dec 31, 2020 - Amber Heard THE STAND Episode 3 RELEASED USA & Canada

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FROM DECIDER:

‘The Stand’s Amber Heard Didn’t Want to Play The “Good Girl”

By Kayla Cobb

Stephen King’s The Stand is filled with tragic characters trying to rebuild a tragic world. But one character’s pain feels a bit more acute than the rest. And Episode 3 “Blank Pages” dives into her more complicated side. In an interview that included Decider, Amber Heard explained why she was drawn to the dark character of Nadine and why she didn’t want to play the good girl.

Nadine is one of the survivors who makes her way to Boulder, Colorado, along with a young boy and former famous musician Larry Underwood (Jovan Adepo). When Nadine first arrives she seems like every other person brought into Mother Abigail’s (Whoopi Goldberg) mysterious home. She knows about the Mother Abigail dreams and quietly works to turn this makeshift town into a real community.

But in Episode 3 we learn the truth. Nadine was never on the side of goodness. As a child she was marked by Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård) to be his bride. In fact the only reason she’s in Boulder is to serve as a double agent for The Dark Man.

“She was groomed from a very early age, and the influence that has had, especially since the person doing the grooming is supernatural… I know a lot of strong people but it would take a whole other human to be able to overcome that. That’s why she’s an important character in the book,” Heard said. “She has a very, very dark past. Even with those influences playing on her she still found it hard to take those final steps and vacate her stand. She takes her own stand.”

t was Nadine’s inner struggle that interested Heard in the character. Even though Nadine is working for Randall Flagg, she comes to care for Larry, Joe, and the rest of Boulder’s hardworking citizens. Yet that goodness is always at odds with the person Randall Flagg sculpted her to be. “She tries really hard to fulfill her mission but she fights it, fights it very hard too. How could she not? She sees the humanity and it is intoxicating in its own way. And I think seeing her fight off the light, it’s tragic, but it’s interesting,” Heard explained.

“I find it’s always challenging to play characters who are lying, lying to themselves and to other people and characters who have to do so in order to survive,” Heard said. “It’s after all what this project does. What this story does to the audience is thrust you into a position that’s super uncomfortable that forces you to think ‘What would I do? What would I be willing to forfeit, give up, fight for? What would I be willing to do in order to survive or help thrive?’ That in and of itself is interesting to me. Nadine is the most interesting, in my opinion, because she’s got the most to lose and the most to fight and at the end of the day she’s up against a force that’s bigger than her. It is difficult, but I like playing it because it’s more interesting.”

Heard revealed she’s been a fan of The Stand for years. “I read it as a young teenager and I’ve read it now several times, which is a lot when you know the size of the book. That means I’ve spent a big chunk of my life with this,” Heard joked. So when a new adaptation became possible, the actor was immediately on board. Heard estimated that she’s been talking to The Stand’s filmmakers about the project for about eight to 10 years.

“Frankly, I wanted to do this character,” Heard said. “I said to Josh Boone — who was developing it — I said, ‘I want to do this, but I don’t want to play the good girl.’ Who wants to play the good guy? It’s more interesting to play flawed.”

SOURCE:
US VA Court Documents:
Virginia Trial Transcript Day 18 pp5278

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