Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson and Michelle Pfeiffer on the challenge of playing political icons in The First Lady

“It’s just a challenge,” says Viola Davis of why it’s so appealing to have real characters play against entirely fictional creatures. The challenge that brings you back to work brings you back to your process, scares the hell out of you and reminds you why you wanted to be an actor. It’s not about failure or success, it’s about doing it to remind yourself that you can be brave.

Davis will showcase another piece of that courage on April 17, when Showtime debuts its new series. first woman. Created by Aaron Cooley and directed by Susan Bier, the series stars Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. What happened during the corresponding administrations.

Showtime unveiled the first website first woman on Thursday night during a star-studded premiere at the DGA Theater in West Hollywood, starring three cast members including Kiefer Sutherland, Dakota Fanning, Hott Fagbenli, Judy Greer, Sania Sidney, James Lawson, Kate Barton, (Kate Barton ). He arrived with Aaron Sorkin), Christine Frosette, Shannon Purser, Regina Taylor, Derek Cecil and others.

Prior to the show, Coolley rooted the project in their romance. Four Seats: Supreme Court Suspense. “One of the main characters is the First Lady, who helps select candidates for the Supreme Court because she has legal experience, like Mrs Obama and Hillary Clinton. “Studying this character made me think about the first women,” explains the writer, who worked for years with the late director Joel Schumacher. “There I saw Mrs. Clinton to vote in the presidential election and I thought even more about creating a show for the first ladies, I thought that one day we would have a season. It takes so long – six years to see a blank page – and most [shows] “I never come here, so I feel blessed.”

The same Oscar-winning producer, Katie Schulman, who was also happy if she was a little nervous. “I just want everyone to love the show,” he said with a smile, before talking about how interested he was after a long career as a film producer he was stripped of the prestigious TV series. “I was able to transfer only from the producer to show and write. It’s exciting for me, but it also makes me more nervous than usual. I was saying in the car, God, I’ve done this 30 or so times. Why are you so nervous? ‘ But that’s part of directing the show, writing.”

In writing, Schulman explained in detail why the first season focuses on three separate Obama, Ford, and Roosevelt stories. “We started with the issue of sound. What does it take to hear? What is sound sublimation? What does a woman’s voice mean? “It felt like a natural place to start a series about early women,” she explained.

When Pfeiffer’s time came, he began to sink into his role, told him THR That went to the files. “I read all the books that were written about him. I read all the books he wrote. There were many interviews he gave, he gave lectures and I went through everything. He had a lot of resources. “I then worked with a dialect coach to print a sample of her speech, which was difficult because it’s a mixture of two different regions,” said the actress, who is with husband David E. She arrived with Kelly. “Like most people, I didn’t know much about Betty Ford, probably because [Gerald Ford] He hasn’t been in the White House that long. But he has done a lot in this short time. ”

Pfeiffer detailed Ford’s accomplishments, including raising awareness of breast cancer (after her own struggle), addictions, women’s reproductive health, mental illness, and more. “He saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.

To Anderson, he said THR That she also dove deep, a process that is reflected in the others she has done to play political icons like Margaret Thatcher. wreath, a role that turned him away from Emmy. “What I liked and what seems to be working is starting from the beginning to understand who they are from the moment they are on this planet,” Anderson explained. And then learn as much as you can, watch, listen as much as you can. There’s a certain point where you have to drop it and just hope it’s still there for you to use when you need it in scenes.”

Davis had the benefit of playing a real icon who still exists, and while he said he had limited time on the phone with Obama in preparation for the series, he declined to discuss the nature of that conversation. What Davis has to offer is how he feels about Obama now, after his shoes are worn.

“I feel very safe with her,” said the talented Oscar and Tony Award winner, who is executive producing with husband Julius Tenon, Bierra, Cool, Andrew Wang, Paulina Hatup, Jeff Gaspin and Brad Kaplan. “I don’t know if this is always the case for people who play other people, but a big part of it is for me because we’re both black women. “It’s very rare for black women to be portrayed at this level, so I feel very protective of who they are.”