ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Michelle, what was it about Letty that drew you to the role?
Were you looking for something dramatically different afterDownton Abbey?
MICHELLE DOCKERY:I wasnt looking for somethingsodifferent.
Nick Briggs/Carnival Films
This just happened to be quite a leap.
I couldnt put the script down when I first read it.
We talk a lot about strong women, but Lettys more than that.
Brownie Harris/TNT
Shes complicated, vulnerable, funny, and smart.
The talent is so obvious.
Javier isnt a character in the original novellas.
John Sciulli/Getty Images
What can we expect from this love-hate relationship at the center of the show?
CHAD HODGE:Thats really the story of the series.
Its not about Letty trying to stop him from killing a person every week.
DOCKERY:The relationship is something that Id never seen on screen before between a man and a woman.
And I remember [during the audition] Juan blew everyone away.
On top of that, Michelle, you had to use an American accent.
What was the biggest challenge to keeping it all straight?
Sometimes I cant quite believe Im playing a character whos playing a character.
Its like, double enjoyment!
And Chad actually recommended a documentary about a thief calledThe Life & Crimes of Doris Payne.
HODGE:Michelle just takes on these characters and makes them extensions of Letty.
Its not like shes using [these disguises] to have a go at be undercover or something.
TheSouthern accent thing with the long blonde wigwas just Michelle.
The minute she put on the wig,she just started talking in a Southern accent for some reason.
[Laughs] So it was like, Lets just go with that.
DOCKERY:[Laughs] Thats the thing, Letty should be an actress, really.
Its like the enjoyment I get out of acting is [having] an extension of yourself.
Youre putting on a mark and youre being somebody else for a day.
Im doing that but as a character.
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Juan doesnt get to juggle characters like you do for Letty.
Is he ever jealous?
Hes jealous of all my wigs.
[Laughs]
Youve locked down the disguises, but have you mastered any of Lettys pickpocketing skills?
HODGE:Oh, Michellesnaturallygood at that.
I dont think I could be quite as talented as Letty.
And also, your mate is your cameraman.
[Laughs] They really create the tension, that speed with which she reacts.
With all that in mind, Chad, how do you approach the tone of the show?
HODGE:Our [pilot] director Charlotte [Sieling] labeled it poetic noir.
I said, Whats that?
and she said, I dont know.
Well figure it out.
[Laughs] So we established this thing called the manifesto when we were making the pilot.
[Laughs]
Whats the most important rule?
HODGE:The first rule is we always follow Letty.
You see the show through Lettys eyes.
I was writing about a person who has good qualities and bad qualities.
Really, its just about writing from a completely honest place…. Its, like, sexy and perfect, right?
Its not so much about the what, its about the how.
Its not, Is she going to save this woman [from Javier]?
Its, How the hell can she do it?
DOCKERY:And also, How the hell is she going to do it with a raging hangover?
Those moments really were what gripped me when I first read the script.
Has working on the series made either of you want to actually behave badly?
HODGE:Writing the show is almost like going to therapy.
[Laughs] You get to get it all out just doing the show itself.
So no, Im not planning to go out and, you know, steal peoples belongings.
[Laughs]
Good Behaviorpremieres at 9 p.m.
