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[SPEAKER_03]: And welcome to another edition of Kyle Meredith with, it's the interview series presented by WFPK at WFPK.org Consequence and the Consequence podcast network.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We've had some great guests drop him by lately including actress musician Kameko Glenn.
[SPEAKER_03]: She's got her first EP released called Modern Dance, of course you see her in Orange's
[SPEAKER_03]: Jack Antonov, super producer and leasing her bleachers to talk about their new record.
[SPEAKER_03]: Everyone for 10 minutes of Maya Hawke was just here.
[SPEAKER_03]: She's on a lot and she has a new album commentary of course so Courtney Barnett to discuss her latest record, Creature of Habit.
[SPEAKER_03]: We talked with actress Natalie Allen-Lind about starring in the Yellowstone spin-off called Dutton Ranch.
[SPEAKER_03]: Paul Betney and Will Sharpe take on Amadeus in the new AMC series.
[SPEAKER_03]: Genomellone is not only starring in the Netflix show The Burrows, but also has a new record out called Flowers for Men.
[SPEAKER_03]: We also hung out with Peter Capaldi, Kush Jumbo, Bobby Furera, Devom Bostic, John Ham, Olivia Manimanda, Pete, James Marsden, Derek Trucks, just an example of what you get when you subscribe to the Kyomirith with podcast.
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's me, Kyle.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, today, catch him back up with legendary actress Judith Light, and of course, you know her from who's the boss, the menu, ugly, Betty, among many other things.
[SPEAKER_03]: Today we are going to talk about the horror anthology series, The Terror, the latest series called Devil In Silver.
[SPEAKER_03]: the six episode limited series stars and is executive produced by Dan Stevens and written by executive producers Chris Cantwell and Victor Lavall author of the celebrated novel of which the season is based on.
[SPEAKER_03]: It tells a story of pepper played by Dan Stevens, a working class moving man, who through a combination of bad luck and a bad temper finds himself wrongly committed to new-hide psychiatric hospital, an institution filled with the people that society would rather forget.
[SPEAKER_03]: There he must contend with patients who work against him, doctors who harbor grim secrets, and perhaps even the very devil himself.
[SPEAKER_03]: As Pepper navigates a hellscape, or nothing is, as it seems he finds that the only path to freedom is to face down the entity which thrives on the suffering within new hides walls, but doing so may prove the worst demons of all live inside him.
[SPEAKER_03]: So we're going to get the talk with Judith Light all about this series.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, she's kind of skirted on a whore before, you know, when you look at a movie like the menu, at least maybe like the last 20 minutes of it, but she says it's the very first time that she's really got to dig in to the genre.
[SPEAKER_03]: So we're going to hear all about disappearing.
[SPEAKER_03]: into this character, Dory, that she plays, it's a woman that was abandoned inside the psychiatric hospital for decades.
[SPEAKER_03]: While also digging into the series, bigger themes around mental health, homelessness, and a healthcare system that more-less leaves people behind.
[SPEAKER_03]: Along the way, she's going to talk about working with Dan Stevens, CCH, Pounder, Stephen Roode, the wild hysteria as she calls it, that offset, that kept everyone sane while making something this dark,
[SPEAKER_03]: and why entertainment works best when it gets people talking afterward.
[SPEAKER_03]: All that and more, let's discuss the terror devil and silver on AMC and AMC Plus.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's Kyle Meredith with Judith Light.
[SPEAKER_02]: Look at all your posters.
[SPEAKER_02]: What are those things?
[SPEAKER_02]: They're so great.
[SPEAKER_03]: They do the heavy lifting here.
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, Bowie, Prince, that's pretty him.
[SPEAKER_02]: Honey, that is all heavy lifting.
[SPEAKER_02]: You got it.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not
[SPEAKER_02]: amazing.
[SPEAKER_03]: It just makes me look cooler.
[SPEAKER_03]: It just, that's what it does.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's you're like amazingly cool.
[SPEAKER_02]: Have you seen Jellico Kat?
[SPEAKER_03]: No, I don't know Jellico Kat.
[SPEAKER_02]: See it, you're in New York, where are you?
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm actually in Louisville.
[SPEAKER_02]: Louisville, Kentucky, John jewelry, great theater there.
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, let me turn it around and compliment you right now.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because I always enjoy you and everything that I watch.
[SPEAKER_03]: I really do.
[SPEAKER_03]: But seeing you in this role in the terror, devil, and silver, like you, you transcend it into somewhere else with this lady right here.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like this is compliment, all of front.
[SPEAKER_02]: I had a lot of help.
[SPEAKER_02]: That hair and makeup team and the stunt team and the
[SPEAKER_02]: of, you know, the prosthetics and everything.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I really did have a lot of help and great writers and great producers.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, really spectacular and great actors, my buddy.
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, and it is a great case, but you disappear into it.
[SPEAKER_03]: And you've done that, like, like, seeing you here and there, take on horror and thriller.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I find that really exciting to watch me.
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you find that you sought horror out or did horror find you?
[SPEAKER_02]: horror found me.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not, I'm not your horror girl.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I don't, you know, you know, I, I've never done it.
[SPEAKER_02]: And this script came to me.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I, I literally said, I read two lines of it.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I called my agents and my managers and I said, I'm in, I said,
[SPEAKER_02]: This character is so intriguing to me.
[SPEAKER_02]: She is so tender and the psychological thriller aspect of it.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I got to work with so many of my friends that I've worked with in the theater here in New York.
[SPEAKER_02]: And of course, Dan Stevens.
[SPEAKER_02]: But these, at Stephen Root, I mean,
[SPEAKER_02]: these really amazing writers.
[SPEAKER_02]: Victor Laval, I don't know if you know his work, he's a best selling New York Times author and when I saw it, I said there's something about the ability to create this character in this setting and also get to talk about the context of mental health in our culture.
[SPEAKER_02]: not just in this country, but all around the world, homelessness, and the lack of compassion and empathy that we have for people who have mental challenges.
[SPEAKER_02]: I just thought it was really a combination of something that I was really pulled to do.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it does, we had the conversation, just around the house and everything after I'd watch it and everything about how well it even takes on the healthcare system, and just those little conversations like that through the guys of entertainment.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's right.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's always entertainment at a space because you never wanted forget about entertainment.
[SPEAKER_02]: You want to entertain people.
[SPEAKER_02]: You want to pull people in.
[SPEAKER_02]: You want to have these kinds of conversations so that we can talk about it.
[SPEAKER_02]: so that other people can talk about it.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, there are water cooler moments in this show that really are dynamic and important.
[SPEAKER_02]: And let people know that we have a healthcare system that obviously is not working in the way that it needs to and how people get left and discounted.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if you look at the character of Doris, she had a husband who didn't like her mood swings and her creative artistry, and he said,
[SPEAKER_02]: You're annoying me.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to put you in a mental facility and never came back for her.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I mean, it was real stuff.
[SPEAKER_03]: I like that that happens so well.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's exactly right.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think you're I think you're right on about it.
[SPEAKER_02]: And what does it mean for people to pick people up of this street and put them into these facilities?
[SPEAKER_02]: This is terrifying.
[SPEAKER_02]: We have to talk about this.
[SPEAKER_02]: We can't just let this go by.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's serious stuff, but it's also really thrilling and entertaining.
[SPEAKER_03]: I have that.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's true.
[SPEAKER_03]: So how did you tap into Dory?
[SPEAKER_03]: What's the trick of getting inside her?
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, you have a great novel and all of that, all of that backstory, all of the the texture, all of that is in the novel, then it showed up in the script and that's why I said there were two red two lines of it and it was just like, I understand who this person is.
[SPEAKER_02]: what is it going to take for me to get there?
[SPEAKER_02]: And then we put, you put together great producers.
[SPEAKER_02]: You've got Ridley Scott, David Zucker, AMC, a damage-dermit, a team of people like, you know, producers that are exorny and writers, Chris Cantwell.
[SPEAKER_02]: great directors, Karen Kusama.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you're talking about and and actors that really know their stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: Also theater actors who know how to create a character.
[SPEAKER_02]: What are we doing to play off of each other?
[SPEAKER_02]: We are speaking the same language.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so once you do that.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, you're, you're not, it's, it's a team effort.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're not creating something alone.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you've got great hair and makeup people that really know their stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so you've, you've got a, a family of people who are, who are, you're not doing it alone, just what I'm saying.
[SPEAKER_02]: I was like, working with dance even just like, oh my god, it's magic.
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey, and we'll be right back right after this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome back, it's Kyle Meredith with Judith Light.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm sure that takes a lot of the pressure off too, but when I'm watching it, I'm thinking like this feels like a role that would take a toll on you to have to carry that.
[SPEAKER_03]: And maybe that's not the case.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, it's interesting, you say that because I know, like I know, I've known John Benjamin Hickie forever.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you can, there's a way that many actors in the theater work where you understand you're creating the depth.
[SPEAKER_02]: You understand you're creating the psychological dynamics of a character.
[SPEAKER_02]: You understand this script dynamics, the script breakdown.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I work with a coach of on a topic.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you have all of that.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you also have humor, but also have lightness.
[SPEAKER_02]: You also have the ability to joke with each other, particularly because you know each other.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you know that you work in similar ways.
[SPEAKER_02]: So there was a lot of laughter and a lot of like, wild hysteria on the set in a way that really took us, took the pressure off.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you don't go home and carry it with you.
[SPEAKER_02]: Also, we were all staying in New York.
[SPEAKER_02]: and we were traveling almost an hour out to Staten Island back and forth.
[SPEAKER_02]: So there's a decompression time with everybody in the in the van.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you're laughing and you're talking about other things in your life.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, and it's really best not to carry these particular characters with you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, especially having someone like Stephen Root, CCH, on it like these are these are big personalities, you know, that's uh,
[SPEAKER_02]: DC8 and I really, I mean, we had a lot of a great deal of fun together.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, and Stephen Root as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: But all of us in the book club that you'll meet, that you've seen, it's like we all had the joy of making fun of Stephen.
[SPEAKER_02]: And of course, he was game for all of it.
[SPEAKER_02]: So when you have that kind of understanding, and then everybody also understood that they had signed on
[SPEAKER_02]: because we were able to talk about the context of our culture and mental health.
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody was on board with that as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: And when we were just at the upfront CA, the upfront's the other night, we were all talking about that.
[SPEAKER_02]: We were able to talk about that on the carpet and how that really played into our choice of being able to do this and wanting to do this.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you had something that was in a way a sort of higher purpose.
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, and I'll end with that.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if you don't mind explaining that a little bit more like what does what do you want to say about mental health through this what you what you see is that people are discarded people are no longer held as human beings.
[SPEAKER_02]: people are no longer held as a person who has challenges in their life and that you are there to really be there to support them.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now we're not saying that about all mental health facilities, we're also talking about homelessness.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're talking about people of mental issues who are on the streets and where is our, I believe that our work, that what we do as actors and also as
[SPEAKER_02]: this work is our service.
[SPEAKER_02]: And we are able to entertain and also be of service at the same time.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I believe that when you are able to be of service, this is something, these are the kinds of choices that I like to make in order to be able to talk about those things that we need to be talking about, that we need to be awake to, our mental health in our country, our healthcare system.
[SPEAKER_02]: right now is in dire straits.
[SPEAKER_02]: There are people who have no ability to have the kind of health care that they need and they are suffering.
[SPEAKER_02]: If we need to tell the truth about that, because until you tell the truth about something, you cannot fix it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Until you are awake and aware to something, you cannot change it.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's what, and I'm not saying that that's only what this is about.
[SPEAKER_02]: How we relate to each other as human beings and you see that in this facility these people have become family to each other That's what we all need to do in life is become family to each other.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's perfectly said and and it's done so well I so enjoyed this and I always enjoy talking to you about it It's always a pleasure.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you are the coolest look at you I appreciate you.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm gonna wear that one all day.
[SPEAKER_03]: I appreciate that.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's good.
[SPEAKER_03]: You take it and we'll be right back right after this
[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome back, it's Kyle Man, talking with Judith Light now.
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to include our previous conversation from from just back in 2024.
[SPEAKER_03]: She was joined by actress Courtney Taylor to talk about a series.
[SPEAKER_03]: She was doing called a Disney's out of my mind.
[SPEAKER_03]: The reason I'm including that not just because it's another conversation with Judith Light who should always be celebrated.
[SPEAKER_03]: But it's the interesting parallels to very, very different projects here, one in horror with the devil in silver, but also this Disney show, very far away from horror, but the overlap is in the subject matter, in Disney's out of my mind, much like in the terror, devil in silver,
[SPEAKER_03]: We get to learn about empathy and the importance of truly seeing and valuing each other, which is a lot about what Judith talks about in this interview.
[SPEAKER_03]: So I'm including it as well as a little bonus part two of Kyle Meredith with Judith Light.
[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, Kyle.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, Kyle.
[SPEAKER_03]: Let me be another one today to congratulate you all on being part of such a beautiful story with out of my mind.
[SPEAKER_03]: Telling the story of someone who literally has no voice, according maybe we'll start with you, what makes this movie so special?
[SPEAKER_00]: I think just being a part of a character's life where I'm speaking up for them in the ways they need, I flag I've always wanted to be that woman who is brave and speaks up for the people who need the most speaking up for and being able to play that is just a wonderful addition to my life where I'm able to implore other people to do the same and I think it's a really wonderful role.
[SPEAKER_03]: Judith, I think you'd set another review that you really hope that this would lead to more empathy, having a story like this.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, we've been talking about that a lot this morning and we were talking about it a lot when we were actually shooting the film.
[SPEAKER_02]: Is that we don't always when people don't look like they're supposed to or the way that normal people do or they are in a wheelchair or they have some kind of disability, we hold them as the other.
[SPEAKER_02]: And we treat them differently and we dismiss them.
[SPEAKER_02]: And they are a human being.
[SPEAKER_02]: And when you treat people that way, it is on, there is untold pain added to someone's life.
[SPEAKER_02]: And when you can actually care for them with understanding and kindness and really hear them, not just listen to them, but really hear them.
[SPEAKER_02]: You can actually make a kind of
[SPEAKER_02]: You wouldn't otherwise have that opportunity, and this film is an absolute demonstration of what it means to actually really make an impact on someone else's life.
[SPEAKER_02]: And on a system subsequently.
[SPEAKER_03]: I love a story like this, I mean, you know, I don't mean to compare apples and oranges, but, you know, you have a small story with a big concept.
[SPEAKER_03]: There are no villains, there are no street fights, you know, it doesn't have to go through any of that to kind of paint the picture.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, is that noticeable for you all when you're making a movie like this?
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know that we noticed it so much as we were making the film.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think all of us came on board, knowing that this was what it was, that, you know, but superheroes come in all kinds of forms.
[SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, I think in many ways, Courtney's character and my character are superheroes for melody, just like her parents are, but we are her advocates.
[SPEAKER_02]: until she can find her voice in many ways we are her voice.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, you don't have to look, we love the Marvel stuff, we think a lot of that stuff is great, it's all terrific.
[SPEAKER_02]: but this is the different kind of marvelous character.
[SPEAKER_03]: Nicely done.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks, guys.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Courtney, you know, there are these lines in there.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, when you say, why aren't you angry?
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, it is one of the most powerful moments in the film.
[SPEAKER_03]: And even thinking about, you know, setting this, the whole story and in the 2000s, I think it was about 2002, I believe it, it's set in.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, like, what do you think they gave to the situation?
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it just, because I feel like even now, there are moments where I feel like we, any marginalized community is taking seriously.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like at that time, when there was no help in that arena,
[SPEAKER_00]: I think even Dr. Ray's character, who is a doctorate, and she's a black woman, like, I think she even gets angry when she's told like, when she may have moments where people are doubting her and feeling like she's not educated enough or she understands how things work.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's where that comes from, that like why aren't you in?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I'm angry.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm angry for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm angry for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's just, I think it's something that showcases that time period.
[SPEAKER_00]: It also showcases just, you know, how the anger is not what you need.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the consistency.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, I think, you know, melodies, melody reminds me of that in that moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why aren't you angry?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, you know, she makes a joke.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, I guess you gotta keep going.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, even if it makes you anger, you gotta keep going.
[SPEAKER_03]: Dude, how much do the costumes help the character?
[SPEAKER_03]: Because those are some fantastic shirts you get to wear in this movie.
[SPEAKER_02]: How about the costumes?
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we had talked about that when you have a great costume designer always, and I know Courtney would probably feel the same way.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's like when you put on a costume, it is your, it is an outward expression of what you're feeling inside.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so with this, there was a lot of brightness and a liveness and a striving to be noticed in a way.
[SPEAKER_02]: And,
[SPEAKER_02]: that is very much Mrs. V has her own feelings of her own aloneness, her own otherness.
[SPEAKER_02]: That was what's great about the levels in the script of these characters.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so it's the same thing with anything that you, the makeup, the hair, the costume, actually is helping you to define your character in a very powerful way.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you notice it and I'm sure the costume
[SPEAKER_03]: It is a very powerful film.
[SPEAKER_03]: Congratulations to you both on everything about this and thank you so much for taking the time to talk about it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
[SPEAKER_03]: And there you go, my thanks to Judith Lights, the Terror Devil in Silver playing now on AMC.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thanks to you for checking out this episode.
[SPEAKER_03]: If you're not already, do hit that subscribe button before you get out of here to keep up with all the interviews that I've put out every single week.
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[SPEAKER_03]: After that, you can head over to WFPK.org, where I do a show Monday through Friday, starts at 6 p.m. Eastern.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's four hours of classics, classic alternative, and new indie rock in Americana.
[SPEAKER_03]: You get bonus interviews, there's lots of music and film news.
[SPEAKER_03]: In fact, one of my recent shows featured some classics and favorites from Wing Chung, The Beatles, Big Rec, T-Rex,
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[SPEAKER_03]: Please do like follow along.
[SPEAKER_03]: That does it for another edition.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm Kyle Meredith.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'll see you next time.
[SPEAKER_01]: Consequence podcast network, it's easy to hear your favorite artist on WFPK from wherever you are.
[SPEAKER_01]: Listen on your smart speaker, live stream from our website at WFPK.org from Louisville Public Media.