Michelle Williams: On Becoming Molly | 8
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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.
And I'm pretty sure Molly would be peeing her pants if she knew that the Michelle Williams was playing her. She's a five-time Oscar-nominated actress who's played complex, intense film roles in movies like The Fablemans, Brokeback Mountain, and Blue Valentine. For TV, she is one of only five performers in history to win all five major television awards in a single award cycle, including the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Limited Series as Gwen Verdon in FX's Bossy Verdon. But watching Michelle play my best friend Molly, I was wowed. And not just by her talent, but by how deeply she got her. She brought her to life. And today, I get to ask her how she did it. From Wondery, I'm Nikki Boyer, and this is Behind Dying for Sex, a series of interviews with the creators and the cast of the new FX show inspired by the podcast that I made with my best friend Molly.
I should probably mention that I cried at one point during every one of these conversations because the people who made the TV series didn't just bring the story to TV. They treated it like it mattered, like Molly mattered. And that meant the world to me. This is episode one, Michelle Williams on Becoming Molly.
How did Michelle Williams discover and connect with the role of Molly?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Michelle Williams and what is her connection to Molly?
0:06–4:31
2
How did Michelle Williams discover and connect with the role of Molly?
4:31–7:17
3
What makes the female friendship in Dying for Sex so powerful?
7:17–9:20
4
How did Michelle Williams prepare to embody Molly's character so authentically?
9:20–12:07
5
What was the on-set chemistry like between Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate?
12:07–13:28
6
How was the mother-daughter relationship portrayed by Michelle Williams and Sissy Spacek?
13:28–13:45
7
What was the experience of filming the emotional bathtub scene?
13:45–17:24
8
What is Michelle Williams’ experience working with Jay Duplass?
17:24–37:11