that bath before she passed away.
And I was just so happy that you were willing to do that scene and be in that space to do that. It was just amazing.
Thank you for sharing that with us and sharing that moment from your lives and letting it be brought to a life of its own on film. I suppose what can be so great about what we get to do is that
it goes out into the world and you don't know how far and you don't know where it lands or with whom, but now this moment from your life, one of your most tender times with your best friend, of which you had so many, now becomes an access point for other people
to reflect on, to imagine, to have part of their own healing process, to give something like that of yourself away, to let it go, to give it some wings and trust that it's gonna land where it's needed. Such a beautiful act of generosity.
Wow.
And I was so honored to be brought into that room.
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