Bridget Regan Had To Stop Herself From Doing Nick Nolte Impressions On The Set Of "Paradise Lost"
Bridget Regan, who plays Frances in the new Spectrum Original series, "Paradise Lost," gushes about the show's amazing cast, which includes screen legends Nick Nolte and Barbara Hershey.
Video Transcript
- I wouldn't be doing my job if I let you go without telling you how much I enjoy your new show that's coming up, and I'd like to ask you a little bit about it, if that's OK.
BRIDGET REGAN: Yes, let's talk about "Paradise Lost."
- "Paradise Lost," it's a Spectrum original. It's dropping April 13, which I believe is next Monday.
BRIDGET REGAN: Crazy.
- And I'm just very curious, you know, how did this journey begin? How did this all come together? How did you first get introduced to this world, to Frances? What attracted you to this project?
BRIDGET REGAN: It was actually a really major whirlwind experience for me. I was coming back to work after the birth of my son, and an audition came up. I read the first two scripts. I think I was about, like, 10 pages in, and went online to find out what this show was based on, because I thought it surely had to be based on a series of novels or something, and it wasn't. It was just this distinctly original, really fully realized portrait of the south, set in-- you know, with all these characters that seemed so mysterious. And it was wild.
And, you know, I actually-- really, my main goal when I was getting back to work after the birth of my son was to-- I really wanted to play a mom, because I'd played all these really over-the-top villains and really bad ass, awesome characters, but I felt like I had this well of mom life experience to draw from. And, yeah, that's what I really wanted to do, and it was crazy when, you know, you-- it just happened. And, yeah, I was on a plane I think five days after I auditioned, off to Louisiana. Packed up my family and off we went.
- Filmed down in Baton Rouge, right?
BRIDGET REGAN: Yeah, yeah. The show's set in Mississippi, but we filmed on all these great locations down there in Louisiana.
- How long were you guys down there for?
BRIDGET REGAN: I think it was like four months or so. It was hot, let me tell you. That's no joke.
- That's what I hear. I haven't personally been, but the consistent review from everyone is it's hot. It's hot down there.
BRIDGET REGAN: Oh, yeah. Yeah. But it's--
- What time of year were you there?
BRIDGET REGAN: Oh, summer. Height of summer.
- There you are. That's it. Proper baptism by fire. That is literal. That's it.
BRIDGET REGAN: Yeah, yeah. But the crew was awesome. The cast was, like, a dream. I mean, I was pinching myself every day.
- I try to go into stuff like this-- because we have to watch a lot of shows, I try to go in pretty clean so I can get an honest read of the show, and I was like 15 minutes in, and I was like is that Nick Nolte?
BRIDGET REGAN: It's Nick frickin' Nolte! Like--
- Oh, my god. I was blown away.
BRIDGET REGAN: I know. I mean, he's--
- So many amazing people.
BRIDGET REGAN: --he's a hero. And Barbara Hershey, I mean, the whole cast. It's like working with-- I'm obsessed with older actors, because they have-- whenever I'm on set with an older actor, I'm immediately trying to scoot my chair next to them. Because they have-- they're so chill. They're so cool, they're so calm. They've just seen it all. And they also have the best stories. I mean, Nick Nolte. He's--
- How do you-- how do you get them to tell the stories? Because obviously they get this shit every set they go to. Somebody comes up to them and is like, tell me your cool stories. How did you very slickly get into that zone, and be like, so share all of your amazing Nick Nolte tales.
BRIDGET REGAN: Yeah. I could tell Nick, like, when he was in the mood for talking about it all. He's used to it, you know? He knows. He knows what we want to hear about. I mean-- the best was actually his stories about Robert Shaw and shooting "The Deep." Do you know that movie?
- Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.
BRIDGET REGAN: I mean it's-- Jacqueline Bisset is like, whoa! And they were just-- he was-- he's so-- he's got this naughtiness in him that is still there, and it makes him such a playful, fun actor to watch. And he's still like that in his work. I mean, the scenes that I had with him, he's still just as sharp and with it and funny, and yeah. I just-- I felt super, super blessed.
- It's so exciting to see him, too He just-- recently, he had done a voice. I don't know if it was motion capture as well, but he was in "The Mandalorian," and I recognized him. You recognize that voice right away. You know his voice anywhere.
BRIDGET REGAN: (GROWLING) [INAUDIBLE] Yes. [INAUDIBLE] You know. We all had to resist doing Nolte impressions on set all day long.
- You know that you could hear him. But it's just so cool to see him. And, again, you mentioned her as well, but you can't talk about legends and not bring up Barbara Hershey. I mean, so many amazing people that you were surrounded by. Is that-- because you are no slouch. You've done so many amazing projects. You were a part of "Jane the Virgin," this huge, incredible show. But are you yourself intimidated by that presence, those old Hollywood-- they've been around, they've seen it all. What does it feel like coming onto a set with them?
BRIDGET REGAN: I mean, totally. I had to-- I mean, in the beginning, I was so overwhelmed with the amount of work that I had to do to get ready to shoot. And I felt that part of my mind going-- you know that really nasty voice in your head that you have to just shut up and say, no. I deserve to be here. I'm going to bring it. Let's get to work, and let's not waste a bit of energy with that. Because it was easy to feel intimidated. I mean, Josh Hartnett and Shane McRae, all these really great actors.
And thankfully everyone was super open and really available to play off of and, yeah. It was-- in terms of feeding off of my partners in scenes, I felt like I had an all stars team sort of vibe.
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