Rupert Grint Talks “Servant” with Other Actors from the Series
If you’re one of the millions of people who have been enjoying the suspenseful thriller Servant, starring Harry Potter’s own Rupert Grint, there’s a podcast episode you might enjoy for your morning commute. Bloody Disgusting’s podcast The Boo Crew aired a recent episode where the hosts interviewed Lauren Ambrose (Dorothy Turner), Nell Tiger Free (Leanne Grayson), and Rupert Grint (Julian Pearce) from the show.
This is a fantastic episode where they explore all things Servant. The actors shared their love of the horror genre and some fun behind-the-scenes moments. The Servant talk begins around mark 20:00, and Rupert joins in around mark 45:00.
Rupert Grint as Julian Pearce in “Servant.” (Credit: Apple TV+)
The podcast began with Lauren Ambrose discussing her favorite M. Night Shyamalan films and how excited she was to play a complex character like Dorothy in the series. She is psyched that Rupert gets to be a wild character that is brash and materialistic but also extremely funny. Ambrose feels that in several scenes they share together, they work well to find the softness of a brother-sister relationship and that that’s a fun thing for them to explore. Ambrose revealed that a lot of the fun Easter eggs fans see throughout the series, such as the color red being everywhere, are just as much a mystery to the cast as it is for fans. She said that most of that aspect is the workings of Shyamalan’s mind and how he perceives the series.
After Ambrose signs off, and Nell Tiger Free and Rupert join. The interview started off with the question “Have you always been into the horror genre?” Free admitted she has been and that the first horror movie she remembers watching was the original It. Rupert agreed that he’s always been into horror and was a big fan of the Goosebumps book series growing up. The hosts then asked the intriguing question of “Out of all the roles you’ve had, what do these particular roles awaken in you that is uniquely delicious?” Free loves playing the scary character in the scary show, while Rupert loves the uniqueness of it all in general.
For me, it’s a very unique show from anything I’ve ever done before. It’s a very different world. It’s a very small stage that we’re playing in. It’s this house, one place, and we never leave it.
Rupert discussed how the house itself is sort of its own character and that it’s fun to see how that plays out in different scenes. He loves seeing the way Shyamalan sets up different scenes and his minimalist ways of shooting. The hosts then asked how the actors handled filming during the pandemic. Rupert laughed and said, “Well I had a baby.” After congratulations and laughs from the hosts, he talked about how they had shot six episodes before lockdown happened and they went back to their homes before returning to set under strict safety guidelines when they were given the green light to continue filming. Both actors agreed that filming was a great form of escapism for them, and they hope that the show will serve as escapism for the viewers as well.
This episode was surprisingly lighthearted for a horror series. It’s always intriguing to hear behind-the-scenes information and to hear how the actors and crew made changes to continue this series in a socially distant way. For all you Servant fans, what do you think of the second season so far?
