Ahead of Quill In The Big City, Sparkk TV sat down with the cast and crew for a new Behind The Streams conversation about bringing Jacky to life, the relationship between Quill and Jacky, life on set, and the moments they’re most excited for viewers to see.
What was it like bringing Jacky to life? What sort of challenges presented themselves with this character?
Molly
So with any character, my goal is to first and foremost listen. I really want to listen to what my co-star is saying and what is actually being said.
Not just acting like I’m listening. So that is something that I have overcome. I don’t want to say I’ve overcome.
I’m always learning to do that. But I think the hardest part about it was I remember a line where I first walk in and then I think I’m about to leave, but I have to grab my toast. So I think trying to make it look natural and seamless because I know sometimes with acting and everyone and Kira, you can totally relate to this and Craig and probably even you, Anastasia, where you’re acting, sometimes you feel something is so unnatural when you’re doing it that you just want to keep redoing it.
So that’s something I had to get over pretty fast because I have to learn to trust the director. So I think a lot in Quill in the Big City, I had to learn, well, if Kay says it’s good, if Anastasia says it’s good, and Josh, the cinematographer, then I just have to trust that because it’s hard for me to trust. It’s a whole other conversation.
But my favorite part about Jackie was that whole paragraph about who doesn’t know how to make this drink? I don’t remember what the drink was, but that was, I think, my favorite part, doing that while Quill is doing whatever she needs to do on the laptop. Does that answer the question?
Anastaisia
It answers it perfectly.
Molly
I really just wanted to focus in on listening and not just acting like I’m listening. That’s what I want to say.
Anastaisia
Well, we love you for it.
How would you describe Quill and Jacky’s relationship?
Molly
Ladies first.
Kyra
They give old married couple, which is funny because they’re so young. They’re very comfortable with each other in a way where sometimes you’re almost like, how long have they been together? You can tell they really love each other, but you can tell that they love each other because they know each other so well.
They don’t have to gloss over things with this candy coating. There’s not this fake sweetness or walking on eggshells. They’re direct with each other, and there’s no hurt feelings about it.
I think that’s kind of funny. What about you?
Molly
Obviously, Jackie and Quill have a whole life before the film and after. I do think, yes, you saw a part of our lives where maybe we weren’t the healthiest at that time, where Quill wasn’t opening up to me, and maybe at times Jackie could be too positive or too funny when maybe the situation doesn’t warrant that. And I, as Molly Bernthal, I do that all the time, which is something I’m working on too.
But I think we are a healthy duo. I think what Kira said, it is giving old couple vibes just the way we’re still comfortable with one another and just how we can apologize to one another and not hold anything against each other. But that’s just, again, a very small snippet that you saw of our lives compared to every day.
And of course, that’s just using my imagination. I could be completely off. Yeah, I don’t know.
And I think we really do enjoy… I don’t think, I know we just really love each other. We really do.
We lean on each other for a lot. And in this, you just happen to see Quill struggle, not necessarily Jackie struggle as much.
Josh
If I could maybe give an outside perspective here. It was a lot of… The show is this bump in the road that they’re having where Quill is having trouble opening up or leaning on Jackie for help.
But they still have this trust with each other where they do have individual lives that we show. Or Quill has her skating thing and her skating friends and this, and then Jackie’s got her work. It’s kind of like they come together in this relationship, but they definitely have separate lives just from an outside perspective.
Anastaisia
I love that. Thank you. I just, for the writing of their relationship, I wanted them to be able to be funny with each other, but tender and caring.
But where they’re comfortable with each other or directly conflict, because there’s some relationships where people just don’t talk things out and that just becomes dysfunctional, but I didn’t want that for them. So to be able to be communicative. So that’s my answer.
In these episodes, we get the sense that Quill’s life isn’t everything she’d hoped. What do you think would make her truly happy?
Kyra
I think accepting her flaws for sure. That is something Quill struggles with a lot. And it’s interesting because that doesn’t really sound like a happy thing, but I think that that’s how she’s going to find peace ultimately.
She is struggling with finding peace and balance in her life, and it’s because she’s not confronting the parts of herself that need work. And so I think that that’s going to be really important for her happiness down the line is addressing those. She kind of starts to think about it when you see these episodes, like it’s being brought to her attention and she’s thinking about it for the first time, but she’s nowhere near starting to accept it yet.
Josh
Yeah. I feel like in the first couple episodes, it’s what Quill thinks she needs to be happy is the job and being successful and all this. But as she goes on, I think it’s realizing that acceptance and growth is what she really needs.
Molly
I just echo what everyone says. I don’t think I have anything new to add. Yeah, because I don’t think it’s anything material.
I think it’s everything in her head, like Kira said.
Anastaisia
I think so too. I don’t need to answer because you guys answered it already so succinctly.
Anastaisia
Thank you.
What was it like on set?
Kyra
The first two episodes. It was fun. We faced some challenges, but we made it through because we were optimistic and we worked well together and we could have fun.
That was the only way. If we weren’t able to have fun, it would have been significantly more of a challenge. But because we were able to have fun and work well together, I think it made it a lot easier.
I got sick right before filming, and so that was crazy. We were figuring out, do we need to reschedule? How are we going to make it through this?
We had rented locations. It was a lot of last-minute stress, and we made it happen, which not everyone would be able to do.
Josh
I feel like coming in as kind of a stranger to everybody, not really knowing people too well, I definitely put my head into what I was doing behind the scenes. That’s kind of how I cope with my nervousness around new people. It was pretty quick before I felt pretty comfortable laughing and cooperating.
When you work with somebody new, you’re nervous about, oh, can I suggest this, or should I just shut up and do my job? But I felt like it was a very collaborative effort, especially after I fairly quickly got comfortable with everybody.
Molly
I love this set. It was such a fun set. It was professional, but I think we all vibed with each other.
What was most important? Well, I don’t even want to say most important, because it’s so important to vibe and click with everyone on set to make it a smooth-sailing set. If it’s a small set, if it’s a big set, do whatever you want.
But with Kyra and I, we have this natural chemistry where we just naturally gravitate toward, well, I can’t speak for her, but for me, I gravitate to her, because we just have that chemistry. So I think even shows on the show, you’ll see that depicted between Jackie and Quill. So Anastasia, you did a really good job with the casting for that.
Kyra
Definitely.
Molly
Yeah, yeah. I think Kay was funny.
Josh
A lot of the warmness in the color correction and everything we ended up doing, y’all’s chemistry is kind of what inspired that. Just seeing the warmness in the make-believe relationship.
Anastaisia
No. Filming-wise, sometimes it was stressful. I’m not going to lie.
But in the best way possible, we made it through, and I had some of the best memories of a set I’ve been on. But this time, it was me in charge of this difference. But no, each one of you made it the best memory, and we all just came together and kind of created this cohesive collection of creatives.
God, that was alliterative. Anyways. But I think filming was honestly a breeze once we just sat down and focused and just let each other breathe and laugh.
It was perfect. And it was all because of all of you.
Josh
Being able to be comfortable with everybody so quickly, even though I came in as an outsider, I definitely felt like there was ideas that were just thrown in spur of the moment that worked. And we were able to try those things because everybody was nice, so you didn’t feel afraid to suggest or whatever.
Is there anything you’re particularly excited about for the last two episodes?
Kyra
I’m excited for Jackie and Quill to have their real moment of tenderness. I think that that’s the first time we see Quill kind of almost admit that she’s wrong. It’s really, really shocking for me, having played her for so long.
And I think that that is such a special moment. It’s really nice. Like Jackie or Molly playing Jackie, and Josh said, it all kind of builds to that point of like, what is the word?
Showing the vulnerable side a little bit, which is new for Quill. And so I’m really excited for that.
Josh
I’m excited for everybody to see what our editors come up with for some of the, like the text message and some of that stuff too, that I don’t think some of y’all have seen yet. Josh, the other Josh is a really talented editor, and I’m excited for everybody to see his work.
Molly
I mean, again, echoing the same sentiments as everyone else. And honestly, not to be selfish, but I’m really excited to see myself on the screen and see how much I’ve improved over the years. I am not going to lie, but yeah.
I mean, you want the honest truth. Or how much I’ve not improved.
Josh
And the roller skating stuff came out really cool.
Kyra
I am excited for that. Josh, I’m glad you said that. I’m really excited.
I don’t really get my skating on camera very much, especially a professional camera. I think this is actually going to be the first time. So that’s going to be cool for me personally.
And also hopefully cool for the audience.
Josh
Well, and just the contrast from the first two episodes to being outside so much in the last two, just with the natural setting, the sound, the greenery and all that.
Anastaisia
I’m excited for everyone to see more of Cassie voiced by the amazing Amanda Battle. So glad.
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Quill In The Big City two-episode finale streams June 8 on Sparkk TV.
