Method to Paloma Faith’s disarming madness
It’s the sort of “rising from the ranks” that should have come much sooner for Paloma Faith, the British singer-actress responsible for the deliciously wicked portrayal of sadistic sociopath Bet Sykes in the Batman prequel “Pennyworth”—one of the best villains to have come out of sci-fi TV in recent years.
As they say, good things come to those who wait.
But the quirky and sometimes self-deprecating Brit Award-winning, platinum-selling 39-year-old multihyphenate has been a force to reckon with in the United Kingdom since she began juggling careers as a pop star (the INXS cover “Never Tear Us Apart” and the chart-topping albums “A Perfect Contradiction” and “The Architect”), actress (“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”) and talent-show judge (“The Voice UK, “The Voice Kids”).
Paloma’s fifth studio album “Infinite Things,” from which the singles “Better Than This” and “Gold” were culled, was released in November.
True, her name may not immediately ring a bell to televiewers in this part of Asia. But the rest of the world is certainly starting to sit up and notice— as the Los Angeles premiere of “Pennyworth’s” pilot season proved.
“I was quite shocked that people were actually waiting outside for me to sign pictures of myself in LA,” Paloma told Inquirer Entertainment before the premiere of the sophomore season of “Pennyworth” (Mondays at 9 p.m. on Warner TV) last December. “I didn’t think anybody knew who I was in America. But we had a really nice time there, and there’s lots of people with horrible pictures of me from the past! Some of them were photos of me where I’d made terrible fashion mistakes (laughs)!
“But yeah, it was quite an overwhelming experience. The line was quite long, with lots of people shouting. [It was a surprise] because when you do these shows, you kind of have your head down and you’re very focused and serious about the work and the acting.
“Then, you come out, and it’s quite like, ‘Oh my goodness!’—especially because it was our first season and we didn’t realize that people would care because, at the time, no one had seen it yet. But [the crowd] was made up of a lot of DC enthusiasts. Although I wouldn’t say it was anything particularly unusual because no one threw his underwear at me or anything—which is unfortunate because I would have loved that (laughs)!”
Asked what it felt like to have hurdled Season 1, Paloma turned serious and said, “I feel honored to be in this show and work with all the great actors in it. The writing is brilliant and I’m very lucky that I get to say some of the lines I have. It feels almost like an apprenticeship and I’m learning to act at the same time, because the character is so broad.
“In Season 2, Bet forges an emotional connection with another character. She starts to form relationships, as well as still maintaining this unpredictable and unhinged personality. So, there’s a lot of dynamic difference and clearer arc in her story now.
“We also get to see her more emotional, more vulnerable side, which has been exciting for me to explore. So, yeah, I’ve had a great time. Obviously, I still get to be horrific and all of the things that I secretly enjoy doing (giggles). But that’s no secret to you, right?
And it’s been fun this time around because, I don’t know if you know, but I am pregnant, so I’m getting bigger and bigger. I have more and more body doubles on set, which is quite funny. Like, when I do my fighting scenes, someone stands in to do the same, but with my character’s stomach looking normal (laughs).
“It’s been quite a learning curve to see how they do that when people say, ‘Oh I watched this movie but that person was pregnant—how did they do that? So, often, there are four of me walking around the set wearing the same outfit, the same hair, everything. It’s like ‘The Shining’ (laughs)!”
Palma gave birth to her second daughter with husband Leyman Lahcine just last Sunday.
We told the actress that we couldn’t get enough of the way she shuttles between Bet’s sinister nature and her surprising flashes of vulnerability from time to time, likening the thespic high-wire act as a, well, “Perfect Contradicton”—a winking reference to one of the songstress’ most popular albums.
“Ha!” she quipped, laughing, without skipping a beat.
But seriously, how does Paloma channel Bet’s dark nature and unpredictable temperament? Is there a method to Bet Sykes’ madness?
“It always has to come from somewhere,” she answered. “And I do have quite a lot of experience with my family (laughs)… and of people with different mental health problems. I’ve kind of observed them and channeled them as needed.
“When I was growing up, there was a big power struggle between my father and mother. I observed that a lot, too— and I feel like that really fits into the character. This ability to be almost pig-headed that you cannot see that what you’re doing is morally wrong or that you lack empathy for other people so much that you aren’t able to see how your actions might be wrong.
“But I also think that quite a lot of Bet’s victims are actually awful people. So, it’s not so hard to channel her sinister side because, even though what she does is horrible, she never really does it to anyone who’s kind or nice. She’s a good judge of character, but I think she just goes to extremes—something that we wouldn’t socially be able to do.”
When I was growing up, there was a big power struggle between my father and mother—and that really fits into my character
Paloma Faith Actress/Singer
After its midseason break, “Pennyworth” is set to resume Season 2 with Episode 5 at 9 p.m. on March 8 on Warner TV (channel 34 on SkyCable; 235 on Cignal TV), with an encore telecast of Episode 4 tonight.