THE BEAUTY: Official Podcast Episode 2: Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Welcome back to the Beauty Official Podcast. I'm Evan Ross Katz, podcaster and currently trawling the dark web for a dose of the beauty. In episode two of this incendiary series, the discovery of a mind bending crime scene sends Cooper and Jordan to Venice, Italy, where they investigate the beauty's shocking side effects. Here they are. Joining me today, Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall.

Evan Peters, Rebecca Hall, thank you so much for being here. I have to acknowledge the fact that I love you both so much. This is, very important. Now, Evan, you are a longtime member of the Ryan Murphy universe. If we want to call it a membership. Rebecca, it's your first time. Talk to me about being new here and what that's been like.

REBECCA HALL : Well, I'm very excited to get admission. Like you said.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : You're in.

REBECCA HALL : I'm in.

And it's it's been great. I did this, and then I. He immediately asked me to do something which was so radically different to this. And that's interesting in itself, because I think often when you work with people, they sort of maybe ask you back to do exactly the same thing. And Ryan just sort of sees your potential to do like, things that you don't even necessarily know about yourself, which is great.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah. Yeah. He allows you to do something different, for sure.

REBECCA HALL : Yeah.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : As we've mentioned, you've been working with Ryan for quite some time. What is it about this partnership that keeps bringing you back and and this opportunity, like we've seen you play so many different roles within the Ryan Murphy universe. Do you see there kind of being a through line throughout any of them?

EVAN PETERS : You know, the thing that makes you, you is the thing that makes you unique and special and and interesting and beautiful. And I think that that is something that is a through line, through almost every single one of Ryan's productions. So I always am drawn to that and it’s such a great message.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : As we've mentioned, you've been working with Ryan for quite some time. What is it about this partnership that keeps bringing you back and and this opportunity, like we've seen you play so many different roles within the Ryan Murphy universe. Do you see there kind of being a through line throughout any of them?

EVAN PETERS : You know, the thing that makes you, you is the thing that makes you unique and special and and interesting and beautiful. And I think that that is something that is a through line, through almost every single one of Ryan's productions. So I always am drawn to that and it’s such a great message.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Now talk to you about how the project was brought to you. Were you brought to it? How was it first described to you and what intrigued you about this?

EVAN PETERS : Well, February of 2024, he, he told me about the, the comic book series and, sent, sent the first script over, and, I read that. He said, I'd like you to take a look at at Cooper and, and see what you think. It'll be kind of this international action thriller. And there's a there's a romance in it, and, and, I was hooked.

REBECCA HALL : I hadn't met him before, and he asked to meet me. He took me out for a very nice breakfast. In the West Village. And he. He pitched me the story of the whole thing. Which was really exciting because it feels almost like the most. You know, if I was to sort of, like, make a kind of definitive Ryan Murphy storyline.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Absolutely.

REBECCA HALL : This feels like it. So, to be told, the definitive Ryan Murphy storyline by Ryan Murphy. And, you know, explaining it all, it was it was a pretty thrilling moment. And I was like, and then what happens? And then they, oh, really? And then they.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : They don't even know like, like.

REBECCA HALL : And then he said, and you then you'll be an FBI agent and you'll be I he just said, I just want you to be yourself.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Right?

REBECCA HALL : I want you to be funny and British and, you'll have great outfits. And we shoot in Paris and Rome and Venice.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : You were like, say no more. I can do that. Well, it's interesting because and hearing from you both now, but also a lot of the conversations I've had with the actors is there's a collaborative nature about working with Ryan that seems, from my perspective, to be a little atypical. So in those early conversations when the project was brought to you.

Yeah. Can you talk about the ways in which you were sort of involved in potentially crafting your character or broader aspects of the show?

EVAN PETERS : Yeah, I think it well, Cooper, originally, I think he was, you know, getting his teeth fixed.

WOMAN IN BLUE : Your teeth are just the slightest bit gray. You can fix that.

EVAN PETERS : And I thought, well, shouldn't he not be doing that? Isn’t he sort of the, the, the sort of, opposite of everybody changing and more of the everyman and kind of that through line of the show. And he was very receptive.

COOPER : The idea is that embracing imperfections can create something stronger and even more beautiful than before.

JORDAN : I don't get it.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : What about for you? Was the collaborative nature. Was that something that you're used to? Was it unusual?

REBECCA HALL : I mean, it's always different with different directors and it's different sort of degrees. And also like when directors say I'm super collaborative, that also can mean very many different things. When you actually get to it. And I think but I think that with Ryan really, really is true. I think that he's he's very interested in what you are going to bring, with you.

And he's very he's very receptive to your opinions and your input always. And I love that. That's great.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah.

REBECCA HALL : Yeah. I think I enjoyed all of it. If I'm being completely honest. It's probably that the I got to play a version of myself. I mean, not it isn't, but it's like, you know, I got to be have speak in my own voice and and he really Ryan was very keen on me sort of ad libbing and he jokes or just sort of being generally cheeky wherever I wanted to be.

And I don't often get to do that. People, you know, take me very seriously as an actor, which I appreciate. I take myself very seriously as an actor, kind of, but I also like to have fun, and it was just nice to do that.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Now talk to me about Jordan and Cooper's relationship, because obviously there's a lot spoken. But one thing I picked up on is there's so much subtext between the two of them. So much longing and so much unspoken. So how did you guys approach these two characters and their relationship?

REBECCA HALL : Well, I love an unspoken love storyline. It's always kind of quite fun to play because whatever you're playing, they’re always playing, the kind of like sizzle-y stuff underneath. So that's kind of fun. And I think it's like, you know, you could look at them as a sort of friends with benefits working situation, but they also are obviously each other's best friends.

And so you sort of then what starts to emerge is, you know, two people who are too proud to be vulnerable with each other. So they're pretending that it's easy and nothing. And actually it might be something deeper.

EVAN PETERS : Feelings.

REBECCA HALL : They have feelings.

EVAN PETERS : Yes.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah, yeah. What was your approach to Cooper?

EVAN PETERS : Yeah I mean you said it beautifully. I think it's one thing to take it to the next step and be able to express yourself and how you really feel, but then being too scared that the other person might not want that or be feeling that.

REBECCA HALL : Yeah. It's not like being aware that they're quite hardboiled characters. You know, there are FBI agents. They're the kind of people that, think that they're independent and don't need people. So.

EVAN PETERS : Right.

REBECCA HALL : It's really hard for those types of people to let their guards down and fall in love. Right?

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah. I think that's what makes the energy between them so exciting is it's like typically in a lot of romances, there's one person with the harder exterior, but in this case, they both sort of have this hard exterior.

REBECCA HALL : It's like a game of chicken. Like, I'm not going to have feelings if you don’t have them. It just goes on and on and on.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : This is true.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : As we see with both of you, these are incredibly physical roles. I mean, your transformation alone. Can you talk about the physicality and how much were you expecting that and how much was it sort of learning on the go?

REBECCA HALL : He told me that it was going to be physical. So I knew it was coming. I don't think that I, I'm sort of game for that kind of thing. I sort of enjoyed flinging myself around and making myself look like a bit of an idiot.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : You're definitely flinging yourself around.

REBECCA HALL : I was happy with that. It was, I think, you know, it was it was more challenging than I think I anticipated in some respects. But super fun.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : The action sequence at the end of two. And I just was wondering, obviously, you know, you prepare for that in everything, but what was it like actually performing that? Because it's a really prolonged. You guys are running all over.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah, a lot of running in dress shoes. It was, it was late at night, but it was fun, man. It was so fun. To be able to do that, Mark Ficarra and Jason Miller had choreographed and, I knew that was going to be intense. So we we started training pretty early on and kind of diving into that, which was really fun and exciting.

And again, the stunt team did such an incredible job, choreographing all of that. So it was, just fun. Yeah.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Were there any moments when you were watching this back? Because obviously you're performing in the moment. You don't fully see some of the sequences and how they're going to look. You know, in the end, were there any moments when you were watching? You were like, I cannot believe that. I mean, for instance, I'm thinking about like, you're obviously doing the contortion scene that you're doing, but like, I don't know if you know, you're not seeing it from the outside when you go back and watch that. Are you like just like, oh my God?

REBECCA HALL : Yeah, I like doing that stuff. I don't necessarily like watching it. I'm really like squeamish.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : And with the sound effect?

REBECCA HALL : I mean, there's not there was a contortionist involved, you know, it wasn't all me. So there was a lot of like, wow, that's impressive. But actually when I watched it, I was quite surprised by how much of it was me. But it it's definitely the sound effects are really, really add a level to it that's really kind of uncomfortable.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Are you squeamish at all watching that?

EVAN PETERS : Oh yeah. Yeah. But it's it's that's the joy of it. You know you're sort of watching a, I don't know, a nail go into a hand or something. It's it's horrifying.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah.

I feel like we're in a kind of body horror essence of sorts. And I would say perhaps instigated by Mr. Murphy. And I'm wondering, what do you both think it is about this genre that is seemingly so grotesque and kind of makes us want to look away, and yet we find ourselves continuously so enthralled by it.

EVAN PETERS : You know, The Fly is one of my favorite movies because it's stuck with me once since I saw that as a kid and Cronenberg. And it's just it's just.

REBECCA HALL : Cronenberg is the body horror.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah, it's just visceral. You look at, you can't look away, and it's horrifying and it's incredible that they are able to do this.

REBECCA HALL : Also it's always like the storyline is always it's it's human. It's like the it's it's human inflicted. Like you make the choice to do it. So it's there's a kind of fascination and like what ends will people go to in order to get something.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah.

REBECCA HALL : You know, and how crazy is that? Was somewhere probably deep in our psyche. We're all kind of wondering the same thing.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Now on a project like this. Obviously the themes of this show are so topical, and I'm wondering, did conversations about the show about beauty, esthetics, Hollywood, what have you? Are these conversations that you found yourself having outside of the show at all? Did it infiltrate your thought patterns beyond just your time on set?

REBECCA HALL : I mean, sure, I think, yeah, I mean, it's it's like it feels very I think Ryan has a, has an unerring instinct to capture whatever's going on in the zeitgeist. And for sure, yes, beauty has been a thing that is like as old as humans, the sort of concept of it, because you've, there's always that sense of like things that are awesomely beautiful, like sunsets and nature formations.

And then there's this sort of level of human beauty, which is much more complicated because in some senses it's created by whatever social factors are going on. And now we're in this time where essentially you can buy the thing that everyone has decided is beauty at this point in time. And I think the show is kind of really getting involved with that discussion. And I think that's super, super interesting and topical.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : But is there any way that you were thinking, though, about just being in this industry that's so beauty focused and so esthetic focused, and you both have been in this industry for quite some time, and I'm sure it's changed in a lot of senses. My sense is that a lot of these sort of like Hollywood ideals have sort of funneled their way down to everyday society.

Was that at all something that you were thinking about, or conversations that you were having?

REBECCA HALL : I think it's something that we all can't avoid, right? It's everywhere. It's it's in social media. It's everywhere. It's on the internet at all times. It's it's it's present in our society. And like, do I know what that means? Or do I have anything to add to that? I'm not being naive. I am a lady and an actress.

I know that part of my job is to be looked at, you know, and it's, I think that I suppose where I come down is like I am. I'm broadly in favor and doing whatever you need to do to make yourself feel like yourself. But I think there is a complicated thing in that the, the beauty industry runs on, on not making you feel satisfied necessarily, because let's be honest, you know, keeping people in a place of inadequacy is more profitable.

And I do think the show is also saying something about that, you know, like what actually is beauty? Are you really thinking about what is good for you and makes you feel more like yourself, or are you trying to meet some unattainable standard that's just going to keep growing exponentially and make you pay more money exponentially until you maybe explode?

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Yeah.

EVAN PETERS : Well said, wow.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Talk to me about what was the most fun day that you had on set making this project.

REBECCA HALL : Oh, I've got an easy answer for this. The day that we were just like in Venice on a on a boat wearing sunglasses, just going around the Grand Canal. It was pretty good. It looked at like it looked really. Venice looks good. It's nice too. And we got to go down the underneath the bridges. Is it the bridges eyes?

It’s always like covered in tourist and there were non there. Oh and then there was also the Trevi Fountain. We got to do that as well.

EVAN PETERS : That was amazing.

REBECCA HALL : There was nobody there.

EVAN PETERS : Middle of the night. Nobody there. Trevi Fountain.

REBECCA HALL : That was very good as well.

EVAN PETERS : Beautiful. Beautiful.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : It's one of the great things about the show is just like we go to so many fantastic places, and it seems like some of them are practical. Like, you guys were on location in so many of these places. How does that change the performance when you find yourself not having to imagine being in Venice, but actually being in Venice?

REBECCA HALL : I mean, hugely, you can't really you can't really act it that I mean, it just turns your job from being I'm doing acting to no acting required.

EVAN PETERS : Right. It's almost dangerous. You know, you don't even want to tell the story. You're kind of just like the fountain, wow.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Did you have a particularly fun or memorable day on set?

EVAN PETERS : Yeah, definitely. The Trevi Fountain was probably, Yeah. The most.

REBECCA HALL : No, when we were in the nightclub listening to the end.

EVAN PETERS : Yeah, over and over and over. That's her favorite song, at the top of every playlist. I know.

REBECCA HALL : Evan sometimes text me that song just out of nowhere.

EVAN PETERS : I do.

REBECCA HALL : Just in case it might not be in my head just to make sure.

EVAN PETERS : Very triggering.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : Put it back in there. Yeah, well, thank you both so much. This is very, very fun.

EVAN PETERS : Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate it.

EVAN ROSS KATZ : That's all for this time, on the next podcast, I'm talking to triple platinum recording artist Meghan Trainor about shooting her UFC worthy, no holds barred, fight scene on The Beauty. You can check it out on Hulu, Hulu on Disney Plus or YouTube. Watch new episodes of The Beauty Wednesdays on FX or stream on Hulu or Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers.

Lots of places to check out this hot new show. Be sure to rate, review, and follow the beauty official podcast wherever you watch or listen. I'm Evan Ross Katz and I will see you next time.