Stan
If you’ve come to know Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman from their hilarious roles in rom-coms like Pitch Perfect and The Heartbreak Kid respectively, prepare to be shocked while watching the sultry new thriller The Hunting Wives.
The series follows Sophie (played by Brittany) as she moves with her husband from Chicago to a small Texas town.
But rather than finding a quiet life, Sophie is drawn into a group of reckless rich housewives led by the seductive and dangerous Margo (Malin).
Wine and late nights won’t be Sophie’s biggest problems for long though, as she gets entangled in a murder investigation and her life quickly spirals out of control.
Malin, 47, and Brittany, 39, sat down with WHO to unpack the thrill of stepping into such layered roles and the real-life camaraderie that went on behind the scenes.
WHO: What attracted you to portraying such different characters than you do usually?
Malin: Margo Banks might just be the most fun person I’ve ever played. I can be a people pleaser and she doesn’t care, she just does whatever she wants. Her arc throughout the episodes is just wild.
Brittany: I felt like there was so much depth and nuance to Sophie because she has been through so many traumas. After the first couple of episodes, you will really see her transform into someone who I was very proud to play.
What was the most challenging part of playing Sophie?
Brittany: At the start, I didn’t want her to come across as dumb or naive, but curious and relatable. As the show went on – and this is something I talk about in therapy because it doesn’t come naturally to me – but how to be angry as a woman. I just cry. There were scenes where I had to turn to Malin and say, “I’m having a really hard time being angry. Can you help me harness that?”
Malin: I think through several takes we just got there. Even when she says she couldn’t get somewhere, I think Brittany had already gotten there.
Did you find Margo relatable?
Malin: Absolutely, although I hope I only have some of her good traits. I think she is quite free with her body and who she is and isn’t too concerned with being stuck within the confines of what society expects her to be – and I have a similar approach to life. But I don’t care about the struggle for power that she does and I have much more supportive relationships with my girlfriends in real life.
Do you think Sophie will be seen as a villain or a victim?
Brittany: I think she’s really an amalgamation of everything. That is the great thing about the show – there is no victim, no hero, no villain. Everyone has many layers to them.
With such dark themes on the show, what was the vibe like on the set?
Malin: It definitely wasn’t method [acting]. It was like being at summer camp. Of course, the days that were a bit more emotional, I think we were just very gentle with each other and made sure that we felt good and gave space where necessary.
The Hunting Wives has such a great cast. What was it like working with Chrissy Metz and Katie Lowes?
Malin: Oh, incredible. Every single name on this cast list was brilliant. We lucked out with all these fantastic actors who happened to be incredible human beings. Katie and Chrissy and all the rest really just were great women.
Obviously, there are worse ways to make a living than being paid to make out with Dermot Mulroney…
Malin: He was our very own rom-com heart-throb! Dermot really is everything you hope he would be in real life. We all couldn’t help but love him.
Any word on a second season?
Brittany: When we were filming, we were talking about hopefully doing a second season because it was so much fun and we didn’t want it to end and to head home. So we’ll need to see…
