Xuenou > Movies > Phillipa Soo On The “Complexity” Of Female Stories, Meeting Julie Andrews Backstage At “Hamilton,” And Her New Romance Movie “One True Loves”
Phillipa Soo On The “Complexity” Of Female Stories, Meeting Julie Andrews Backstage At “Hamilton,” And Her New Romance Movie “One True Loves”
Phillipa Soo On The "Complexity" Of Female Stories, Meeting Julie Andrews Backstage At "Hamilton," And Her New Romance Movie "One True Loves","I think, like a lot of female characters in a historical canon, that there's so much more to dig under there than we realized because we're only now starting to understand the complexity and the intrigue of women's stories and them being told in a sort of authentic and truthful way. I feel an incredible honor and privilege, and responsibility."

Phillipa Soo On The “Complexity” Of Female Stories, Meeting Julie Andrews Backstage At “Hamilton,” And Her New Romance Movie “One True Loves”

John Merrick / The Avenue

2. What was it like meeting your onscreen love interests Simu Liu and Luke Bracey for the first time?

Well, we first met over Zoom, because when we started working together, it was still during the pandemic. It was great. I mean, we were in three different parts of the world. Luke had to get up super early in order to join us because he was in Australia at that time. But it was awesome. I mean, it’s such a luxury to have so much prep time and so much table work time, so we really were able to establish their relationships, the overall arc of the story, and the three of them together and how that all works. We were able to do that in a Zoom room on a call together so that by the time we got to set, we could really just launch off and fly and play and have beautiful moments together with each other. It was like sparks for both of them. Just in our own way that we developed these characters and their love for each other. It was really fun and shiny and sparkly, and authentic and playful.

3. One of the best parts of One True Loves is that Emma gets to have these two equally beautiful, yet heartbreaking, love stories with Sam and Jesse. What was it like playing out the dynamics of these two very different relationships with Simu and Luke?

It was really fun, like a really good actor challenge to get to play these different sides of Emma. Not only are you dealing with two different people and two different relationships, but two different points in her life — two different time periods, almost. One is before, and one is after a tragic loss. So, that was really my anchor throughout the process. Like, just reminding myself, Okay, so where are we today? Because this morning, it was before Jesse left, and this afternoon, we’re shooting something when Jesse hasn’t come back yet. You know? So, tracking that for myself was a really fun challenge.

Photo Credit: John Merrick / John Merrick

4. Yes, exactly! Now, Emma’s in this predicament where the husband she thought was dead, has suddenly come back into her life, but she’s about to marry someone else. Did you have a preference for who Emma ended up with?

I was, well, rooting for both of the men that she was in love with. Every single page turn, it was like, Oh, man, that would be so good for her, but this is just a little bit better. And she’s a different person now! But oh, maybe she should follow her gut instinct? 

I think that feeling that I was having while reading it was really useful because I’m sure she was asking herself a lot of the same questions, too. So, bringing that to life was really interesting and fun. And as an actor, I always enjoy exploring those gray nuanced areas.

5. The film takes place in New England, but you all shot in Wilmington, North Carolina. What was it like filming there as opposed to LA or NYC?

Oh my gosh. I decided to live by the beach. Which, I mean, it was a little further from where we were shooting, but I had a car there, and it was lovely. It was such a dream to be able to wake up in the morning — if I wasn’t shooting too early because I was [working] almost every day — and go down to the beach, look for dolphins, get a coffee, and then, like, start my day. It was quite perfect.

BuzzFeed: Were there any local spots you and the rest of the cast liked to hang out at during your downtime?

Honestly, I can’t remember the name of any of the restaurants I went to off the top of my head, but there was a sushi place that was really awesome that we would frequent. And there was a seafood place downtown. That was really good. I wish I could remember the names!

John Merrick / The Avenue

6. What was your first reaction when you found out you’d be playing Cinderella in Into The Woods?

Oh my gosh, it was a dream. I mean, [she’s] an iconic character from fantasy canon, but also to be in a Sondheim musical. Just moments after losing Sondheim and getting to honor him and his work and what it did for me just growing up — hearing those songs and being so moved by his body of work, I felt like I was able to honor him in getting to do it. We got to meet and speak with [Into the Woods librettist] James Lapine. And it was just such a warm and inviting cast. Lear [DeBessonet], our director, was just calm, cool, and collected the whole time. 

We put it up in 10 days, which was terrifying for me. It was one of those moments where you think you know the song because you’ve sung it or sung along to it, but then you actually go to look at the music and you’re like, Oh, wait, I haven’t seen that. It’s totally different. Oh, and that’s not what’s written on the page at all. Okay, let’s unlearn that. But it was a dream come true. And I just felt like, what a beautiful gift, what a beautiful moment in the woods, to be able to have that summer with that incredible cast. It just felt so, so special.

7. You’re also currently in previews for Camelot, how has that experience been so far?

Just a rollercoaster in the best way. For an actor to be able to say that they get to go to work and not only enjoy the depth and the complexity of the material, but to feel like they are supported, and in an enthusiastic room with incredible leadership, an incredible writer, and an incredible cast…and to get to sing these beautiful beloved songs, and tell this age-old story feels like the best thing in the world. I mean, I could not be happier.

BuzzFeed: And this production’s book has been updated immensely, what’s it like playing this version of Guenevere? 

It’s exciting! I think, like a lot of female characters in a historical canon, that there’s so much more to dig under there than we realized because we’re only now starting to understand the complexity and the intrigue of women’s stories and them being told in a sort of authentic and truthful way. I feel an incredible honor and privilege and responsibility. And also, I have confidence that my experience as a woman, as someone who feels like they want their life’s work to have purpose and activism, in the sort of broader democratic sense, I really relate to her. I feel for her, and it’s exciting to be in a piece that feels like it does two jobs at once, which is to be entertaining and beautiful, and sweep you off your feet with a 30-piece orchestra, and at the same time, change people and hopefully change the way that they think about the world and who we are as human beings.

Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

8. What’s the most starstruck you’ve ever been?

Well, quite frankly, Julie Andrews. 

BuzzFeed: Oh my god, were you able to talk to her at all?

I was like, “Oh, I learned how to sing by listening to your voice,” she’s just so lovely. To be frank, it was kind of a long time ago at this point, but I just remember feeling so stunned she was there. This was when we were doing Hamilton.

9. Meeting Julie Andrews might be hard to one-up, but do you have any other favorite Hamilton memories?

Just the hang. The people. It was so big, and so much was happening. The things that I actually remember are seeing it through the eyes of my classmates, my friends, my family. It was really about being a part of it with them and getting to see them experience it.

BuzzFeed: Hamilton is still on Broadway, too, do you think you’d ever want to return, even for just a brief stint?

You know? Not for me. I did that, and it was very fulfilling. People sometimes ask me like, “Do you think you could just, like, go right back into it?” I don’t remember anything. You could ask me to. I would not know where to go or where the blocking would be. I would not know any of the choreography. I probably wouldn’t even know all the words. Because there’s something that happens, like, you sort of put other things out of your brain so you can put in new things.

Variety / Penske Media via Getty Images

10. What’s a TV show that you’ve been obsessed with lately?

Well, a lot of people have been obsessed with this show, The Last of Us. I just finished it. Thrilling! I had only played the game once, and I gotta tell ya, I’m not a gamer. [Laughs] My gaming is like me screaming at the screen until things happen. And then realizing that I have to use my hands to touch the buttons and move. [Laughs] But I loved the show. I thought the relationship between Bella [Ramsey] and Pedro [Pascal] was just so beautiful. It was so beautifully explored because it’s not just this, like, zombie thriller or post-apocalyptic thing. It’s so much deeper than that. Yes, it’s thrilling and suspenseful, but it really goes into the character development of what happens to you when that happens. And I just loved it. I thought it was great.

11. What’s a role people would be surprised to hear you auditioned for?

One of my very first auditions ever, ever, ever — like, when I was, like, a kid — was for A Series of Unfortunate Events. For Violet.

Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

And if you can’t get enough of Phillipa, be sure to check out One True Loves which is in theaters now and available on digital April 14.