The first question for Rose Byrne about her role in the crimethriller
Damages has to be: what is it like working withGlenn Close? They share many intense scenes in the legal drama,which revolves around the relationship between duplicitoushigh-powered lawyer Patty Hewes (Close) and bright new intern EllenParsons (Byrne). Was it intimidating working opposite such a bigstar?
"She is very thorough. She's obviously an incredible actress andshe brings a prestige to our show," Byrne, 29, says by phone fromSydney.
"Glenn is very smart and so good with dialogue. Everyone alwayssays: 'Is she like a mentor to you in real life?' She's not. She'smore of a friend. She's very much a collaborator.
"Like any actor, she's focused on making the scene better."
It should be remembered that despite her relative youth, Byrnehas already worked with big-name actors — Brad Pitt(
Troy), Nicolas Cage (
Knowing) and Kirsten Dunst(
Marie Antoinette). On
Damages, she is also sharingscenes with Ted Danson, William Hurt, Tate Donovan and Marcia GayHarden.
Such a high-calibre cast is testament to the fact that in theUS, television is no longer seen as a step down from film acting.
The Sopranos,
The West Wing,
Mad Men,
TheShield and
Damages have all provided terrific scripts,substantial roles and a lasting cultural resonance.
Byrne believes working on a top-shelf TV drama can be moreengaging than film. But it is a craft she is still learning.
"Television is a different skill; it's more like you are acharacter in a novel," she says. "You need to allow the audience inmore and to create a private life for your character so that youare fully rounded and not just like a cut-out, so the audienceinvests a bit more in you and wants to come back."
Born and raised in Sydney, Byrne has spent much of the pastdecade dividing her time between Australia and the US. HerAustralian accent is intact, yet on screen she is thoroughlyconvincing as Ellen, an all-American girl working hard in New YorkCity.
"Ellen comes from New Jersey so we went out to Jersey one dayand hung out. But they didn't want me to do a Jersey accent oranything like that," Byrne says, adding that in researching herrole she also spent time with a New York corporate lawyer, then,for the second series, an FBI agent and a trauma counsellor.
"Since I was 18, I have spent half my life in America and I havea relationship with the country that serves me when a role likeEllen comes," she says.
Although TV crime dramas tend to offer self-contained episodes,
Damages' storytelling-style is highly demanding: the actionjumps between real time, the future and the past and is verydialogue driven. Red herrings abound in a thriller that unfolds atthe relentless pace of a John Grisham novel (though with a lot morepanache).
Series creators Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kesslerhave said the show's chop-change chronology allows them toconstantly tweak the story as they film. If a plot line orcharacter works better than anticipated, they pursue it. Theruthless tycoon Arthur Frobisher (Danson), for example, was onlyintended as a small role but Danson's performance was so engagingthey gave him a much meatier part.
While this makes the show as sharp as possible, it also makesfor challenging working conditions. At the start of each season,scripts are delivered about a week ahead, but as the creators startchanging their minds about the show's direction, scripts arefinished just a day before shooting.
"That used to drive me mad," Byrne says. "But I recently did apanel with some other lead actresses and January Jones (
MadMen) was there and she told me she gets scripts the day before,so that made me feel a lot better.
"That's my favourite show on television by far."
There are points of similarity between
Mad Men and
Damages: each was made for a small US cable network that waslooking to attract attention by investing in a high-quality dramaand each has a unique production quality and style. While the AMCnetwork's
Mad Men is distinctively 1960s New York, the FXnetwork's
Damages is highly contemporary and set in theritzy offices and apartments of that city's intellectual elite.
As series two opens, there are key differences to the mainprotagonists. Patty Hewes is wearing her hair longer andbeautifully coiffed, while Ellen presents as older andclassier.
"That was Glenn's whole thing; she wanted the longer hairbecause at the start of season two, their roles have reversed;Patty is much softer and Ellen is tough. The guys are very visual.It's a stylish show," Byrne says.
This time around, her character is expensively dressed and farmore sure of herself.
"We wanted to make her very steely and in black outfits. Herclothes are her armour: very sophisticated and beautifullytailored," Byrne says.
"After everything she has been through (in series one, herfiancee was murdered and Patty also tried to have Ellen killed),she looks older and more gaunt. Her vulnerability got her into somuch trouble in the first season, so second season, she is more ofa warrior."
Byrne, who was flying back to her New York base the day after wespoke, is also working on a small part in the Russell Brand film
Get Him to the Greek.
Filming for series three of
Damages starts inSeptember.
"Season two is a lot about how similar Ellen and Patty havebecome and how Ellen has delved into the dark side. I think it'scool the way they (the creators) dealt with it in the end; it's away that keeps the audience invested in Ellen."
- Interview by Nicole Brady for The Age
Series one of Damages is available on DVD. Seriestwo starts Thursday, July 16, at 7.30pm on W.