Julianne Nicholson On Her ‘Hacks’ Future And ‘Paradise’ Season 2

If it was already abundantly clear that Julianne Nicholson has extraordinary range — see Mare of Easttown, I, Tonya, The Good Wife, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and Dream Scenario for reference — then her double Emmy nomination provides a perfect reflection of that range. In Hulu series Paradise, she’s nominated for her role of Sinatra, a political villain almost single-handedly responsible for the hoodwinking of thousands of people held captive in an end-of-the-world underground dome. It’s intense stuff, with Sinatra’s backstory including a tragic loss, and her present state teetering on the edge of fanaticism. Then, in absolute contrast, is her role in HBO Max hit series Hacks as a TikTok superstar with a substance abuse problem and the moniker Dance Mom (only Dance Mom is not, in fact, a mom). Here, Nicholson talks about the two vastly differing worlds of Paradise and Hacks, her new U.K. series Dope Girls on Hulu and working with Rami Malek in the recently-released film The Amateur.

DEADLINE: You’re in production on Paradise Season 2 right now?

JULIANNE NICHOLSON: Yes. It’s going great. We’re in the end zone and it all ramps up to this last block, similarly to the first season. It is a much different season this year, where we explore outside the bunker as well, and there’s a lot more action in different locations, and the energy sort of ramps up as the season goes on. So, we’re in the thick of it right now.

DEADLINE: Shailene Woodley will be in Season 2, and I know she is playing someone who comes in from the outside world, so she basically provides living proof that Sinatra lied to everyone in the bunker world of Paradise. What can you tell me about working with her and what we might see between your two characters?

NICHOLSON: Well, I just think she’s an incredible actor and I think Antonia Blyth Dan [Fogelman] has great taste with actors. I think he really does have a knack for finding also nice people, decent people, grounded people who are there to do the work. And she for sure is that, and she just brings such a light and complexity and authenticity to her role and the world. It’s not about vanity for her. She wants to embody whatever that moment is, and it’s really admirable.

DEADLINE: I told Dan that, for me, Sinatra is one of the most compelling villains I’ve seen in a long time, and he was defending Sinatra. He obviously feels very deeply for all his characters, and he told me, “Oh, you don’t understand why she is the way she is and I’m going to show you in the second season…“

NICHOLSON: You get a little more of the backstory and how Paradise came to be. So there’s definitely more there to explore. I know that one of the first conversations we had, I could feel his care for her even with all the sort of appalling decisions she makes along the way. And for him, it was very important that she does feel not like the bad guy first, but a person, a complex person who can make mistakes and who just happens to have a lot of power. So the mistakes she makes are quite big, but he wanted her to be a recognizable person, mom, wife in the world.

DEADLINE: How juicy has it felt for you as an actor to play a character like Sinatra?

NICHOLSON: It’s been so fun, and I’ve never played a character like this. And then the goal now is to find roles unlike things I’ve done before, and to be the bad guy is fun — to own your power, to wear those suits, to put on those shoes and own every room you enter is has been fantastic and unusual and something to work on. It doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me, so it was like a thing to cultivate, but I’ve absolutely loved it. I also care for her and feel like she’s little misunderstood.

DEADLINE: I’m going to bear that in mind and I’ll try to be kind. Tell me about your research. I believe you studied female CEOs to understand Sinatra. What did you take from that study? What kind of headspace did you get into?

NICHOLSON: One is determination. That was one core trait that they all had. But other than that, actually each story that I read was so different from the next. I’m fascinated by how people come to their jobs in life. How are you doing what you are doing? Did you know that’s what you wanted to do? It has been on my mind these days, just experiencing other people’s lives and life paths. I think it’s because I have two kids who are 16 and 17 and about to be embarking in the world and the world of work and the world of adult life that I’m really interested in it. That’s not exactly the question you asked me, but I found that they were all different and I found that very hopeful actually.

DEADLINE: And speaking of your drive to keep trying very different roles, Dance Mom in Hacks hits that nail on the head, like, I’m going to play an alcoholic off-the-rails person that dances on social media and calls herself Dance Mom, but isn’t a mom. How did the Hacks showrunners first describe her to you?

NICHOLSON: Basically, everything you just said! Well, I’m a huge fan of that show. I was already obsessed with it. I think it gets better every season. I think it feels more sure of itself without being cocky or entitled or expectant. I know Jean [Smart] from doing Mare of Easttown. I’ve been watching from the beginning. I remember when she very first told me that she was going to do this other show about this comedian in Las Vegas. I was like, ‘That sounds fun.’  They had approached me for another character a couple seasons ago, and that didn’t really work. So they just got back in touch. They’re a fan of my work. And I got on a Zoom with the three of them, and they just described the storyline from start to finish and they sent me a link to a couple of people who are influencers, a couple of people dancing out there. And I was like, oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, please.

DEADLINE: OK, so step one: learn weird TikTok dances.

NICHOLSON: Step one: make sure I have a choreographer and I don’t have to come up with them by myself! So they found two different choreographers that they had narrowed it down to. And one of them, I loved his stuff. Corey Baker. I live in England, he lives in London. So I would go up to London and dance with him there. He would make them up. He had some of the dances already started and then he would carry on between our meetups or even sometimes when I was there. And he was just brilliant and joyful and silly and just made the whole thing. There was never a moment of embarrassment or even cringe. You just have to lean into the cringe basically.

DEADLINE: That comes across when you first do the dance. I really felt for you, and then I was like, hang on, this is what actors do in improv classes and warmups and acting school. They have to do the most cringe thing you can possibly imagine. So, I am wondering, did this experience take you back to your days of acting classes?

NICHOLSON: Yes, and you know what? It’s so funny that you should say that because it reminded me that there have been times where I’ve been embarrassed to do certain things, but done it anyway because you have to get on with it. And I just don’t have that anymore. I’m not embarrassed.

DEADLINE: This is the gift of getting a little older and I find the same. Like who cares if people laugh at me?

NICHOLSON: I’m over it. Who cares? And actually, the more cringe thing is being embarrassed. It’s a relief to just feel like I can do anything. It’s the job, and if people want to judge, that’s fine, but it’s not my thing to worry about.

DEADLINE: I loved when Dance Mom is found drunk on the Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane set. It was such an iconic reference.

NICHOLSON: I know! What madness that they find her ass up on Wisteria Lane. It’s absurd.

DEADLINE: How did you handle the physicality of this role? You’re not only dancing, but also playing that level of drunk seems like hard work to me to keep up. That kind of bonelessness.

NICHOLSON: I know, that was actually fun. I mean, she’s passed out, so I did just have to relax my body. Those two were carrying me. They were working. But I remember there’s a moment where Paul [W. Downs] puts me into the golf cart, but my leg is still on the floor, so he has to take the last minute to pick my leg up and put it in the cart too, which was so fun. I love using my body in that way. It’s not just head and heart. It can be all of the physical. And that was really fun.

DEADLINE: Is there a world in which Dance Mom could make a comeback? If they asked you bring her back, would you be game?

NICHOLSON: Sure, of course. Because I just think they’re brilliant. So I know they wouldn’t ask me back unless they had a great idea. I think that was the other thing about going balls to the wall. It was basically like, I just trust them implicitly. They’re so good. Everyone looks good on that show. Everyone’s doing great work on that show. I never thought, oh god, am I going to be the one to bring it all down? So I trusted them. So yeah, if they asked, of course I would go back in a heartbeat.

DEADLINE: How was working on the film The Amateur with Rami Malek and the rest of that amazing cast — Laurence Fishburne, Caitriona Balfe, Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal…

NICHOLSON: I had moved to England and I hadn’t worked for 10 months. I have two kids, and it was like, OK, I just want to be home now. But that came along, and I love James [Hawes] who directed it, who did the first season of Slow Horses, which I just thought was so good. And I love Rami. I think Rami is fascinating, from Mr. Robot to Freddie Mercury. I think he’s such an interesting, exciting artist. And so I was like, oh, OK, this should be interesting. It felt like a fun and different thing to be a part of.

DEADLINE: And you’ve got the BBC production of Dope Girls.

NICHOLSON: Yes it’s out on Hulu today. I love it. We filmed that in Cardiff in Wales. It was very exciting to be the lead in a BBC show. Having just moved there, having watched BBC dramas my whole life. This is not just straight historical fiction. It is a little more punk rock imaginative, but based on actual events. Shannon Murphy directs. She directed a movie called Babyteeth. I was a huge fan of hers, and she did the first three episodes of Dope Girls, which was a thrill. She’s also done a couple episodes of Dave, and she’s just been nominated for an Emmy for Dying For Sex. She’s a huge talent. So that was one of the reasons I wanted to do that show, and it was fun.

DEADLINE: Do you stay in touch with Brad Ingelsby [creator of Mare of Easttown]?

NICHOLSON: Yeah, I do. Brad, bless Brad. I love him so much. And yeah, we check in with each other every now and again.

DEADLINE: I would love it if we could have more Mare of Easttown. What do you think?

NICHOLSON: Who knows? I think he’s a huge talent, such a nice guy, huge talent. And obviously that show was a hugely amazing one to film and yeah, I loved being a part of that show.