Maura Tierney: Feisty Grace struggles to accept good fortune on 'American Rust'

NEW YORK, March 28 (UPI) -- The Affair, NewsRadio and ER actress Maura Tierney says her American Rust character, Grace, will experience a "radical change" in financial circumstances during Season 2 of the crime drama.

Kicking off its second season Thursday on Amazon Freevee three years after Season 1 premiered on Showtime, the contemporary Pennsylvania-set series finds Grace celebrating the release of her son Billy (Alex Neustaedter) from prison.

Billy then gives Grace the hefty settlement he won for injuries he sustained while he was awaiting trial for a murder he didn't commit so his mother can buy the property they've lived on for years.

Grace also continues to navigate complicated relationships with her ex-husband, the ne'er-do-well Virgil (Mark Pelligrino), and her current boyfriend, Del (Jeff Daniels), a detective with the Pittsburgh Police Department.

Luna Lauren Velez plays Del's work partner, Angela, while Rob Yang plays Steve, who has taken over for Del as the chief of police in Buell, the small town in which they all live.

"It was really interesting to get to play this character who has been struggling her whole life [and is] finally in a little bit of a position of independence and able to call the shots," Tierney told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"It was fun to play a character who, in Season 1, tells her son, 'We are taught to believe we don't deserve anything. That's not true. We do.' But when Grace finally does receive some good fortune, she struggles with being deserving of that."

Grace also is dealing with Billy and Del -- the most important people in her life at this point -- putting some distance between themselves and her.

"Del has left and lives in Pittsburgh now. They only see each other on the weekends," Tierney said.

"He's not there, and her son has drawn some very clear boundaries about keeping her where she belongs in his life," she added. "In terms of those two relationships, she has to grapple with the fact that she has a lot less control and everyone won't do what she wants when she wants it."

Virgil continues to be a thorn in Grace's side.

"But I really do love that relationship because it's the longest one. Of all the guys she is emotionally involved with, she and her soon-to-be-ex-husband were children when they met," Tierney said.

"It's really fun to do those scenes with Mark. We have an easy way with each other and the characters do, too. As angry as Grace can get at him, he knows her the best."

Grace may be a fierce character, but Tierney said she doesn't have to do anything specific to get into her mindset.

"I love the irreverence of the character. She truly doesn't care what anybody thinks, which is a goal. She's very flawed in many other ways, but it's liberating," Tierney said.

"All of us, to some degree, care what other people think. She kind of doesn't in an almost sociopathic kind of way," the actress said with a laugh.

"I don't have to rev up too much. It's just freeing to get outside whatever my mental hang-ups are. This season, I tried to lean a little more into Grace's sense of humor."

Tierney said she hopes that aspect of her character helps lighten up the darker elements of the show, which deal with crime, injustice and poverty.

"These two people [Grace and Del] just want to be at peace with each other and in the world and be content, but it's hard to be at peace and content when you are struggling for a lot of basic necessities and you don't have a roof over your head," she said. "Everybody wants the same things."

In a separate Zoom chat, Lost alum Pelligrino described Virgil as "the guy you want at your Super Bowl" party.

"He's the guy who takes the party with him everywhere he goes, and I love that about him. There is something optimistic and great about a person who can pull of that kind of emotional dynamic, no matter what the situation is," the actor said.

Pellegrino said he was happy to return to the role after the show was first delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then canceled by Showtime and then sidelined because of the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes.

"The great thing about it was the writers were beginning an entirely different season and entirely different vibe and tone," he said.

"The characters flow over from Season 1, but they are far more developed. Virgil has quite a backstory and is growing as a person throughout Season 2."

This season sees Virgil trying to achieve an equilibrium with Grace, according to Pelligrino.

"The relationship has been thrown off for decades. He does what he wants. He doesn't like restraints or restrictions. She is fed up with him," the actor said.

"But they are both starting their lives with other people and some things are happening in Grace's life that it behooves her to practically, if she can, unite her interests with Virgil," he added.

"They have kids together. They have to be aware that they have to be in each other's space for a long time, so they might as well live with that."

Virgil also knows he has to look after Billy, who is disabled after his short, but violent, stint behind bars.

"That comes with physical side effects, but also emotional and psychological side effects and that taps something in Virgil -- a latent desire to be a dad that really starts him on the first steps to reconciling with his son," Pelligrino said.

Being able to be a part of a show that tells an entertaining story, but also mirrors the real-life struggles some viewers may recognize is an actor's dream, he added.

"Art reflects life, but, then, tells us what is possible, as well," Pelligrino said.

"You get people in the Rust Belt [of America] and you discover that when you scratch the rust, there is iron underneath. These people have a durability to them and they are connected by love and the love pushes them forward, irrespective of what their flaws are, irrespective of what's going on in the world.

"That makes you want to root for them."