Megan Stalter, Will Sharpe Unpack Too-Perfect Ending

[This story contains major spoilers from the first season of Too Much.]

Lena Dunham needs to make one factor clear: Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe, the celebs of her buzzy new Netflix romantic dramedy sequence Too A lot, aren’t taking part in Dunham and her husband, musician Luis Felber.

Whereas the essential premise was pulled from their very own lives — an American lady strikes to England searching for a recent begin and meets and falls in love with a British musician — Dunham and Felber, who created Too A lot collectively, harassed that they used their very own love story as a jumping-off level for the previous’s long-awaited return to tv.

“We really feel actually, actually fortunate that we received to do that collectively, after which after all the actors are available and the characters turn out to be totally different as a result of the actors have taken over,” Dunham informed The Hollywood Reporter on the Tribeca Movie Pageant final month. “So whereas the germ of it could be autobiographical, it’s gone in instructions I by no means might’ve dreamed.”

For Stalter, a slapstick comedian who grew to become a go-to scene stealer on Hacks, Too A lot proved to be an surprising present from Dunham, who wrote the feminine protagonist with Stalter’s voice in thoughts after discovering her movies on TikTok. “I’ve all the time been so and needed to do extra dramatic stuff, so this was only a dream function. It felt like getting into one thing totally different — actually thrilling and typically difficult,” Stalter tells THR.

In Too A lot, Stalter stars as Jessica Salmon, a New Yorker in her mid-30s who, within the midst of recovering from a nasty break-up, agrees to take a job in London helping filmmakers engaged on commercials. Whereas her goals of falling right into a romantic British fantasy à la Jane Austen novels are rapidly upended, Jessica finds herself instantly drawn to Felix Remen (Sharpe), a grunge musician acting at a neighborhood pub one night.

Each events come to this new romance with their very own private baggage. Jessica’s final accomplice picked at her worst insecurities after which left her for a youthful influencer (performed by Emily Ratajkowski); Felix, a recovering addict with a propensity for falling again into mattress with ex-partners, was uncared for by his dad and mom and sexually abused by a nanny as a toddler. The ten-episode first season explores whether or not Jessica and Felix can overcome their respective pasts and worst impulses to make their relationship work.

Beneath, Stalter and Sharpe open up about how they labored with Dunham to develop their onscreen connection, why their characters’ emotional baggage finally makes their relationship stronger — and why they assume that finale was not the top of the story for the 2 lovebirds.

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On condition that the inspiration for this sequence got here from a extremely private place, what sorts of conversations did you every have with Lena earlier than and after signing on, and the way did these discussions inform the way you approached these characters?

MEGAN STALTER Because it’s so impressed by their relationship nevertheless it’s not a documentary, I really did have lots of questions of what elements she associated to personally. After I’m doing a personality, I all the time take into consideration what methods I’m comparable or totally different, so I needed to know that about Lena and Jessica. We had lots of conversations about that, nevertheless it additionally felt so free. There was no strain to do an impression of them, nevertheless it was inspiring to be round them.

WILL SHARPE Our first conversations have been in regards to the fictionalized world of the present. So proper from the beginning, it was like: These characters aren’t Lena and Lu. The germ of the thought comes from a private place, however she’s writing a narrative and was very encouraging of us to make these characters our personal, which they already have been on the web page. She’s so good at tailoring elements to the actor; she’s so interested by everybody.

In my first assembly along with her, I used to be noticing issues that have been comparable. She’d written Felix as mixed-race [like I am], as a result of Lu is half-Peruvian. And it simply so occurred that Lu moved to England at 8, which is precisely once I moved from Japan to England. I used to be noticing little similarities after which it felt like [she was] making an attempt to dig into, “However how would you form it? What would curiosity you? What can be rewarding for you?”

SLATER The issues that I discover in Jessica are some issues that I discover in myself and Lena, too. We each associated over falling in love with people who find themselves approach totally different than us. After I met her, we simply clicked and I felt like I had identified her perpetually. We’re each very emotionally hooked up to our animals, and so is Jessica. There’s lots that the three of us have in frequent.

A lot of the success of any present — however particularly a romantic dramedy — lies within the chemistry between the leads. Did you two do a chemistry learn?

SHARPE No. We each have been speaking to Lena about this from actually early on. I feel the very first thing I learn was a top level view for the present, not scripts but, after which the scripts began being written. What was useful was that we didn’t over-rehearse both; we had a day or two of rehearsal. We’d met briefly as soon as in L.A. however by probability, after which met correctly at [production company] Working Title on a rehearsal day.

[To Stalter] However I didn’t know that a lot about you as an individual or what you have been like once we began filming. I felt like as a result of the characters are attending to know one another, that possibly introduced a useful stress to these scenes the place we additionally have been nonetheless making an attempt to determine one another out.

STALTER Lena’s so good at casting. She’s so good at writing her characters and understanding them. I bear in mind once I was being informed that you just [to Sharpe] have been the dream individual she needed, too.

SHARPE Identical.

STALTER So I feel she simply knew, and I’m such a fan of Will’s. I trusted Lena that we would have chemistry. We clicked instantly once we began filming.

SHARPE Tthe present is kind of about them making an attempt to determine if there is chemistry.

STALTER Precisely.

SHARPE Additionally simply the truth that I knew you have been humorous from watching Hacks. Having a humorousness is so useful in making a protected surroundings, so if there ever was something that’s like, “How are we going to determine this out?” Understanding that we might have amusing about it was all the time actually useful.

STALTER I really feel the identical. I felt comfy to be humorous, however I didn’t understand how loopy I may very well be. After which I spotted once we began filming that you just like once I’m performing unusual. (Laughs.)

What do you assume Jessica and Felix noticed in one another that drew them to one another within the first place, and why do they hold coming again collectively, despite the bags that they each deliver to the connection?

STALTER I all the time assume when individuals say, “opposites entice,” it’s since you’re seeing one thing in that individual that you really want for your self. Felix is cool differently than Jessica is. They’re so totally different. So we even mentioned when Felix is comfy, he’s speaking lots. When Jessica’s uncomfortable, she talks lots. After which when she’s comfy, she’s quieter. They’re form of opposites; they stability one another. Do you agree?

SHARPE Yeah. I bear in mind asking the same query within the first episode. They’ve had that awkward second on the couch — it was one of many first issues we filmed — he’s left the flat and he’s listening to music. I bear in mind asking Lena, “What do you assume? Is there a particular factor that makes him flip round?” She was like, “I feel it’s only a feeling, and possibly there was one thing there that’s drawing him again.” They each do have baggage and so they’re each making an attempt to start out a brand new chapter of their lives, however possibly there’s only a kind of “humanness” or one thing they really feel like, “There’s something that we’ve got in frequent, despite all of the variations.” Possibly it’s one thing to do with that vulnerability in the long run.

STALTER In the end, they settle for each other. Jessica’s falling for Felix as a result of she’s realizing she’s “an excessive amount of,” however he likes it and thinks it’s a superb factor. Jessica’s ex hated the variations that they’d, and it looks as if Felix is charmed by them.

SHARPE They’re very accepting of all elements of one another, not simply the issues that they’re pleased to current. I discovered it actually transferring when she sings him a lullaby in episode [seven] the place you begin to understand why his defenses are so excessive. I bear in mind us making an attempt to calibrate, “How arduous can Felix push Jess away?” However Jess retains coming in the direction of [him]. Even when Felix is like, “Get away from me. You don’t need to know what that is. I don’t need you to see this. I don’t need you to know this about me.” Jess retains coming. And the truth that she doesn’t choose him for it — if something, all of these issues about one another make them love one another extra. I assume that’s how sturdy relationships are constructed; it’s discovering out the issues that persons are afraid of, or ashamed of, or no matter it’s.

Felix has a behavior of sleeping with all types of girls and protecting his feelings actually bottled up, so Will, I’d think about that a few of the calibration you have been speaking about needed to do with determining the place Felix is on the emotional spectrum at any given time. What do you assume Felix is admittedly searching for? How did you consider the interior aspect of the character past what he’s externalizing along with his habits?

SHARPE I feel he needs to really feel protected, however he’s moved by means of life in a approach and has realized to function in a approach that he’s guarded from actuality. So he presents as cool, however really, his defenses are fairly excessive. I bear in mind us speaking about these compulsions — the habit, the entire behaviors which are there to masks his deeper emotions and the sentiments he’s afraid of. Working with Lena, we have been like, “We should always in all probability actually let that stuff get in the best way of the connection.” I bear in mind saying, “Nonetheless far you need to go along with any of those tales, I’m down for that. Let’s make it arduous for them. The extra they must battle by means of to get again to one another, I really feel just like the extra it’ll imply.”

I like that he fucks up lots and makes errors like, “Hey, I’m making an attempt to remain clear and I’m making an attempt to be a greater individual.” If you happen to simply handle that [completely], what’s the story? So all of these elements of each characters — the weaknesses, the issues and damaged elements — that’s finally what made us really feel protecting of them.

There’s an episode that takes place all through one late evening in Jessica’s house with Felix, the place there’s a mixture of intercourse scenes and pillow speak. How did you consider deepening the sense of intimacy between your characters over the course of the season, and what do you assume will be revealed about every of them by means of the best way they work together behind closed doorways?

SHARPE It was such a daring script, and truthful play to Netflix for going with a two-hander evening inside. It’s a testomony to Lena’s writing and directing that it actually sustains, and in some way she captured that actually arduous to elucidate feeling of while you first met somebody and there’s a quiet giddiness and also you’re revealing just a little little bit of your self, however not an excessive amount of. Time warps, and all of the sudden a complete evening has disappeared and also you’re not fairly positive how. However like we’ve been saying, she made us really feel actually safe and approached these scenes with a tenderness. So we’d run it just a few occasions and get it in our bones, and Lena can be massaging and taking part in round with it, and typically she’d allow us to mess around with it. So by the point we have been capturing, it felt like we have been in that area. Is that truthful to say?

STALTER Yeah, it felt so real looking, and it’s all within the writing. Lena’s such a assured, unimaginable director and author that she knew it was going to really feel like that. That’s what it looks like while you meet somebody, and also you’re like, “Wait, am I going to marry this individual?” (Laughs.) And you then’re like, “Wait, I don’t know them!” It’s simply that lengthy evening the place you don’t need to fall asleep, however you’re like, “We’ve got to fall asleep.” The dialogue is simply so good and real looking. They’re speaking about every part —

SHARPE The whole lot and nothing. (Laughs.)

Loads has modified since Women relating to filming intercourse scenes; a few of Lena’s former co-stars have even spoken about how beneficial an intimacy coordinator would have been when engaged on the present a decade in the past. What did you make of your expertise of working with an intimacy coordinator on Too A lot?

STALTER It was so useful. I’ve by no means performed scenes like that. Our intimacy coordinator, Miriam [Lucia], has been so superb. I felt so protected along with her and Lena and Will, and it was so useful for me to know precisely what was going to occur for precisely how lengthy, and what the scene was purported to be.

SHARPE They made it very straightforward for us and simply broke all of it down. Lena’s is aware of, “I solely want this shot for seven seconds, and we do it as soon as, possibly yet another time.” After which the cumulative affect of these pictures and the way it feels within the present is totally different to the way it felt for us. It was simply very medical, in a approach.

STALTER We by no means overshot something. She is aware of precisely what she wants.

Have been you each ready for the amount of discourse about the spit scene alone within the trailer? Whose concept was it for Felix to spit in Jess’ mouth?

STALTER Nicely, that was within the script.

SHARPE Yeah, within the script.

STALTER That was not one thing I actually thought of as a result of I assumed it’s simply such a brief, fast second, and folks have to recover from it. In the event that they kiss, then there’s spit. [Sharpe laughs.]

SHARPE I solely came upon about this by means of you guys. You have been like, “Are you aware about this?” And I used to be like, “About what?” (Laughs.)

STALTER Then there’s a headline, and he was like, “Wait, what?” Anyway … if persons are kissing, they’re spitting!

Music is such a key a part of Too A lot, partly due to how central it was to Lena and Luis’ — and now Jessica and Felix’s — love story. Will, did you could have any say within the songs that Felix sings within the present? Had you sung onscreen earlier than?

SHARPE I don’t assume I’ve sung onscreen earlier than, however I performed in bands as a youngster in that kind of highschool storage band approach, and labored intently with Lu on his music. They’re all his songs, which I actually liked and did have a say in. So there have been in all probability about 10 songs that we have been and would attempt to determine, “What are those that I really feel most assured taking part in?” Generally we’d adapt them a — I might simplify the guitar barely or play in a barely totally different approach — so I knew I might sing it and play on the similar time. We pushed to do as a lot of it stay as we might, which hopefully provides it only a barely rawer, messier form of realism than if it’s tremendous polished however fully bogus.

The largest factor was the tune within the closing episode initially was a solo piece on the guitar. I pitched to place that on the piano, partly as a result of I’m stronger on the piano, but in addition I puzzled if it could be fascinating to see this man with all his grungy entrance be tremendous weak. We moved it to a unique key to attempt to push my voice into a spot the place it was barely much less comfy, once more for a similar causes. However I liked that a part of it. A few of it was fairly scary, however Lu was very supportive and useful, and so was his producer, Matt. Additionally, we’d have precise band rehearsals, and Prasanna [Puwanarajah] realized to play the drums in two days. It was superb.

What elements of himself is Felix in a position to entry by means of music that he isn’t essentially in a position to entry in on a regular basis conversations?

SHARPE I like that query. It was actually fascinating taking part in a personality the place a few of what he’s expressing is thru music, not by means of dialogue and what he’s saying. There’s that scene the place he’s like, “Nicely, typically I discover music fairly a useful option to make sense of stuff.” I do assume there’s an extent to which Jess is so forthcoming along with her emotions and so expressive with phrases, and even within the large battle that we’ve got within the closing episode, a part of Felix’s frustration is that he doesn’t know the way to specific himself in that approach. So a few of what’s being held in could also be popping out in his songs, and I like the lyrics in his tune within the closing episode. I feel that’s such an attractive tune that Lu wrote.

Meg, Lena’s crowning achievement, Women, was identified for its frank and typically controversial depiction of younger womanhood, and the discourse round that present was very a lot a microcosm of this bigger cultural dialog in regards to the complexity of feminine characters and the way likeable audiences want or need them to be. On condition that Too A lot is a Lena Dunham present, and you’re taking part in a personality who might come throughout as polarizing to some viewers, how do you are feeling about the truth that Jessica may very well be the following feminine protagonist to be on the heart of these conversations?

STALTER Lena does such an incredible job writing characters that simply really feel actual. That’s how persons are in actual life. Nobody’s simply all likable on a regular basis, and I actually am drawn to materials like that and discover that such an unimaginable a part of this story. Folks have already performed that with me on Hacks. Folks say, “Oh my God, we’re obsessive about Kayla.” Or, “oh my God, she’s essentially the most annoying character.”

SHARPE Would you like me to homicide them? (Laughs.)

STALTER Will’s actually offended about that. I don’t ever actually care about what individuals assume on-line, so it’s simply fascinating to me to listen to. Additionally, I’ve been a standup for therefore lengthy. I’ve been in rooms the place no person’s preferred my comedy.

SHARPE If nobody’s preferred your comedy, nobody’s preferred mine. (Laughs.) But additionally, the present is about that, isn’t it? The present is about, “Don’t be afraid to be your self. You’ll all the time discover your individuals that you just click on with and that you just join with, and why must you disguise away?” So, yeah, I really feel just like the present is already coping with that dialog.

STALTER And picture if [on] Women, all of the characters have been very nice, candy individuals in each scene. It’d be so boring. You like to observe reveals the place you’re form of offended on the character and you then love them once more. I feel it’s so cool. I imply, it’s what I need to watch.

The primary season ends with Jessica and Felix getting married, however that doesn’t essentially imply that they’ll stay fortunately ever after. What would you each be most trying ahead to exploring in a possible second season?

SHARPE I assume that’s a query for Lena. I do know she’s interested by it and has concepts. I used to be about to only make some silly issues up. (Laughs.)

Please be at liberty!

STALTER That might be so humorous, when you have a full storyline. Lena’s writing is so shocking. [With] Women, each season was so totally different, and also you’re like, “I might have by no means predicted that occuring.” In order that’s what I might be excited to see — her concepts and ideas about the place they may very well be. As a result of clearly, it’s not the top while you get married; it’s not abruptly like every part’s straightforward and ideal now, and nothing’s taking place.

SHARPE There’s a line that [Will’s] like, “How lengthy ought to we keep married?”

STALTER And [Jessica’s] like, “Wait, you’re kidding, proper?”

SHARPE I feel that’s as a result of Lena needed to only wink on the viewers and barely undercut the form of good ending and simply be like, “Let’s see how this goes.” So the spirit of that thriller, I suppose, is there within the ending.

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Too A lot is now streaming on Netflix.