woman in blue and white dress holding red balloon
Actor Matthew Rhys’ longtime partner and fellow actress Keri Russell discussed their Emmy nominations in an interview with Variety. Rhys chatted about his roles in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me, and Russell discussed her nomination for The Diplomat.
But even though President Donald Trump and the chaos politics surrounding him and the White House did not factor into the isolated world of the northeastern island that served as Widow’s Bay’s setting there was no banishing the controversial president form the exchange.
As they discussed the popularity of Widow’s Bay, Russell said she appreciated the “escape” the show provided the audience — even if it buries modern American politics in the drip-drip creepiness that plagues the beleaguered island inhabitants.
“It’s also such a delightful departure from the s—— that we’re in,” Russell told Variety. “Do you know what I mean? There is not a mention in the show so far for me about what’s happening — the destruction of our country,”
“Right?” she added, laughing “mordantly” according to Variety.
But Rhys disagreed, telling her that there was in fact one character in the series that reminded him of the make-up wearing White House occupant.
“Well, there is,” said Rhys, referring to the ghost of a clown that murdered children decades ago and who now lurks and heaves around in a dark basement containing his desiccated corpse. “In the crawlspace. That’s Trump.”
The interviewer noted that Russell seemed “dismayed” by the revelation. Her own show, the Diplomat, is set in a world of high-stakes international intrigue and smartly run government, “as we imagine it being practiced in a pre-MAGA era,” according to Variety.
“It can feel as if no time has passed since ‘The West Wing’ or ‘Homeland,’ both of which “Diplomat ‘ creator Debra Cahn wrote for.