Despite the fact that Ozark ended its four-season run with an earth-shattering finale in April, Laura Linney, who played the Byrde matriarch Wendy, isn’t quite ready to let the series go.
Linney admitted that she actually hasn’t seen the finale of the show because it might taint her experience on the series, which she starred in alongside Jason Bateman and Julia Garner. “I haven’t seen it,” the actress said in a new interview with Vulture. “I don’t know what they chose. I’m very bad at watching myself and I’m particularly bad at watching things that I really loved doing because it’s going to change the minute I see it. I really can’t comment on it.”
Though she didn’t comment on the finale, she did mention that she has nothing but positive memories from the show, adding that she would “absolutely” be on board for another Ozark plot down the line, which the showrunners have hinted at in the past. “I’m having real withdrawal from Ozark,” Linney added. She had played the character for nearly five years, landing two Emmy nominations.
“Everything about it worked. All the right people were in the right positions. Everyone had a similar viewpoint. Everyone had a similar work ethic,” Linney added, saying that the crew had a special connection. “I loved being in Atlanta. It was an unbelievable crew. Crews on television normally do not stay intact. Ninety percent of our crew stayed the entire time. What that does on a set, the safety that you feel, the unspoken communication, the ease, the comfort, and the fun that you have — I feel like I just landed in a pot of honey. I miss it a lot.”
Not only does Linney miss the crew, but she also misses her character, who had a major transformation during the series. Linney admitted that Wendy was “very different” in the beginning. “I just remember she was snoring in the bed a lot. There was a lot of: Wendy snores. I just didn’t know where it was going to go.” She clearly developed a lot since the beginning.
Despite the unclear arch, Linney trusted that her character would get the development she deserved. “I don’t know why I trusted Jason Bateman and [showrunner] Chris Mundy as much as I did, but I remember saying to them, ‘I hope that if I sign onto this, you’ll use me. Otherwise, don’t cast me. Take someone else.’ There’s nothing worse than people not wanting what you have to offer. When people don’t want what you have to offer, it’s just womp-womp-womp.” Luckily, she offered a career-defining performance, which is really saying something, because she was also in The Truman Show.
(Via Vulture)
