It’s not every day your childhood friend gets married, but it’s also not every day you get to talk to an actress you’ve adored for a decade. And thus, I found myself, anxiety-riddled, in my car, in the non-distinct parking lot of a brewery in Florida.
Then Rebecca Ferguson lights up my phone screen, radiating that same magnetic energy that first caught my eye in the 2013 miniseries The White Queen. She’s well-spoken, charming, witty, and brimming with passion as she discusses her Apple TV+ dystopian drama, Silo.
In addition to playing the lead role of engineer Juliette Nichols, Ferguson also serves as an executive producer on the series, becoming involved with Silo quite early on and using her position of power to listen, speak up when needed, “and care for the people on set.” The result is a work environment she loves, friendships with her VFX team, and adoration for her cast, including Harriet Walter, David Oyelowo, and Tim Robbins.
As I mentioned, Rebecca Ferguson is a pure delight. I’d happily step out on any family function for a chance to pick her brain, but what she’s far too humble to mention, a fact that is abundantly clear to droves of viewers (and hopefully, awards voters too)—is that a central reason why Silo works so well—— is because Ferguson is pitch-perfect in the role. We become so invested in the many twisted mysteries of Silo because we’ve become invested in her. Ferguson’s Juliette is strong and commanding, a true badass, fighting to uncover the truth. But as we peel back the layers, we see a subtle, heart-breaking vulnerability that adds a layer of complexity that only an actress with Ferguson’s seriously impressive range can deliver.
To echo Ferguson herself, “Please just watch season one.”
Awards Daily: Rebecca, you got involved with Silo early on. How has your input shaped the show and shaped Juliette as a character?
Rebecca Ferguson: It’s a big question with a very non-simple answer. I mean, I think my involvement is by casting the people you cast. You get the characters that you get. Do you know what I mean? You read a script, and you analyze the character, and you talk to [the team].
It’s a tricky, intense question. I mean, things come about by creating, listening, reading, thinking, and researching, right?
AD: Juliette is such an interesting character in that she’s initially very stoic and we peel back the layers of who she is as the show goes on. We learn more about her relationship with George (Ferdinand Kingsley). We learn more about her father (Iain Glen) later on. How did you calibrate your performance, knowing that a lot of the big reveals would happen later in the show?
RF: It’s kind of on the page. It’s like any film or any acting job that you do. We don’t reveal everything straight away, right? When we do a Mission Impossible film, we don’t tell you about the syndicate. It’s what storytelling is all about, right? You do scene by scene.
AD: Did you find that you had to approach Silo any differently?
RF: No, I didn’t. I’m very simple in the sense that I read a script. I like the character, and I start deep diving and do the work that I need to do to bring her forth. There’s nothing different to the process of anything. Everything is different in the sense that it depends on the people you work with. I have four different directors. It’s a little different, but the process for me is the same.
AD: What is your process? Are there certain ways that you like to break down the script?
RF: I mean, no. To be honest, I don’t really talk about my process because it’s my process, but I like the show, I love the scale of the set, I love the team, and I love the fact that I get to sit in on the writer’s rooms if I’m allowed to. I get to be a part of the process. You know, it’s a love journey for me. This is a baby; this job is. It’s one of the happiest jobs that I’ve ever done.
AD: The set is so extraordinary. What is it like to be in that environment, to run through those stairs?
RF: That’s phenomenal. The fact that Apple has actually put so much effort into letting creators create the environment. You know, we have people come for set visits to see it because it’s so incredible. And we have three different locations where we film, in one area, in one town outside of London.
I’m so close to the visual effects guys. They’re very good friends of mine, [VFX supervisors] Paul [Bongiovanni] and Daniel [Rauchwerger], And I often ask them, ‘Okay, I can see the stairs. We’re looking at four turns that I can run, and we run them all the time up and down and up and down, and they’re different levels, right?’
But I often ask, ‘Show me what you’re doing. I want to see the visual effects that you’re going to put on so that I can act against the incredibleness that you’re going to bring.’ Because, to be honest, the silo wouldn’t be [possible] without the VFX team.
AD: Does having this level of access change how you might approach another project?
RF: You know what, that’s such a good question. I think being so much on the front foot. And being the lead and having a producer role. By producer role, I don’t analyze that in the sense that I know what a producer is, and I put a cap on it. I just have a voice, and I speak, and I listen, and I care for the people on set.
It’s a very, very, very good environment on our set. There is no hierarchy. Everyone does what they need to do because they’re hired to do a good job. No one steps in on someone’s toes. It’s collaborative. Not all sets are run like this.
So after Silo, I was worried about doing other films because I was thinking, ‘How am I going to react when sets are moody and when people are not nice, and when there are egos.’ But to be honest, I did Dune. I mean, it was a good place to go. I was like, ‘Oh, I can lean back. We’re good. This is run pretty well.’ And then I did Silo season 2 again, and then I did something else, and now I’m doing a thing [sci-fi drama Mercy] with Chris Pratt, who is one of the nicest human beings, ever.
I’m doing well, and I’m very fortunate with the sets and the environments, but I think I’ve learned—and I’ve learned this from Mission and Tom [Cruise] as well, who speaks up a lot—if things don’t work, communicate it.
Be clear, pause, listen, and take in when people who don’t really have a strong voice are trying to say something, and give them space to actively feel that they are involved in the process as well. That’s how you get the best of everyone.
AD: Did you make any adjustments coming into season two?
RF: No, I think it was all very much the same. Because we’d found a formula that just worked, we had new crew members, which was sad. We’d lost a couple to other shows. But other than that, I think we had about 80 percent of the people back. People were knocking to come back. It’s just a really happy set. And no, nothing’s new. New directors, so taking and listening to their approach and seeing how that works. But they also understand that they’re walking onto a functioning set.
AD: What is it like for you to be at the center of this thing that has become a cultural phenomenon? People are anxious for season two. I mean, it’s exciting, right?
RF: So exciting. Someone asked me, ‘When was the moment when you realized that this was something?’ I didn’t look for that. But it was the moment when Apple called. The show was out, the numbers were coming in, I read a couple of reviews, my husband was probably looking [things] up and kind of going, ‘it’s good. It’s good.’ But I didn’t want to take it in. Apple called, and they said, ‘It’s good. People are liking it.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, the numbers don’t lie. People are actually watching it.’ And the reviews were good, and they were compelled, and they were feeling what I had felt reading it and making it. And that is huge for me because I really care. I really fucking care.
AD: Okay, last question, if you could pick any role or position within the silo, what would you be? You’re so regal. You’d make a good mayor.
RF: Yeah, but I’m also Juliette, who’s not regal, right?
AD: Well, if you weren’t Juliette.
RF: I think that it would be really boring up top, to be honest. I think the regulations are dull, right? I think I would either be middle. I like farms and greenery. I need all of that. I’d probably run my own little shop of something, little knickknacks, paddywhacks. But I would have a foot down in the deep.
AD: Rebecca, I know this show means a lot to you. As I let you go, is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you’d like to mention? Do you have any final thoughts?
RF: Thank you. I mean, no, I think you’ve really nailed most of it. And I think the fact is people know the show is dystopian. And if you like the genre, I believe you would really love the characters around it. It has the most incredible cast, and it has a cast that has really nurtured their characters and the evolution of the characters. The fact that we’re going into season two is so overwhelmingly exciting. It makes me want to grab people and go, ‘Please just watch season one and know that we’re going into shit that is intense.’
Silo is streaming on Apple TV+.
