DEADLY waters
ELISABETH MOSS returns to BBC2’S eerie cop drama alongside a starry new cast, including Nicole Kidman and gwendoline Christie
new drama
Top of the Lake
Thursday, BBC2 Hd, 9pm
IT’S A GLOOMY morning on Sydney’s Bondi Beach and Elisabeth
Moss is studying the grisly contents of a large, battered suitcase dumped in the sand.
Tv&satellite Week has been given special access to watch the actress as she shoots a scene for haunting crime drama Top of the Lake, which returns to BBC2 this week for a second, six-part run.
Created by Oscar-winning writer Jane Campion, it picks up four years after the first, New Zealandset season, and finds Moss’s tortured detective Robin Griffin now living in Sydney. She’s there in the hope of reconnecting with Mary, the daughter she gave up for adoption (played by Campion’s own daughter, Alice Englert).
However, when a suitcase containing the body of an Asian woman washes ashore, Robin soon becomes wrapped up in the city’s dangerous underbelly of sex trafficking and prostitution as she tries to unravel the murdermystery of ‘China Girl’.
We caught up with Moss, 34, on Australia’s most famous beach to chat about reprising her Golden Globe-winning role and working with a new A-list cast, from Nicole Kidman to Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie…
IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE THE FIRST SEASON. DID YOU NEED
MUCH CONVINCING TO DO A SECOND? Not at all. Jane Campion asked me to do it a year after we finished the first instalment. Then, for the next two years, I kept emailing her, sending her little reminders, because I thought it wouldn’t happen. But both Jane and her co-writer, Gerard Lee, wanted to make sure they had a story to tell, and they also wanted it to exist on its own as a separate thing, so they took their time with it. Being an American, however, I was like, ‘Come on! Let’s do this!’ It took some patience on my part.
HOW WAS IT RETURNING TO THE CHARACTER OF ROBIN GRIFFIN AFTER SUCH A LONG TIME? You’d think there would be a certain ease, but it’s been so much more emotionally challenging for me. However, I did tell Jane that I wanted Robin’s story to go in a much darker, deeper and more disturbing direction, otherwise what’s the point?
HAS FILMING IN AUSTRALIA MADE IT FEEL LIKE A NEW SHOW? It felt like Robin was on her own before, out in remote New Zealand, whereas this story explores her personal relationships. In fact, Jane says season one was about the wilderness outside, and the sequel is about the wilderness within.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ROBIN CONTACTS HER DAUGHTER, MARY? Motherhood is a big theme this series and much of Robin’s character stems from her choice to give her daughter away 17 years ago, so it’s been a real gift to explore what happens when they meet. I think we’ve handled it sensitively because Robin doesn’t feel like a parent and has to find her own way of being a mother. As someone who doesn’t have a child, I felt that I could identify with Robin in the sense that Mary feels more like a sister or a friend than a daughter.
DOES IT LEAD TO A CLASH WITH MARY’S ADOPTIVE MOTHER JULIA, PLAYED BY NICOLE KIDMAN? AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE ACTING OPPOSITE HER? There is a sort of battle of the mothers. During filming, I definitely had a moment when I had to remind myself to be professional and not shout,‘oh my God I’m acting with Nicole Kidman!’ She was lovely and so enthusiastic. When you have a big movie star who wants to challenge themselves like that, you’re very grateful.
ROBIN ALSO HAS A NEW POLICING PARTNER, MIRANDA, PLAYED BY GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE… Yes, and the dynamic between them is one of the best aspects of this season for me. They’re opposites – Miranda appears sensitive and passionate, but on the inside, she’s strong and fierce, while Robin wants to be tough, but really she’s soft and vulnerable. It’s an interesting combination.
GWENDOLINE ALSO BRINGS SOME HUMOUR TO THE SHOW, DOESN’T SHE? Top of the Lake may be dark and creepy, but it’s also grossly hilarious at times, which is definitely a Jane Campion thing, and she wrote the role of Miranda specifically for Gwendoline. I knew Gwen would bring something unique, but she blew it out of the water. It’s been a real fan-girl experience for me.
YOU’VE PLAYED SOME
ICONIC ROLES, INCLUDING
Mad Men’s PEGGY
OLSON AND OFFRED
IN The Handmaid’s
Tale. DO YOU SEEK
OUT STRONG WOMEN?
The best writing provides strong, interesting female characters, and that’s what I gravitate towards. But Jane and Gerard’s writing also expects the audience to be intelligent; they don’t dumb down. As a result, Top of the Lake has a tone that is unlike anything else.
All episodes will be available to watch on BBC iplayer after the first episode airs.