The chance to spend six months in Europe, act like a brat, and have Christine Baranski as your mom? It’s no wonder why Annie Murphy was eager to join Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2.
“I’m realizing more and more that one of the main reasons I got into acting was so I could be badly behaved without any real-life repercussions,” Murphy, 38, tells Bustle. “So being able to play someone kind of bratty and know-it-all-y, who even at 35 is acting out against her mom, was really appealing.”
Murphy plays Imogen O’Clair, an academic who’s pioneered the study of linguistic psychology — but struggles when it comes to communicating with her mother. It’s something she hopes to work through at a lavish wellness retreat in the Austrian Alps, guided by Nicole Kidman’s mysterious Masha.
It’s all very different from the endearingly comedic world of Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020), the show that first put Murphy on the map. But while it’ll always have a special place in her heart — and she’s incredibly game for a reunion — Murphy is having fun proving to viewers (and herself) that she’s got the range. Since playing the scene-stealing Alexis Rose, she’s disappeared into dramatic but darkly funny roles in Kevin Can F**k Himself, Black Mirror, and, now, Hulu’s twisty travel anthology.
“After six years of Schitt’s Creek, I was like, ‘Is this all I can do?’” Murphy recalls. “So I have been trying to challenge myself and take roles that are so far from Alexis.”
Below, Murphy opens up about Imogen’s quirks, working with Baranski, and shooting in Europe.
What was the shoot like? I feel like there must have been some downtime to enjoy Europe…
Yeah! We had tons of downtime as our schedule was constantly moving. We shot most of it in Munich, but then we also traveled to a few beautiful places in Austria. Munich is so central, and flights are so cheap that you can pay 150 bucks and be in Paris or Venice for the weekend. That was such a once-in-a-lifetime thing to be like, “I’m working, but also BRB, I’ll be in London for two days and then be back.”
I am obsessed with the way Imogen introduces herself: “Imogen O’Clair — sounds like a made-up name, but it’s not.” It’s like she has this rehearsed shield. Can you speak to her journey on the show?
She’s so smart and is able to fix so many things, [but] the frustration that she hasn’t been able to fix herself over all of these years is infuriating to her. So she does come in very hopeful, but she also comes in with a lot of spit and vinegar, especially toward her mom, because of their fraught relationship. She’s been so desperate for her mom’s love and acceptance, and she’s held her mom as this kind of deity throughout her lifetime. They are so similar in so many ways, and I’m so happy that they really go through it in this one little week — that’s the love story of the show.
What was it like working with Baranski?
She’s everything you would want Christine Baranski to be, plus so much more. She is so kind. She’s so generous when it comes to an acting relationship, but she’s also so generous off-screen, and loves experiences, loves living her life to the fullest, loves a good joke, loves a good martini, loves to travel and soak it all in. And that is one of the most beautiful, attractive things a person can be — curious and so full of passion for life. It made me aspire to be more like her, which is such a great gift to give someone.
Imogen has this “high-class” inflection going on — it’s so subtle. How did you approach it?
One of the biggest things is that Imogen, at her core, loves her mom — idolizes her, and wants to be even more like her. And Baranski has this impeccable, beautiful, heightened way of speaking. So I wanted to take a whisper of that as Imogen, to be a little bit more sophisticated, a little bit more worldly.
I also wanted to talk about Imogen and Peter’s relationship. Between all the psychedelic drama, there’s a bit of a rom-com in their stolen moments. What was it like working with Henry Golding in that regard?
Henry is such a babe and a doll. We had so much fun together. And it’s funny you say that, because we really did joke about [it feeling] like we were in our own movie — our own rom-com, completely separate from the rest of the show. We had so many silly, fun scenes together, and he’s such a goof in real life. We found each other on that goof level and connected there. And so if anyone’s interested in an actual rom-com with me and Henry, we’re right there for it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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