Latest news with #St.DenisMedical
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Full Comedy Roundtable: Kate Hudson, David Alan Grier, Bridget Everett, Nathan Lane & More
Paul W. Downs ('Hacks') joins Lisa Ann Walter ('Abbott Elementary'), Bridget Everett ('Somebody Somewhere'), David Alan Grier ('St. Denis Medical'), Kate Hudson ('Running Point') and Nathan Lane ('Mid Century Modern') on the L.A. Times Envelope Comedy Roundtable. Presented by The Walt Disney Studios.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘It's very daunting': Luke Kirby on taking the lead in ‘Étoile' after playing ‘vampire' Lenny Bruce in ‘Mrs. Maisel'
The last time we saw Luke Kirby on our screens, he was admittedly in not great shape, playing Lenny Bruce on the downward slope of his career in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Luckily, Kirby is now officially a member of the Palladino-verse — and the husband-and-wife creative team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino centered him in their new ballet dramedy Étoile, which debuted last month on Prime Video. Kirby stars as Jack MacMillan, the head of a New York ballet company who engages in a talent swap with a Paris troupe in a bid to revive interest in both. Naturally, hilarity, romance and plenty of dance ensue. 'I'm really happy with how people are responding to the dynamism of the story, the kinetic energy of it, how different it is from our last endeavor,' Kirby tells Gold Derby. 'And I think the biggest thing is just people saying the show grows as the episodes go on, that it does work as a big movie where things are revealed episode to episode where by the end, you have this very rich tapestry of information for these characters and this endeavor to keep their art alive.' More from GoldDerby 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Creating a world for Helperbots: Dane Laffrey on the scenic design of 'Maybe Happy Ending' (exclusive images) Here, Kirby tells Gold Derby what it means to step into the spotlight, who he thinks Jack should end up with, and what he wants to see next season. Gold Derby: This may be the first show in the Palladino-verse that has a male lead. Luke Kirby: Well, you know, I'm a womanish man. What did it mean to you to have them write this part with you in mind? It's very flattering. And it's very daunting. The biggest comfort that I get from it is that alongside me, they managed to cull together this incredible group of actors to work with. The show does feel like an ensemble piece, and there is nothing better than finding a unit and becoming a kind of organism in a way where you're together rising as a company. That's the best thing that you can hope for. SEE'Étoile' cast and creators on fast-talking, mean drunks, and what they learned from 'Gilmore Girls' How much did you know about Jack's arc when you first signed on? With Amy and Dan, I don't really ask questions. I mean, it's funny with television. If you're not in the writers' room, you have to be selective as an actor as to when you make suggestions or even ask questions. Obviously, there's important things to know, but the biggest thing that I find helps me is that it relates to real life in that you don't know what's coming. And so just putting your faith in that, the unknown and then being richly surprised every time a new episode comes out is kind of a great adventure. How much research did you have to do? How familiar were you with the ballet world? I would say, in an adjacent orbit. I started studying theater in high school, and I really became quite passionate about it after ninth grade. I really felt compelled by this world and decided as a teenager that it was a world that I could endeavor into. I didn't know if I had talent; all I knew is that everybody I met told me it was going to be really hard. I put this room in my mind where I would have a hot plate and some ramen noodles and a cot. And I said, I'll be good with that. … And then my cousin was studying ballet, and so we were kind of like two trains running side by side in our endeavors. So I was familiar with just how much dedication was required and how competitive, the heartbreak that comes with injury, and rejection and everything else. But this was a wholly new big education. Is it harder to play Jack or Lenny Bruce? Is it easier to invent somebody? With Lenny, all I had to do was open the window at night and then invite the vampire in. I really got to get out of the way at a certain point, something was really happening where it was just time travel and I got to smoke cigarettes. With Jack, it felt like it was more coming out of the mud. It felt a little closer to home in some ways. I'd say I spent more time with Jack in his boyhood than I did with Lenny. I really feel like I understand Jack's childhood in a way that is representative of the man he is today. With both of those characters, I do feel a drive that I do think is similar to that vision of a door closing. Lenny clearly felt that something needed to get done quickly, and I do feel like Jack has the same sensation. It's not that the wolves are at the door per se, but that there's something of a purpose that he needs, a job needs to get done that he needs to do. And if he doesn't do it, Rome will fall. SEE'Étoile' star Gideon Glick: 'I've made a career out of playing strange, interesting people' Did you invent your own backstory for him, or did you have conversations with Amy and Dan about him? We didn't have a lot of conversations about it. It's funny how with them, there's something about the way they are working in the way that a lot of things kind of match up. Maybe we talked a little bit about Jack's father and his influence in the city and where did he go to school, little things like that. But I was amazed as the season progressed and I would get these scripts where we'd be with my mom and my uncle and they would talk about me as a kid, where there were things that were coming alive in the script that had resonated with the work that I had done in kind of imagining this guy's upbringing. It's just, what do they call it, synchronicity! It just sort of happens. That does happen when a group works together the way that Amy and Dan work. I do think that that bleeds out into the whole crew. And I think that synchronicity does just start to bubble up in a really kind of pure and beautiful way. Yes, it serves them well that they have actors and crew that they've worked together for so many years. Even though the characters may be different from show to show, they know how to write to you and you know how to perform to them. As an actor, I think the biggest thing is just finding a way to get out of your own way. Their work is athletic, especially when Amy's directing. A lot of the time it is like a dance. It requires great precision and specificity. As long as you arrive ready to mark that and have as much work done prior to showing up, you can find a rhythm that makes the day feel very heightened and smooth. I don't mean easy, because it's not easy, but just kind of rising to the occasion, because they're aspirational. It's like ballet, what they do. So what's your take on the love triangle between Jack, Cheyenne (Lou de Laage) and Genevieve (Charlotte Gainsbourg)? Who do you think should Jack end up with? I have very strong feelings about this, but I do not know that they're for anybody to know but myself. I will say this — I feel like both of those relationships feel so authentic and I feel that the respect and affection that Jack has with both Cheyenne and Genevieve and the relationship that Genevieve and Cheyenne have together are lifeblood friendships so they're obviously really rolling the dice when things get more intimate. But, you know, it's the ballet! There's no great surprise that this is happening. Is Crispin (Simon Callow) going to pay for the wedding? That's the more important question! And should there be a season two, what would you like to see for Jack and the show overall? I'd like to meet at least one of Jack's ex-wives. I think that would be interesting. Jack does mention having a horse. I'd like to see the horse at least, or maybe even see Jack on the horse. I mean, this me just dropping wishes in the wishing well at this point! Best of GoldDerby 'I do think that I burned down the cabin': How 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
7 new shows with the most Emmy potential after Upfronts
You've probably heard about several new shows this week. Upfronts—the mid-May period when networks pitch their new offerings to advertisers—wrapped up on Wednesday. And while the list of new projects isn't as robust as it once was in today's fractured media landscape, a handful of titles unveiled this week—whether newly announced or accompanied by fresh footage (most trailers shown to advertisers haven't been publicly released yet)—do sound promising. And if everything works out, maybe they'll find themselves on the doorstep of the Emmys in a year's time (or later). Here are seven shows from Upfronts that have the most Emmy potential. More from GoldDerby 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' revival finds new slayer, HBO's 'Task' trailer, Anna Sawai joins hot A24 crime thriller, and more news 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' 'Forever' creator Mara Brock Akil on updating Judy Blume - and finding 'real intimacy' - in the age of social media (HBO) The last two times Mark Ruffalo worked with HBO? He won an Emmy both times. The last time Brad Ingelsby worked with HBO? Three of his actors won Emmys. So what we're saying is Task has the makings of an Emmy success. Ingelsby, who created Mare of Easttown, returns to the Philadelphia suburbs with this limited series about an FBI agent (Ruffalo) who heads a Task Force to end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man (Tom Pelphrey). Let's hope Kate Winslet shows up at the end to start an initiative. Task premieres in September. Disney/Daniel Delgado (Hulu) Glen Powell's football comedy will finally, uh, kick off on Sept. 30. Based on the character created by Eli Manning on Eli's Places, the series stars Powell as Russ Holliday, a quarterback who believes his career has been nuked and subsequently disguises himself as Chad Powers to join a college team. Powell, who won a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Hidden Figures cast, has been the It Guy of the moment for several years now and feels like he's on the precipice of individual industry recognition, so Chad Powers could be thing that opens the floodgates. If nothing else, he seems like a solid bet for a Golden Globe nomination at least. Scott Gries/NBC (NBC) The 30 Rock gang is back. Well, sort of. Producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are reuniting with Tracy Morgan for their own comedy about a disgraced football star. Morgan plays the titular running back, who plans to rehabilitate his image to enter the Hall of Fame. Daniel Radcliffe plays the filmmaker who moves in with him to document the journey. The pedigree is there — Fey and Carlock have 12 Emmys combined — for voters to bite. Of note, however: Neither has been nominated since 2020, for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend (in which Radcliffe appeared). Fey could break that duck this year with The Four Seasons. Reggie Dinkins, which could air as early as the fall, being a network series could hurt it — Fey and Carlock's Mr. Mayor for NBC was overlooked by the TV Academy — but NBC did produce a Best Comedy Actor nominee just four years ago with Kenan Thompson for Kenan. NBC (Peacock) Not to be confused with the Ron Howard film of the same name, The Paper, which premieres in September, is the Office spinoff that is not set at a paper company but a (news)paper. Created by Office showrunner Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, The Paper is a mockumentary chronicling the offices of a fledgling Ohio newspaper called The Truth Teller. Domhnall Gleeson stars alongside The White Lotus Emmy nominee Sabrina Impacciatore, while The Office's Oscar Núñez reprises his role as Oscar Martinez. The Office "only" won five Emmys from 42 nominations during its nine-season run, including Best Comedy Series in 2006, but it has remained a pop culture fave, so don't be surprised if The Paper hits. Peacock has also already tasted Emmy gold with wins for The Traitors and Judith Light (Poker Face). Eli Ade/MGM (Prime Video) The Creed-verse is expanding into TV. Produced by Michael B. Jordan, Delphi is set at the titular boxing gym and will focus on the young athletes training in the ring. Marco Ramírez (La Máquina) will serve as showrunner as well as executive producer. No word yet on a release date. The Creed films have been huge successes, and if Delphi lands (a punch), Emmy voters might take notice too. In terms of the film trilogy's Oscar record, Sylvester Stallone received the franchise's sole nomination for his supporting turn in the first film. Leon Bennett/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images Untitled Dan Levy comedy (Netflix) Move over, Roses. Dan Levy is back with another small-screen family. The four-time Emmy winner — all for Schitt's Creek — will star in, executive-produce, and serve as showrunner for a new comedy about "two deeply incapable siblings who are blackmailed into the world of organized crime." Taylor Ortega (The Four Seasons, Another Simple Favor) and four-time Emmy champ Laurie Metcalf will star alongside him. The series is co-created by Levy and Rachel Sennott. Production on the eight episodes begin later this year, so it's unclear when the series will air, but this is Levy's first major series since Schitt's Creek swept the Emmys in 2020. Michael Buckner for Variety (Fox) Of Fox's three new scripted series, Memory of a Killer, which premieres midsesaon, sounds the most intriguing. Inspired by the Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer (La Memoire Du Tueur), the thriller follows a hitman who develops early onset Alzheimer's. Patrick Dempsey is making his TV return in the lead role and is looking for his Emmy nomination since 2001 for Once and Again (no, he was never nominated for Grey's Anatomy). The series' broadcast home could hold it back. The last time Fox generated a Best Drama Actor nominee was in 2011 for House star Hugh Laurie. But broadcast did earn a win in the category in the past decade, when Sterling K. Brown prevailed for NBC's This Is Us in 2017. Will Memory of a Killer be as big as This Is Us though? Best of GoldDerby 'I do think that I burned down the cabin': How 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘It keeps me on my toes': ‘St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and ‘incredibly heartfelt'
'I've always wanted to do a mockumentary,' admits Allison Tolman about what immediately drew her to St. Denis Medical. The self-professed Christopher Guest fan had heard word about the project and told her team to get their hands on the script. Once they did, the premiere episode by Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer did not disappoint: 'I was already pretty excited about it just based on the format, but then, read the first script and was like, 'Oh, this is really lovely. The jokes are funny, the characters are interesting, they really know how to make this format sing,'' she recounts. (Watch our full interview above). Tolman plays supervising nurse Alex in the new workplace comedy series, which is set in a regional hospital in Oregon. Though the character struggles with setting work-life boundaries, especially considering that she has two young children at home, Alex serves as the calm-ish center to the goofier characters around her. 'It can be lonely to be the straight man in a comedy like this because you're not the one who gets the big moments or the big jokes or the big set pieces,' the actress says. But the role does have its unique attributes, too. 'I really feel a kinship with the audience and I really feel like the responsibility and the honor of being their touchstone. … The joy of Alex for me is that she's really aware of how all of this is coming off and she's really aware of the fact that she's being observed at all times,' she adds. More from GoldDerby Creating a world for Helperbots: Dane Laffrey on the scenic design of 'Maybe Happy Ending' (exclusive images) 'Duster' divides critics: The 'skillfully executed' J.J. Abrams show is a 'messy delight' akin to an 'R-rated Hot Wheels series' Benito Skinner's 'Overcompensating' revives the college sex comedy for a new generation Tolman is a television veteran whose credits include Fargo, for which she earned an Emmy nomination, Why Women Kill, and Gaslit with Sean Penn and Julia Roberts. "I've been doing this long enough now and I've had enough ups and downs that I don't really trust anything,' says Tolman, adding that she felt passionate about St. Denis Michael, but that 'specialness doesn't always reflect in how things are received and how they're promoted.' She says she felt like 'the skeptic' when other folks on the series were optimistic about the huge prospects of the comedy right out of the gate. Still, her own perception started to change when she saw how supportive NBC was of the show. 'The parents are betting on us,' she describes. SEE Inside the success of 'St. Denis Medical': 'If you're a comedy and you're not trying to make people laugh, I don't think you're doing it right' St. Denis Medical features an ensemble of comedy pros, including David Alan Grier and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Tolman says 'every day is a delight, we really do like each other a lot, we really do have fun.' Despite the incredible improvisation chops amongst the cast, the actress shares, 'We don't break that much, we don't improvise as much as you might expect, but we have a great time between the lines.' The series also deftly balances the zaniness of the storylines with a healthy dose of heart. 'We'll be doing a crazy scene where there's a cat loose and then 30 minutes later, you're doing this incredibly heartfelt talking head that's wrapping up the entire episode,' describes the performer, adding, 'It keeps me on my toes. It reminds me that I can do both things, that I can do comedy and I can do drama.' One of Tolman's standout episodes of St. Denis Medical is the 10th, 'People Just Say Stuff Online,' in which Alex gets severely rankled about a patient review on Yelp that describes nurse Alex as 'snippy.' Desperate to find a different Alex who works in the hospital who the review could be describing, Tolman's Alex finds and flips out at another, quite lovely Alex in the geriatric ward. The actress says she enjoyed getting to play that scene in particular: 'I was really happy that I did have an episode where I got to be the one who was not okay. I was not holding it together well. … She was the unreasonable one and she was the one who was over the top. It was great, it was fun to play, and I thought it looked great when I finally saw it.' Tolman has a few favorite moments from the first season. First, she references '50 cc's of Kindness,' in which 'Matt [Mekki Leeper] and Alex are trying to convince the prisoners that they have a lot in common,' because it 'is so funny and was so much fun to shoot' and was also the first time she felt like she and the show had found its groove. Then she mentions 'Listen to Your Ladybugs' about breast cancer screenings, as well as the season finale, 'This Place Is Our Everything.' Of the latter, she says, 'I'm really proud of the way that the monologue at the end of Season 1 turned out. … That was another day where I got to be, like, vasectomy jokes, stunts, and then dial it in and do this great monologue that Eric had written and do some deep, real scene work.' SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'I do think that I burned down the cabin': How 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' Reality TV roundtable panel: 'American Idol,' 'Queer Eye,' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,' 'The Traitors' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘I do think that I burned down the cabin': How ‘Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline
Did Coach Ben really burn down the cabin? That's a question Yellowjackets viewers have been asking themselves since the show's Season 2 finale, in which the wilderness home of the titular girls' soccer team goes up in flames moments after Ben, their assistant coach, contemplates a set of matches sitting outside the shelter. More from GoldDerby 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' revival finds new slayer, HBO's 'Task' trailer, Anna Sawai joins hot A24 crime thriller, and more news 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Steven Krueger, who plays Ben, one of the adult survivors of a plane crash that leaves him and several members of the Wiskayok High School Yellowjackets soccer team stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness, knew he wouldn't get a definitive answer to that question in Season 3. "I knew that [the writers] intentionally wanted to keep it vague and ambiguous," he tells Gold Derby, "just because that's a good part of storytelling, I think, especially with the dynamics of the girls." So, with the help of his acting coach Gregory Berger, the actor came up with his own answer at the beginning of the season. "To me, the most interesting choice, and the most interesting kind of way to create the character and the art for this particular season, was: 'Yeah, I actually do think that I burned down the cabin, but I don't think that I did it with the intention of actually murdering [the girls],'" says Krueger. "I think that part of what I saw at the end of last season was this group of girls who, at one time, were this really cohesive team that worked together, that all liked each other. And they had their problems, of course, but they've been figuring out a way to survive. And what I saw was that was starting to decline, right? That situation was starting to become very, very fraught. And so, in my mind, I was actually doing them a favor, to try to kind of bring them all back together, unite around this one common tragedy. ... If they no longer had a place to live, then they would have to come together as a unit again and learn how to be a team. And I think that that ultimately would serve them in their survival in the end." When Season 3 of the hit Showtime series picks up, in the early days of summer, several months after the cabin fire, a lot of this has come true. Led by a benevolent Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), the Yellowjackets have built a new outdoor living space, have raised animals for food, and are partaking in fun group activities, including run-and-chase games in the woods and storytelling sessions led by Van (Liv Hewson). At least on the surface, most of the soccer players are thriving. The same cannot be said for their assistant coach. "He is truly struggling," Krueger says of Ben. "I mean, here's a man who's been on his own now, for six months, trying to scrounge up whatever food he can, while also trying to stay very clandestine, stay hidden, stay away from these girls, just hoping that some sort of rescue ends up coming." Ever since the cabin burned to the ground, Ben has been living in the cave he discovered at the end of Season 2 and a now-deceased Javi (Luciano Leroux) used as shelter during the first half of the winter. Even though Ben had long distanced himself from the Yellowjackets by the time their wilderness home perished, cloistering himself in his room as his physical and mental health deteriorated, this marks the first time he's been completely on his own in the woods. For Krueger, it was important to explore the psychological toll of being in "complete and utter isolation while also having to be so aware of your surroundings." "He couldn't relax," he maintains about Ben. "There was never a time when he could just kind of lounge around. Not only did he have to find his own food and, of course, survive, he also had to worry about [the girls]. Were they out looking for him? Were they hunting him? Did they just forget about him and they're gonna let him live peacefully? All of that, I think, is going through his mind on a, really, daily basis. And so, yeah, that's why you see early in those episodes, he's lost it a little bit." However, Ben's concerns are ultimately proven valid, as he's eventually caught and subsequently put on trial by the Yellowjackets for burning down their cabin. Although a dedicated Misty (Samantha Hanratty) agrees to serve as his lawyer, Ben doesn't initially see the point in holding a trial. "You know that this whole trial is just a farce," he tells Misty, who's taken care of the soccer coach ever since he lost part of his right leg in the plane crash. "I've already lost." But after taking the stand, Ben makes a heartfelt case for his innocence — one that probably had you, too, wondering, "Does Ben actually want to live?" For Krueger, who describes his character's testimony as an "inflection point" in his Season 3 storyline, the question at the heart of Ben's court speech couldn't just be whether he wanted to live or die. "Something that I played with throughout the back half of my storyline this season was: What am I really trying to do with these girls?" the actor reveals. "Like, do I need to say anything to them? No, I could just keep my mouth shut and let them do whatever they want. So the whole point is, like — what am I trying to get out of them? How am I trying to affect them?" The idea Krueger came up with is that Ben wants the Yellowjackets "to have to make the hardest decision of their lives." "Whatever they end up doing with me — whether they kill me, whether they keep me alive, whether they keep me shackled in this animal pen — I want it to be the hardest decision they ever have to make," he explains. "And the reason for that is because that's going to expose who they truly are, right? It's going to bring out their true characters." As to why Ben would be so invested in exposing the Yellowjackets' true selves, Krueger points to the closeted coach's failure to live in his own truth. "He chose to live behind a mask for so much of his life, and he doesn't want that for anybody else," he says. "That is one of the biggest failures of his life, one of the biggest regrets that he has. And he's still in this mode where he thinks he can teach these girls something. He thinks he can leave them with something." Despite Ben's passionate testimony and a convincing defense from Misty, Ben winds up losing the trial after an increasingly dictatorial Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) persuades several of her teammates to find him guilty. Though he's saved from execution after Akilah (Nia Sondaya) has a vision that he's their "bridge" to civilization, matters just become gradually worse for him from there on. Exerting all efforts to keep him alive, the Yellowjackets tie Ben up in an animal pen and slice his Achilles tendon so that he can't escape, and force-feed him after he goes on a hunger strike. By the time fall arrives, there's little left of the soccer coach, physically as well as mentally, besides his desire to die. Because Krueger was given a heads-up about Ben's storyline well before cameras started rolling on Season 3, he was able to prepare for his character's mental and physical decline in the season. Not only did the advance notice allow him to grow out his beard, but it also gave him the chance to drop some weight. Citing an interview in which Bradley Cooper spoke about his experience packing on weight to play a Navy SEAL sniper in Clint Eastwood's biographical war film American Sniper (2014), Krueger says he took notice of how a change in an actor's physicality — in Cooper's case, a drastic weight gain — could affect their mental state and, by extension, their performance. "For me, I was like, 'Well, this is the exact opposite. If I'm able to, kind of like, trim down and lose some weight and just feel that, not just physically but also mentally, it would [affect] the performance.' And it truly did," Krueger recalls about his experience losing weight for Season 3. "I think, throughout the season, I felt times where I was surrounded by these girls and where there might have been a time earlier in the series where Ben felt like, even on one leg, he maybe could have overpowered these girls. That was certainly no longer the case this season. I did, I felt physically weak and intimidated by these girls, and I think that that kind of bled its way into a lot of the scenes that we ended up doing in the back half of the season." SEE 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger breaks down Coach Ben's 'tragic' fate and that shocking cliffhanger Kept alive against his will for several weeks at this point, Ben begs Natalie, his kindred spirit and the last person he trusts in the wilderness, to either end his life or give him a weapon so he can do it himself in the sixth episode of Season 3, entitled "Thanksgiving (Canada)." Initially unwilling to, a remorseful Natalie eventually honors the coach's wishes, sneaking into his camp one night and plunging a knife through his heart — much to the dismay of her teammates. When Krueger was informed by the creators of the show, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, that Ben would bite the dust in Season 3, his first question to them was who his killer would be. "[Had] they said anybody besides Natalie, I was going to be very upset," the actor says. "We have seen her kind of falter a little bit as the leader of this group. And so, this was going to be kind of the final nail in the coffin." For Krueger, Natalie's act of mercy also goes a long way in explaining the state in which viewers find the adult version of the character, played by a now-departed Juliette Lewis, when she's first introduced in the present-day timeline. "We've alluded to it the entire show, but I don't think anyone actually realized until now just what [Natalie] had gone through out in the wilderness," the actor highlights. "Now, to me, it makes so much more sense why she was as messed up as she was for all of those years in between. I mean, she literally murdered somebody, even though it was a mercy killing. And because of that, she was kind of dethroned as the leader of the group." While filming Ben's death was both physically and mentally demanding for Krueger, the actor found the overall experience "so easy," thanks to his collaboration with Thatcher. "Working with Sophie Thatcher throughout this series has been one of the easiest things for me, because I can do all my work on my own at home, and then as soon as I show up to set, I know that I don't have to worry about any of it. I know that the two of us are going to be locked in with each other. And that's exactly how this scene went down," Krueger recalls. "Obviously, I had pored over this scene and thought about every angle that you could possibly think about it from, you know, 'What was he thinking? What was going through his mind each step of the way?' And the second that the cameras were up and we were on set, I forgot all of it. I just completely let all of it go, and Sophie and I just kind of, like, played off of each other and looked into each other's eyes." All three seasons of Yellowjackets are now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime plan. Best of GoldDerby 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Reality TV roundtable panel: 'American Idol,' 'Queer Eye,' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,' 'The Traitors' Click here to read the full article.
