Michelle Williams on ‘Dying for Sex,' finding the perfect role and embracing pleasure: ‘Can you leave shame at the door?'
Michelle Williams was pregnant when she first realized she wanted to be the one to tell the real life story of Molly Kochan, a young woman with Stage 4 terminal cancer who choses to make the most of her final years by exploring her unmet sexual desires. But there was an obvious roadblock.
'I couldn't do this job and have a baby in my stomach,' Williams shared with Gold Derby. So she reluctantly put the Dying for Sex aside and enjoyed a two-and-a-half year acting hiatus during which she welcomed her third child.
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A five-time Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner, Williams has a knack for picking roles worthy of critical acclaim; and she kept coming back to Molly, telling Gold Derby 'I couldn't shake her.' Eventually, she inquired about the current status of the show to discovered it was yet to be cast after all that time — and she knew why.
'This was for me, this must be for me,' she said. 'I had such a strong connection with the material originally. That all this time had passed and it had gone unmade reinforced my magical feeling, my belief that this part and I were meant for each other.'
Sarah Shatz/FX
Williams was joined on stage in a post Dying for Sex screening panel by her costar Jenny Slate, who plays Molly's real-life best friend Nikki Boyer — Boyer, a producer on the series, was also in attendance along with Rob Delaney ['Neighbor Guy'] and writers and cocreators Kim Rosenstock and Liz Meriwether at the Dying for Sex FX presentation at Disney FYC Fest.
Dying for Sex is based on Kochan and Boyer's Wondery podcast of the same name, so the cast was aware of where each boundary-pushing episode may take them as they explored everything from BDSM to animal role play and even golden showers, leaving Williams to wonder each time she received a new script, 'What situations am I going to find myself in?'
But the actress admits there was no hesitation with the material, 'There's no 'Oh gosh, I don't want to do that,' or 'I feel uncomfortable.' It's just, I cannot believe that I get to do this crazy mash up of experiences and emotions.'
Despite the physical exposure and vulnerability that was necessary in portraying these wild sexual adventures, Delaney says the real work was in examining the emotions behind the behavior. 'The emotional stuff you've really got to strip away and be honest and open. I'll speak for myself but I found that a lot harder than getting [literally] kicked in the balls.'
For Williams, in telling Molly's story her own ideas around sex changed. 'Can you feel pleasure without shame?' She personally pondered while speaking with Gold Derby. 'Can you accept what you want and try and leave shame, which seems to be some sort of cultural inheritance as women, but can you leave shame at the door?' Despite her fearless and raw exploration of personal pleasure and sexual desire, when pressed for her conclusion she laughed.
'Working on it!'
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