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We are at a crossroads as women right now, she said.
Im curious about the ones who are the holdouts who dont want to go there.
Im going to ask my most superficial question first: How did you feel about Debras cheap wig?
I have a lot of opinions about the wig.[Laughs.]
Well, the point was that no one would know it was me.
She wasnt going for glamour!
Of course, I was like, Yes.
I was interested even though I didnt know the podcast.
I then read all the LATimesarticles and listened to the podcast.
Unlike many other people, I totally understood where she was coming from.
I was interested in exploring where she came from.
I wasnt so quick to judge her or blame her.
Its easy to blame the victim and that wasnt my impulse at all.
That history is very deep and very old.
It still exists for a lot of women, particularly for someone of Debras generation.
These are not things specific to Debra.
These are varying ideas that have been passed down to women for decades and decades.
That is a great example, to some degree, of the man was valued more than the woman.
She had a lot of guilt about not being able to forgive that man.
Do you think thatDirty Johndismantles those ideas about women?In terms of the culture, I dont know.
Thats an idealized hope.
Whether we accomplished that or not, I dont know.
I know for sure that she is going to think twice before getting married again.
Its a hard way to learn a lesson.
Those scenes were harder for me.
John is really scary on screen.
Were you scared during filming?Not really.
I mean, yes, in the moment, but I was never scared of Eric Bana.
I was never scared of Eric.
I love that scene where theyre in her closet and she just looks at John and says, Move.
But, yes, in the context of filming, there was a safety net.
What was it like when you met the real Debra?It was fantastic.
I find her so fascinating and she was incredibly warm and helpful.
It was really wonderful to have her be so forthcoming with her own experience and vulnerability.
In the show, Debra is both passive and manipulative at the same time.
Women can become very good at it because its a matter of survival.
There is also a healthy dose of denial that helps sustain a certain belief system.
Youre also play Roger Ailes wife, Beth, inan upcoming movie.
Are there similarities between her and Debra?There are.
It felt a little schizophrenic, but I found these similarities between them.
We are at a crossroads as women right now.
Im curious about the ones who are the holdouts who dont want to go there.
I have no judgment.
I want to understand them better.
They represent a big population of the women in the United States.
There is something that feels very true to them about the conventions that they grew up with.
For them, that is their truth.
I think theyre making a choice that feels right for them.
Whether its conscious or unconscious, its what is true for them.
