Tell Me Your Secrets is the latest thriller series from Amazon, focused on interweaving the lives of three troubled characters whose pasts haunt their present. The first season premieres on February 19, opening on the aftermath of a series of killings and disappearances that have left many shattered in their wake.
Emma Hall (Lily Rabe, American Horror Story) is in witness protection after being suspected of helping her boyfriend commit murders, but Mary Barlow (Amy Brenneman, The Leftovers) is desperate enough to find her disappeared daughter that she hires predator-turned-private-eye John Tyler (Hamish Linklater, Legion) to track Emma down and learn the truth.
As those three protagonists converge on the town of St. James, other characters with strong connections to the place and its mysteries come out of the woodwork. Rose (Chiara Aurelia, The Brave) is a young girl in town drawn to Emma and potentially connected to a new set of disappearances, while Lisa (Ashley Madekwe, Revenge) is married to Emma's protection officer and full of questions for her husband. The actresses spoke to Screen Rant about preparing for their roles and unraveling the show's secrets.
How did you both become involved in the project? Did you audition or was it offered to you, and what made you want to be part of it?
Ashley Madekwe: I read the script as a read for interest from my agent, and I was immediately interested. I was told about the character of Lisa in a collection of scenes that were sent to me, because a lot of the stuff that I saw wasn't in the scripts that I read.
I put those scenes on tape, and then I had a conversation with Harriet after it was offered to me, where she told me a bit about where Lisa will be going and some of the things and themes I'd get to explore through the course the series. That sounded really interesting to me, and I fell in love with Harriet.
Chiara Aurelia: I remember vividly when I first got this audition. I was working on a film, and I started reading the first couple of pages. I was working every day, and I was like, "I can't read this, because if I read it, I'm gonna want to tape for it. I'm not going to get it, because I'm so tired. I can't do it right now." But my agent was like, "It's gonna go away, and you're not getting another opportunity. You need to tape."
I took a couple of weeks, and I called like, "Please tell me it's still available." She was like, "Yeah, actually, they'd still be willing to see you on tape." I did a tape for it, and then they on pause for six months, saying, "We don't know where the show's gonna fall and what's gonna end up happening, but we liked your tape, so we'll see." Six or seven months went by, and I got a call that they were making it and wanted me to be Rose. I was immediately excited and enthralled and joyous about this experience, and within a month or two, I was in New Orleans filming the pilot.
I had some really nice conversations with Harriet, as well as our director at the time, about where they imagined my character going. There was a lot of backstory and information I had to create before going into film the pilot because, as you may know, there's a lot more going on with her character as the season continues.
What was the collaboration process like with Harriet. How much does she give you of your character's story versus just following what's on the page?
Ashley Madekwe: I think one of the things that Harriet is really great at is gifting actors backstory. She was very generous with backstory, because in life, you don't know what's going to happen in the future to you. I don't think it's that relevant for actors to know exactly what's going to happen to the character next, but it's really important to know where the character has been, because that informs who you are.
Harriet's incredibly generous with backstory, and I loved hearing about it. I probably annoyed her, because I asked so many questions.
Rose has a very different life from within the walls of her home. How do you approach playing someone who has such a hard exterior versus a soft interior?
Chiara Aurelia: Yeah, I did my best not to judge her. I think that became a really big part of it; to not stereotype her, because I've known a lot of people in my life where you see a very rough exterior, and you expect one thing. Then you end up learning more, and as long as you're open to learning, I think that you can end up seeing a whole different world than you imagined.
I think that was a really beautiful part of Rose. At first glance, she seemed one way. But as I got to know her better, and as we merged into one character and one human over the course of this series, it was really incredible experience. It also has taught me in, my personal life, that you can never really judge a book by a cover by its cover because you don't know what's going on when you're not around. I think we all need to take the opportunity to get to know everyone a little better.
Lisa seems to have gone from idolizing her husband Pete in the past to doubting him in the present. How does she feel about the state of her marriage when we first meet her?
Ashley Madekwe: I think that Lisa is in love with her husband, and I think that she almost has revered him previously. In having a child, there's been an awakening in her, and I think it's caused her to question who she is as a woman and examine the dynamic of her relationship more closely than she had done previously. Peter is emotionally failing her in a way, and she starts to pick the scab of their marriage and try to find out more about him. Almost, I think, to the detriment of their relationship.
Rose has a very complicated set of feelings towards Emma. How does their first meeting impact Rose?
Chiara Aurelia: The way that I imagine Rose, I think there's very few things that catch her by surprise. I think she's been through a lot, and there's a very limited amount of situations that shock and scare her. That fear means she's feeling something, and I think she's been numb to reality for a really long time.
No matter how toxic and potentially detrimental this relationship can be, she's extremely drawn to Emma and extremely drawn to developing a friendship with her. I think that's a really interesting part of the show, and I think it sets a path for everything that ends up happening over the course of the rest of the series.
New Orleans is an unusual filming location, as opposed to an LA or Vancouver soundstage. Did being there help inform your character or the show's atmosphere?
Ashley Madekwe: Louisiana has its own vibe, and then New Orleans has its own particular vibe on top of that. It's very much a cultural melting pot, and there's an energy to the city of New Orleans that I think is unique. Then you have the more rural places, which I think inform the atmosphere of our show even more than the city perhaps.
Chiara Aurelia: Yeah, I actually spent a little bit of time in some of the parishes while I was there. I walked around and tried to inform some of Rose's childhood and were she grew up, which was a really incredible experience. I love the city of New Orleans, and I like the time I spent in Louisiana. But I definitely think being around that energy can affect the vibration of the show, as well as the story.
When we met Lisa, she seems very isolated as a character. How does that affect your interpretation of her, or do you have a sense of her interactions outside of therapist and Pete?
Ashley Madekwe: Acting can be quite a lonely job anyway, because you do a lot of the work by yourself at home before you get to set. In that aspect, I was used to that for the character.
Yeah, she was kind of isolated. But I think that it was right for her storyline. That is a dynamic that's not unfamiliar to a new mom, being at home by yourself a baby all day while your husband's at work. He comes home, and you want to talk or might want to have a great conversation with him, and he doesn't want. I think the isolation was right for the character.
Rose's relationship with her parents has a sense of both comfort and danger in it. How does she reconcile how hot and cold they run with her?
Chiara Aurelia: I think that there is some psychological trauma, and some childhood trauma that she's faced. She's normalized, to some capacity, the struggles that she's been through - which I think we all do in moments of extreme turmoil and trauma. And I think that it's been going on since she was so young, that she might not even be able to notice when something isn't okay anymore. Just because someone may be kind to you in certain moments doesn't justify behavior of toxicity and emotional abuse.
Let's say that we get to season two. What would you each like to explore for your characters, in terms of facets of their life or backstory?
Ashley Madekwe: I wouldn't even dare to. I don't know is the real answer to that. As an actor, I'm better at being told where it's going.
Chiara Aurelia: I think there's no end to that question and no beginning. I think that there is an endless amount of possibilities and opportunities for all the characters in the show, and I'd be interested in what the fans want to see and what we can explore. More than in terms of my character, I'm really excited to see where some other characters' stories go as well.
Tell Me Your Secrets premieres February 19 on Amazon Prime.