BEYOND HER YEARS Alison Pill Wields Her Searing Intensity in Starz’s “The Pillars of the Earth”

The crown is under contention in mid-12th century England, a time known as The Anarchy. King Stephen is in power but the forces of Empress Maud are closing in. Fierce and ruthless, Maud is determined to reclaim the throne as the only legitimate royal heir now that her brother, William Adelin, has been lost with the sinking of the White Ship. As the last in the paternal bloodline of William the Conquerer, Maud is primally irked at the usurper king who sent her into exile — and she’s out for blood. When Starz set out to cast the role of the lionhearted queen for their epic, 8-hour miniseries, “The Pillars of the Earth” — based on the novel by Ken Follett about the battle-ridden construction of a cathedral in a small market town — the network was tasked with finding a young actor skilled and seasoned beyond her years. A 20-something who could believably garner the loyalty of a nation and humble the likes of “Deadwood”’s Ian McShane. Alison Pill was their pick and she does not disappoint.

An early bloomer, Toronto-raised Pill cut her teeth as a teenager in the late ’90s with roles on Canadian-filmed television shows like “The New Ghostwriter Mysteries” and “Psi Factor,” and moved on to play a young Lorna Luft in the TV movie, “Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.” She then made her way to New York and shot Pieces of April (2003) with Katie Holmes and Oliver Platt, and wound up moving to the East Village and taking on a series of film roles, which led to her stint in the cast of the short-lived and controversial “The Book of Daniel” in 2006. Meanwhile, Pill was gaining ground on stage in projects like Neil LaBute’s “The Distance From Here” (2004) and Christopher Shinn’s “On the Mountain” (2005), and earned a Tony nomination for “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” (2006), her Broadway debut. She offered a searing performance opposite Jeff Daniels at the Manhattan Theater Club in “Blackbird” and worked alongside F. Murray Abraham in Broadway’s “Mauritius,” both in 2007 — the same year she shared the screen with Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, John Mahoney, Dianne Wiest, and Dane Cook in Dan in Real Life. Up next for Pill is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a big-budget, fantastical, sci-fi comedy about a shy guy in a rock band who must defeat his crush’s seven evil exboyfriends before he can be with her. Billed as “an epic of epic epicness,” the film based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley is directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), stars Michael Cera (Superbad, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist), and features Pill as Scott’s sarcastic drummer. Having caught the eye of the auteur, Pill is currently on location shooting Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris with Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Kathy Bates.

When last we spoke with Pill, she was gearing up for the premiere of the 2009, Sean Penn-starring biopic, Milk, and was about to start work on season two of “In Treatment.” With Milk an Oscar-winning success and her time on Gabriel Byrne’s couch a heartwrenching and masterful audience favorite, we were looking forward to a second visit with the rising screen star and one of New York’s finest young stage talents. On a recent visit to Manhattan, Venice took in a night at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater and saw Pill perform alongside Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie,” “The Sopranos”) in “This Wide Night,” a stellar off-Broadway production about two former prison cellmates. As Pill’s Marie sits idly in her South London apartment, she’s roused by a sudden, persistent knock at the door and the cloying voice of Falco’s Lorraine, who can’t wait to see her. Marie hadn’t planned on keeping their promise to reunite on the outside, and now she’s stuck with a needy, overbearing nuisance invading her life — or so it seems. We watch as Pill’s insular grouch slowly cracks a smile and opens up to the familiar comfort of Falco’s unguarded, maternal enthusiasm. The Chloë Moss-written, Anne Kauffman-directed piece goes on to explore the question of whether an intimate friendship forged in forced solitude can survive in the free world. The performances are simply awesome, and we’re especially struck by Pill’s deft restraint in playing conflicting emotions and percolating energy until they boil over and all hell breaks loose.

Pill’s controlled intensity is admired by her peers. “It was her first day of work playing this English monarch,” recalls “Pillars” co-star Eddie Redmayne, “and the poise with which Alison came in, and then having to lose her temper — it was volcanic. I was completely blown away by her talent.” The sweeping historical drama premieres on July 23rd. We meet with the gifted performer at a diner on the Upper West Side, and find her sharp, playfully cynical, down to earth, and serious about her work. Spend some time with Alison Pill — shortly before her 7:30 curtain.

Venice: How did you get involved with “Pillars of the Earth”?

Alison Pill:

I got a call through my Canadian agent. It’s such an international community that they needed some Canadian cast members — and the producer, Rola Bauer, had thought of me for Queen Maud.

Had you known anything about this time period beforehand?

I had known about the time period and my mom is a huge Oprah’s Book Club fan from way back and loved the book.

Did your mom fill you in on the story?

I went right ahead and read the book, which was so fun. It’s such a fun book.

Did you do dialect work to prepare for the role?

I didn’t have a dialect coach on that so it’s just me — and our sound guy, who’s British, trying to help me out. It was hard because in historical fact, they would have been speaking French in the court. An Old English accent would be impossible to understand so we just went as basic as possible and hoped for the best.

What I found so interesting about your character is that she starts off very quietly, holding her baby as she learns that she’s being ousted from power, and then she turns out to be —

She’s fierce. And a lot of it comes from the protection of her son and from pride in her father. But at the end of the day it’s her doing all the work, which I love — to have this kind of fierce, female presence. One thing that’s wonderful about the book and the script is there are such strong female presences throughout in a time period when you don’t often hear about the women.

It’s such a powerful scene when we first see you on the throne. How do you prepare for something like that?

The whole thing about playing a ruler of any kind is it has less to do with you than about how other people react to you. So it definitely helped having the crown and the throne, andm Ian McShane bowing before me. [laughs]

Did you start to sink into the character and feel her power when you got into costume?

Yes, definitely. Just the way you move. Our costumer, who’s brilliant, told me that you have to walk wider than you normally do in order to swish the skirts out of the way, which sets you up in a more powerful position in general — to have this wider stance, to be sweeping around with all of this stuff on. It weighs a bunch — and the armor, too, weighs a ton. You’re like, “Ugh!” So you have to stand up straighter and stronger just in order to stand, which definitely helps. My hair was heavy, too. Everything was heavy!

What was it like working with Ian McShane? He’s so hugely charismatic.

Amazing, amazing. He and Matthew Macfadyen are genius actors. We had such a tight cast and it was so wonderful. We were shooting in Budapest and all staying in the same hotel. There’s a great ex-pat community and English-speaking bars and restaurants right near our hotel. It was so much fun because it’s such a young cast. We all just hung out and toured the city together. It was great.

Did you get to spend some time off set and explore?

I got to do a little exploring. I got to go to the baths one day, I got to climb to the top of some of the hills in the south. We shot at Buda Castle so I got to see some of that on my own, as well as with 30 knights behind me, kneeling, which was fun. We shot mostly out in the country and I didn’t have a ton of time to see everything, but it’s a great city.

Every character in this piece talks about how they are motivated by a greater good, that they’re doing it for God or for the good of the people —

And it happens to coincide with their greater personal interest. Yes. It’s an interesting thing. The corruptibility of power is so present in it, in everybody. What happens to people when they are corrupted? And what happens to good people fighting against the corruption? It’s a fascinating story.

While watching it, I found myself wondering if there is any altruism in humanity, or if everybody just has their —

— has their enlightened self-interest. Arguable. I’m more cynical than some when it comes to that. I think that often the ends justify the means. Often, not always.

What else did you enjoy about “Pillars”?

I think it’s just great that we had such an international group coming together to put it on screen.

Which countries were represented?

Germany, Belgium, Spain, Canada, England a lot of different places.

Starz is producing some terrific stuff. Have you seen “Spartacus”?

No, I don’t own a television.

Really? Why is that?

My problem is that it would probably always be on, even if I wasn’t watching it. I just know when I stay at a hotel it’s always on. It’s so tempting to have that entertainment factor. It’s nicer for me to live a more disciplined life. [laughs] And when I have books to go through, to have that as my only option. Especially this year, I’ve been constantly doing research or reading for stuff ahead and I have to maintain the discipline to get it all done.

Tell us what’s coming up for you.

I’m doing a Woody Allen film and then I’m doing a [George Bernard] Shaw play, so there’s a lot of research to be done there.

Which Shaw play?

“Mrs. Warren’s Profession.” It’s one of his earliest; it’s really good.

Can you tell us a little about it?

It’s about a woman whose daughter is raised in boarding schools and at Cambridge to be a proper, upper middle-class lady, and very disciplined and hardworking and smart. And she realizes that her mother has been supporting her with the funds from a brothel. It’s all about the moral quandary of that.

Where will it be performed?

At the Roundabout. We start rehearsals August 3rd.

Are you allowed to tell me anything about the Woody Allen movie [Midnight in Paris]?

No. Nothing. [laughs] I’m going to Paris for it and I’m doing some fun research, is all I can say.

Owen Wilson will be in it, I hear.

Yes, I believe I can confirm that. I think it was out in the trades so I can do that! [laughs]

And you have another film coming out

soon.

Coming out August 13th is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It’s based on a series of graphic novels. We shot it in Toronto last year. It’s a really great cast: Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans, Mae Whitman, a whole slew of people who are all awesome. It’s an action romantic comedy. It’s very fun and I play a drummer.

What does she get up to?

Mostly just drumming and being sarcastic. She’s in Scott Pilgrim’s band. It’s a very fun character. It takes place in Toronto; I know it well because that’s where I’m from. It was fun to go back there and shoot for six months.

Was it a change for you to be doing something familiar in the modern day?

It’s very fantastical. It was an insane shooting schedule because it is an action movie. So with 18-hour days, six days a week, there wasn’t a lot of time to be familiar with anything. [laughs] It was very unfamiliar to be on such a big-budget movie. To have three cameras and steady-cam. Nothing I’ve done has been that insane. I think our final budget was like 120 million dollars.

This was the biggest-budget film you’ve worked on?

Yes, by far!

How do you feel before you start such a huge project? Do you get nervous?

It’s mostly what research you’re going to be doing. I read all of the graphic novels that it’s based on and I was drumming every day. Just that side of stuff that I had to prepare for, but I had a lot of friends in the cast so I wasn’t really nervous. I was more excited to be up in my hometown with all my friends.

You’re onstage now in “This Wide Night” with Edie Falco. Both of you utterly transform yourselves into these downtrodden characters in South London, and your accent sounds really difficult.

Not as difficult as Edie’s. Her accent is so hard because there’s this arbitrary decision about what the long and short vowels are. My accent is kind of natural. You hear it much more; it’s much more familiar to the ear. Plus we have an awesome dialect coach named Deb Hecht, who also worked with me on “The Miracle Worker” when we were trying to create a Boston-Irish accent from the 1800s, which was also very hard. [laughs]

But you pieced it together?

We pieced it together, and then [eventually] we found video of [my character] and you can hear her voice. We were not far off! Working with a dialect coach who understands regions is very easy, and then it was a matter of picking and choosing how Irish we wanted to make her.

Tell us about your role in “The Miracle Worker.”

I played Annie Sullivan. She was Helen Keller’s teacher who taught her fingerspelling. It’s an amazing story.

Especially for a time when people like Helen Keller were being put in asylums.

Yes, and Annie Sullivan actually grew up in an asylum and lost her brother in an asylum. She was legally blind and went back and forth with her sight for her entire life.

You do great work with subtlety. It’s a very affecting moment in “This Wide Night” when your sullen, introverted character suddenly smiles and laughs at something Edie’s character says, and this whole other side of her opens up to us.

We have a brilliant playwright writing for us. A relationship like that is not easy to characterize and why they like each other isn’t necessarily always obvious. But I know so many relationships like that, where you’re like, “Why do I put up with that? This person irritates the heck out of me.” And then you realize that you want them around for those beautiful moments.

And in the beginning you’re both mocking the idea of this “rock and cradle” therapy technique where two people hold each other, but by the end of the play...

Sometimes you need a rock and cradle!

Had you met Edie before this show?

No. She had seen “The Miracle Worker,” which I think is how this whole thing came about. She’s incredible. I had seen a great deal of her work and been impressed with every single bit of it. And Annie Kauffman, our director, is genius. She’s so funny. I haven’t had this much fun in a rehearsal experience ever — and with such a dark play. It was so wonderful. The play came about from a commission through Clean Break, which is a group that sends female playwrights and writers into prisons to run workshops with prisoners. So Chloë [Moss], our playwright, used some of the things she had heard and created these two women out of all these different women she met. I think it’s just a beautiful story.

How did you develop your rapport with Edie? Your characters have a long, intense history together; you were stuck in the same cell for years.

We just get along so well, and work differently but well together. And we were thrown onto our feet so quickly. Our director put us on our feet on around our third day of rehearsal — so we were out on a limb together. And that’s the best way to work because it creates this quality of having no idea what either of us are doing, and figuring it out in the process instead of having the answer beforehand. [Edie] is also one of the kindest human beings I’ve ever met, so that doesn’t hurt either!

Do you get stage fright before a show?

No. Usually, I just can’t wait. I get annoyed with the audience when they make me wait. [laughs]

You were interested in acting since you were very young. You did background work on “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” as a kid.

My mom tried to dissuade me from acting by getting me a job as a non-union extra — and I loved it. I loved being on set! It sort of backfired. It didn’t work; I’m still here. [laughs]

The last time we spoke, Milk was premiering and you said that you had just gotten the best job in the world — a season on “In Treatment.”

It’s like shooting a one-act play every week; it’s amazing. The writer, Sarah Treem — who is a genius — and I just got along so well and understood this character so much that we had a ball figuring out the best way to go about inhabiting it. It’s a hard slog, though. We shot an entire episode in one day.

I’ve heard how great Gabriel Byrne is to work with.

Yes, wonderful. And it’s nice to have somebody who understands the show so well, too, because it’s a weird thing to try to do. It’s very different from anything else.

Your character, April, could be very ... difficult. What kind of work did you do with the writer to bring her to life?

The character is very much me, honestly. [laughs] It was really hard because I remember one crew guy saying, “Man, your character is such a bitch.” And I’m just like, “No, she’s not! She’s just misunderstood!” It’s hard to be an overachieving female, and the whole thing about being precocious is very close to home for both me and Sarah. I loved the experience and I loved the character. She’s me and she’s not me, but there are many similarities.

She’s pretty closed off until someone gets to know her well. Is that the kind of person you are?

It can be. Yeah. [laughs]

Your characters in “Pillars,” “In Treatment,” and “This Wide Night” all have a percolating emotion that takes time to emerge. Do you enjoy that kind of build-up in a character?

I enjoy complicated roles. I enjoy roles that aren’t just one thing. I think most people show very different faces to the world at any one time, and I think that’s what interests me. I think playing secrets is one of the hardest things you can do and I enjoy that challenge.

Can you elaborate?

Everyone has something to hide, and trying to decipher how much you need to hide it is always an interesting balancing workout. How much you can give away, how much you can lead the audience on, how much they need in order to understand, or whether you can shut them out completely and they’ll still watch — and shock them when it comes out later.

Eddie Redmayne is another character in “Pillars” who plays secrets well. His character starts out completely mute and you have no idea what he’s hiding. Did you have any scenes with him?

I didn’t. I know he’s in this issue, which is so cool! I haven’t seen “Red” yet; I’m going to try to see a Wednesday matinee. I’ve heard it’s fantastic. He’s awesome.

Are you excited to be leaving for Paris soon?

Yes. Very, very.

Was this role in the Woody Allen film something you were really gunning for?

You can’t gun for anything in a Woody Allen movie because it feels so arbitrary. You meet with him so briefly; you don’t have any idea what he’s actually seeing you for. It’s a very strange experience. I am incredibly excited now that I know what I’m doing. It’s very exciting. I can’t imagine a better summer job! ▼

“Pillars of the Earth,” an 8-part epic event, premieres Friday, July 23rd at 10PM on Starz. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World premieres August 13th.