How Jessica Biel landed her husband for a `perfect' cameo in `Candy'
`Ms. Montgomery, did you kill Betty Gore?'
It's the question everyone watching `Candy' wants answered by the Texas housewife, played by Jessica Biel. And it's finally asked by Steve Deffibaugh, a no-nonsense crime scene investigator played — surprise! — by Biel's real-life husband, Justin Timberlake. The Hulu miniseries is the first scripted project in which the performers are also each other's acting partners.
`We've never shared a scene before,' Biel tells The Times. `It was easier than I thought it would be.'
The first three episodes dramatize the events around the alleged 1980 ax murder from the perspectives of its key players: the accused killer, Candy; the victim, her best friend, Betty (Melanie Lynskey); and Betty's husband, Allan (Pablo Schreiber), with whom Candy was having an affair. The fourth episode introduces Deffibaugh as an outsider unfazed by Candy's beloved status in her small town and focused on the unsettling sights in the Gore household.
`In reality, Candy's the only one who got to tell her side of the story because she's the only one who walked out of that room,' says series co-creator Robin Veith. `But the real Steve Deffibaugh, whom we interviewed numerous times, pretty much figured that she did it. He had a compelling story to tell and was basically arguing for Betty because she never got a chance to speak for herself. It became a very important way for us to give Betty's side as much weight as Candy's.'
So how did Timberlake end up in the key (albeit uncredited) role? `We always read each other's material — Justin reads stuff we're doing, and we read things he's considering doing,' says Biel's producing partner Michelle Purple. `He called me, said how much he liked the show and asked me about the character of Deffi. He said, `I see a way in. I think I can play him.' And I was like, `Whatever. Sure you do.'' (Timberlake was unavailable for comment.)
The idea intrigued Veith, especially since the story's other law enforcement character is played by Lynskey's real-life husband, Jason Ritter. `It became a