Dark comedy Sunny Nights brought Will Forte, 55, and D’Arcy Carden, 45, to Australia – and they left with far more than a few good stories.
The new series follows their characters, a brother-sister duo who move to Australia to start a spray tan company. Their dream becomes a lot more complicated, however, when they accidentally embroil themselves in Sydney’s underworld.
From NRL games and surprise huntsman spider encounters, to falling in love with the people and culture, the pair gush to WHO about their time filming Down Under. Read on for the full interview…
WHO: The show balances drama and comedy really well – is that a fun space for you both as actors to navigate?
D’ARCY CARDEN I think so. I think it’s maybe my favourite. It’s fun to mix up what you know in any way – full drama, broad comedy. As an actor who loves to do comedy, it’s also really fun to dip into this more grounded, serious world. And so we got to really play in both worlds in a way that I find very satisfying.
WILL FORTE Yeah, the writers, Nick [Keetch] and Ty [Freer], just did a fantastic job of somehow weaving together all these different [genres] – all the parts that are dramatic seem really grounded. But then there are times that we’re just being dopes. And it feels right at home, too. And then, of course, Trent O’Donnell, who directed it, is so talented, so smart, so funny. It was just a delight. If somebody said, “You can only work with Trent O’Donnell for the rest of your life,” I’d be very happy. Also, Trent brought together all these incredible Australian actors that we had never worked with before or met before, and we just were day after day, continuously blown away by how good they are.
WHO: It’s great to see some of the Aussie talent shine in this series, too.
WILL They blew us away. We came out of here with such an appreciation for every aspect of Australia. What a beautiful place, what a bunch of incredible, talented actors and then, outside of the show, just what a society – respectful, wonderful, pleasant, just funny, loving [and] endearing people.
D’ARCY We really loved it. Usually – even in a beautiful place or whatever – when you’re shooting outside of your home, you’re sort of itching to get home. And we didn’t have that in Australia – we were hoping it could be extended.
WILL I already went in thinking – I mean, except for the spider stuff, which is a very overblown fear – I was so excited. I knew that I was gonna love it. And this exceeded even my incredibly high expectations. I mean, blew them out of the water.
WHO: I love that, because people think Australia is all bugs and spiders, but you rarely see them in the city!
D’ARCY It’s propaganda. We interviewed a few assistants beforehand. I talked to a bunch to see who I’d match with, and my main criteria was basically: “Will you save me from a spider in my apartment? Will you come get it and remove it?”
WILL I was on the lookout for huntsman spiders all the time – then, one night, right by the entrance of the door, I saw this insanely big spider. [My on-set assistant] Jackie was still in the car. I flagged her down and brought her over, and she said, “Oh, that’s a baby huntsman.”
D’ARCY (laughs) Yeah, you went, “That’s a baby?!”
WHO: Sporting legend Willie Mason plays an important character in the series. Did you catch any NRL games while you were here?
WILL Yes, he took us to a Roosters game!
D’ARCY And I’ve been wearing my Roosters hat for a year and a half.
WILL I got a sweatshirt. That’s the comfiest sweatshirt. I love it.
D’ARCY He took us to a rugby game – a lot of the crew and Will’s wife and my husband – and we had so much fun, and people went nuts for him. Trent gave us the lay of the land with Willie and who he is to Australia and his résumé with being this incredible athlete. And so we were truly blown away by his performance. Even on day one, he came in so prepared and natural.
WILL What a delightful person, too. Just a sweetheart.
(Sunny Nights premieres Fri., Dec. 26 on Stan)
