Warning: This article contains spoilers forOzarkseason 3.
“Your brother is dead, you couldnt have made a bigger sacrifice.
Eventually, she realizes that she has no choice but to hand him over to Helen.
STEVE DIETL/NETFLIX
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Specific toOzark, what has the last few months been like?
Even being stuck in your homes, have you felt that?
LAURA LINNEY:Yeah, I think so.
STEVE DIETL/NETFLIX
Tom, Im sure youve been getting an enormous amount of feedback at least I hope you have been.
So this season did lift off a bit more than anyone expected it to.
TOM PELPHREY:Thats interesting.
Steve Deitl/Netflix
The response has been amazing.
Like, Oh, we’re taking it up a notch.”
LINNEY:The thing aboutOzarkis that its such a happy set, which is not always the case.
Steve Deitl/Netflix
Everyone is so happy to be there and everyone is so grateful for everybody else.
But the secret weapon this season was Tom.
He came in and just added a whole other dimension and depth to it.
Its so satisfying to see how these characters continue to develop.
Its such a beautiful location and everyone is so happy to be there.
It really pays off over time.
PELPHREY:Just walking into the middle of that, I couldnt believe it was real.
And Laura is a huge part of that.
There was this almost childlike simplicity with the way that he saw certain things.
Were you excited to finally get to really dive into who Wendy Byrde was before she was a Byrde?
LINNEY:Oh, absolutely.
Like in season 1, theres a reason why she knows how to fling a possum onto a roof.
Most people from Chicago dont know how to do that.
LINNEY:Oh stop!
PELPHREY:Well, no, its true.
LINNEY:Oh God, Tom, I can retire now.
[Laughs] Thank you.
You made it really, really easy.
We lucked out because we just liked each other and thats not always the case.
The thing thats always the most exciting for me is being surprised when youre working.
If youre not really surprised at least once a day on a set while youre working then somethings wrong.
It was hot as hell in that parking lot, but boy was it fun.
You mention the parking lot, and that takes us specifically to the episode that we need to discuss.
What was your first reaction when you got that script and read through it?
I was just excited to go to work every day, and youre like, Okay, were goingthere.
Were going to dig deep.
But we were tired by the end of the season, particularly the end of episode 9.
[Laughs] Towards the end of the script I was having a hard time seeing the words.
LINNEY: The crew was very pissed off and upset when they read nine.
Its just great tragedy.
You just think, How in the world do they survive this?
What does it look like to cross that line?
PELPHREY:A scene like that is an actors dream.
That writing was just perfect.
As much as possible I didnt want any of my mediocre ideas being opposed to what was there.
[Laughs] Ill tell you right now, never as good as you thought it was!
And then other than that, just play, just let the writing play.
That is such a huge part of what makes work like that so enjoyable and possible.
LINNEY:Its the undertow of it all, isnt it?
The manifestation of the shadow side of all of her choices.
Otherwise, it would just be too unbearable to go on.
So something has to click and shift for her to be able to wake up the next morning.
Its an inconceivable choice to make… but she does it.
Wouldnt that be great?
PELPHREY:That would be amazing.
Is this new information for you, or have people been asking you about this?
LINNEY:She refuses to believe that hes gone.
She took the script and threw it on the floor and was like, Absolutely not!
Weve started to call Chris Mundy the Grim Reaper.
Its just like, Oh like, put down the scythe!
God only knows what will happen come the next season.
LINNEY:Thats right!
Im going to get T-shirts printed up.
Ive just never had such an overwhelmingly positive work experience.
LINNEY:We may force you just to show up.
Maybe just keep popping into the background as an extra, get viewers talking.
LINNEY:Yes, like Wheres Waldo?
Wouldnt that be funny?
LINNEY:I have no idea, and I never have any idea where theyre going.
I have no idea where they would go, and every season it just gets better and better.
