Awards Daily talks to Yellowjackets‘ Sophie Nélisse, about capturing 1996 Shauna’s dark side and how her character will move forward following tragedy.
It’s kind of fascinating how much Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey sync up as one character in Yellowjackets, with Nélisse playing 1996 Shauna and Lynskey 2021 Shauna.
“We definitely sat down for coffee and discussed the character and made sure we had the same vision for Shauna,” says Nélisse of her and Lynskey. “We saw her in the same light. I think we both had a lot of points in common with Shauna: reserved inner strength, growing up sitting in the role of the observer. I was quite surprised that we even looked alike at first, because I’m blond with blue eyes. I thought there’s no way I’m getting cast. But now, there are more and more things I see.”
Shauna is always full of surprises. Who knew that she could be such a bad-ass huntress in the wilderness? Probably not even her. Nélisse says her character’s hunting skills speak to the character’s dark side and inner fantasies.
“In the wilderness, it’s not so weird. She can blame it on surviving. She’s slowly finding a passion for it and enjoys it. Later on, it sticks, because it’s such an important part of her life. It speaks to her darker side and all of the things she’s trying to push down and deny about herself.”
Even if her hunting skills go a little too far when she nearly kills Travis in the “Doomcoming” episode, when everyone is tripping on shrooms.
“There’s definitely that element of being in the wilderness and losing touch with reality, but I think it speaks to how strong she is and how she’s undefeatable and unstoppable if she puts her mind to it. What I love about Shauna is that she’s always putting others’ needs in front of hers and never listening to what she wants and what she needs. I don’t think it was intentionally wanting to kill someone, but she can go crazy and lose it. She’s always trying to keep it tamed.”
Shauna’s observation skills are also pretty striking, even before she gets stuck in the wilderness, like being able to figure out that her best friend’s boyfriend might not be happy in his relationship.
“Jackie has been so busy enjoying the spotlight, and Shauna and Jeff are pieces in Jackie’s life, but they’re not always listened to. I think Shauna can relate to Jeff in the way that Jackie treats them. Part of it is she actually genuinely likes Jeff, part of it is slightly jealousy. There’s also maybe regaining her power back, to prove to herself that she too deserves to be seen and loved. Obviously she wasn’t planning on getting pregnant.”
Nélisse has some intense scenes in Season 1, but she says the almost-abortion scene was the hardest.
“It was quite tricky because we wanted to film it with such respect and honor it in a way. To show the vulnerability of it all and the reality of it all. It was quite sensitive for everyone, but we also felt the duty to show it on screen and to talk about it, because it’s a big taboo. Also, it was just so graphic, not just having an abortion, but doing it on your own. Putting the danger of it all, your life at risk, the mental horror and physical horror of it all. All of these aspects mixed together.”
The other intense scene was when she learns that her best friend has died. How will Shauna move forward in the wilderness following Jackie’s death?
“I think it will be one of the biggest turning points for Shauna. I think it will determine who she is for the rest of her life. She’s lost her sister, her other half. but also at the same time, it’s finally her opportunity to be herself, to have a voice and find her voice and discover who she is without Jackie. So it’s going to be a very interesting mix of feeling really guilty but also feeling kind of free and having this weight lifted off her shoulders. It’ll add into the complexity of Shauna.”
Season 1 of Yellowjackets is streaming on Showtime.
