To promote the Prime Video production of William Gibson’s The Peripheral, executive producer Lisa Joy and star T’Nia Miller chatted with Paul Simpson about the challenges on either side of the camera…

 

What did you know about Gibson’s work before you became involved with this project?

T’Nia: Well, I’ve read every Gibson book there was (laughs). No, I hadn’t a Scooby-Doo, I didn’t know who he was, never heard of him. But I know now and I’m a massive fan now.

Lisa: He’s the coolest. I was already a fan and I read The Peripheral overnight, when Vincenzo brought me the book. I read it one sitting, like a maniac. I just didn’t sleep, I just powered through it.

And that’s always the case, sometimes you get a book and you go really slowly – and by the way, Gibson is a dense writer – but I just couldn’t put it down and the next morning I was like ‘Yes, yes, we’re doing this. We have to do this.’

T’Nia: But did you understand it after reading it? Because JJ said that he didn’t, he had to read it and read it again.

Lisa: You know, I think it’s like a video game. It’s structured like a video game where the first 100 pages, it’s like getting dropped into the middle of Fallout or something and only having the remote controls and you’re going to get shot a couple of times before you figure out how to manipulate it. And that’s Gibson’s world: it’s about a gamer but the prose is almost structured that way. He doesn’t give you a dictionary for the language of futurism, you learn as you go. And then once you hit your stride and reach full immersion, you’re off to the races.

But the thing that kept me going throughout it was the character work, it’s so strong. It’s so relatable that I knew because of those characters that the show has such a heart. That even if you weren’t a sci-fi fan that it was still something that would speak to everyone.

That’s the thing, that’s something that this shares DNA with Westworld and Russell T Davies’ projects, whether they are sci-fi or not: it’s the people, it’s what it tells us about humanity. The trappings can be whatever genre but if the people are real then you’re engaged in it. 

T’Nia: Yes, for sure.

How did you get involved in it, was it just an audition or did they come to you?

T’Nia: I was sent the sides, very much the normal process. I was sent the sides and had a look. I think I read for a different part initially, actually.

Lisa: Really? How can you be anything…

T’Nia: I know, I read for Aelita, initially.

Lisa: Oh OK, I can…

That would be an interesting take.

T’Nia: And then they said ‘Actually, can you read for Cherise Nuland?’ And so I got hold of her and thought ‘She’s glorious, she’s absolutely delicious.’ So that’s how I became Cherise. I had a Zoom meeting with Greg and he talked me through it, because we didn’t have all the scripts at that point. He talked me through the series, what it was going to look like, what world we were entering and actually, it was after getting off the phone with him and of course being a massive fan of the previous body of work that I was like, who wouldn’t want to play Cherise Nuland? It’s an actor’s dream.

What do you think of her as a character or as a person? What would your reaction be if you met her?

T’Nia: I would like to be a fly on the wall…! If we were at a dinner party, I would like to be at the far end – close enough to hear what she has to say, but not close enough to get stung.

Lisa: She’s terrifying but also bewitching.

T’Nia: Right? Beguiling, when she’s with someone she’s got so much charm and such charisma and she is very powerful, you can easily be lured into her web. And it is a web.

Lisa: Oh yes.

She’s one of those people and we’ve all met them, where there’s some kind of magnetic thing about them. And if you could bottle it, you’d make a fortune.

T’Nia: Right, exactly. But that’s the thing about her, she appears to be quite narcissistic but actually, as we get to know her and as we understand what her intentions are, I think as an audience, or I hope there will be in any case, we will be conflicted.

And that’s true of every character in this show. I think, I was just saying earlier that our heroes are flawed and our villains have heart, they are multifaceted beings and we know each one of these people and there’s something to love or relate to, in all these characters that we meet. There aren’t just black and white like that.

Lisa: I think T’Nia’s portrayal of Cherise… Cherise is, on the page, such a fascinating character to me but something that you brought to it is just beyond anything I could have imagined. It’s really interesting, as a woman, watching her portrayal of this incredibly powerful, mysterious force, uncompromising in her manifestation of her power. It’s just this singular and so specific and so personal. Nobody is Cherise but Cherise and to see that magnetism and power just brought to life, it’s really inspiring. It makes me want to go be a badass somewhere and just a little bit of that Cherise juice, you know?

T’Nia: You need to channel her…

Lisa: Just a little bit!

T’Nia: A little pick me up!

Lisa: Yes… A cup of coffee and a 10% Cherise… I think it would really help a lot of people. It would be so powerful and help me. You brought that energy to her so maybe…maybe the key is to be near you and get osmosis!

It’s coming through the screen as well. What for each of you, is the biggest challenge of this project?

T’Nia: I’ll answer first because you probably had more challenges than I had. There weren’t any challenges for me, in fact. Obviously you just want to do a good job and honour what’s on the page but it really was, a gift from start to finish. Especially because we shot during Covid. A lot of actors couldn’t catch a cold and I was just very fortunate to be working, but also to be given this beautiful role and a beautiful team and the sets. If there was any challenge, it was to serve the script, to do it justice because it’s so dynamic.

Lisa: I feel the same way: to do justice to William Gibson’s incredible work. It’s so difficult to use, even the term challenge, especially during this time. I just feel any time you’re able to be part of a creative endeavour, whatever it is, it just feels like such a privilege, that the challenges are what you’re there for.

It’s to figure it out with this incredible team and it feels like a luxury. That’s the kind of challenge I feel lucky to have.

T’Nia: I will say, that these guys really held us. Things happen, things change every minute. We were shooting during Covid, shit happens, people get sick, people couldn’t make it in and you accommodate. And people have their requests and want things and people have lines and partners and children and you accommodated us, all the time. So I can’t imagine that was easy. The crew, the production, we were really held by the heads at the top.

The first two episodes of The Peripheral are available now on Prime Video; further episodes arrive Fridays.