Apple TV: protagonists of The Last Thing He Told Me talk about the series – Entertainment – Culture

A few days ago, the platform Apple TV+ premiered the last thing he said to me (The Last Thing He Told Me), a seven-episode miniseries, based on the best sealr that bears the same name.

The mystery-thriller, written by Laura Dave, was published in May 2021 and was an instant number one bestseller, spending 65 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and winning a GoodReads Award for Best Sellers. ‘Best mystery and thriller book of 2021’.

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In addition to having an enviable cast, led by Jennifer Garner (Hannah Hall), the miniseries was produced by Josh Singer, one of the most important writers and producers in the industry today and who, in turn, is the husband of the author of the book. Singer was in charge of the scripts for Spot light and The Post (The Pentagon Files). He has been a producer and writer of Law and order and The West Wing. Additionally, she has worked with Steven Spielberg, Bradley Cooper, and Damien Chazelle.

“I think that everyone should watch the series because it will test their idea of ​​fatherhood, of motherhood. It’s going to test his idea of ​​love,” says Jennifer Garner. “They will wonder what love really is and it will make them wonder: can you trust yourself? Can you trust your own instincts? How far are you willing to take a hunch?” adds the experienced actress.

“If I must be honest, I don’t think anyone is 100% empty. Human beings are very complex.. I think people deep down are good, but that doesn’t mean they do good things… that’s one of the things that struck me when I read the book,” she says.

“When I found out that it was going to be brought to the small screen and that the role of Hannah was available, I jumped into action and tried to convince everyone that I was the right person to play her,” confesses the actress, remembered as Jenna. Rink in the movie If I Was 30, a role he played alongside renowned actor Mark Ruffalo.

The series, divided into seven episodes of approximately 40 minutes, tells the story of Hannah, a woman in her 40s who lives on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, and is a woodworker. She is married to Owen Michaels, a man with whom she has an apparently happy life.

Owen and Hannah live with Bailey (Angourie Rice), Owen’s daughter. Hannah is puzzled when her husband disappears from one day to the next, without explanation, leaving a cryptic and enigmatic note: ‘Protect her’ (‘Cuídala’), and a bag with money. The disappearance is part of an investigation carried out by the FBI for embezzlement of funds against the company for which Owen works, a character played by Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, remembered for his role as Jaime Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

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When he disappears overnight, Hannah decides to go looking for explanations and answers and carries out her own investigation. During that search, Hannah develops a deep relationship with her stepdaughter, with whom she previously couldn’t get along, while she learns that she doesn’t really know who Owen is, the man she’s with. she has been married for years.

“Absolute goodness does not exist. Absolute evil, either. There are a few impeccable characters like Nelson Mandela and a few absolutely horrible, the bad guys in history… like Hitler, but I think most of us live in the middle,” says Coster-Waldau, who received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister.

“Most of the people I meet are good people,” he adds. If you think about it, it’s very rare that you come across real jerks. I mean, I think we’re basically good, but we all do complicated things.”

The role of Coster-Waldau is that of a man who lives a happy life with his new wife and teenage daughter and one day must leave everything because his past haunts him. And at a certain point the viewer fails to understand who Owen really is. It’s good? It is bad? Reflection is inevitable.

Coster-Waldau assures that, in the hypothetical case that each person ventures to write a book about their life, surely there will always be something they are ashamed of.

“We all have those moments that make us think, why did I do that? That was so stupid. It wasn’t nice, it was the worst version of myself. But does that define you? I do not think. I think we need to go back to accepting that we all have flaws… and stop constantly looking for flaws in others. But we live in a time in which perhaps it is easier to point out the mistakes of others than to accept those that are in ourselves, ”says the actor.

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unexpected success

“I felt a lot of pressure,” he says. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some wonderful directors, so I’m used to playing lieutenant to a great captain.”

the last thing he said to me he plays at debating between good and evil, questions about white lies and the need (or not) to know the truth.

The author of the book affirms that she began working on the story in 2011, leaving it and returning to it several times. “There were too many interruptions until I finally found my way to the story I wanted to tell,” she says.

The story makes us want to continue to trust, even when everything indicates that one should not anymore, says Dave, and reveals that he did not think the book would be as successful as it has been.

“Not only did I think it was never going to be the success it has been, but I didn’t even know if I was ever going to make it through, if I would find my way to the end. When I think of the many times I was about to give it up, I feel that it is a reminder that we all have to sit down and carry on… as much as we can,” says the writer, who had already had successful books, but never one like The Last Thing He Told Me.

For his part, Josh Singer comments on the complexity of adapting his wife’s book for television: “I don’t want to disappoint Steven (Spielberg) when I work with him; I don’t want to let Damien (Chazelle) down in his movies; I don’t want to disappoint Bradley (Cooper) when he calls me … and, in the same way, I don’t want to disappoint Laura …, but yes, it is true that the stakes were higher here (laughs) ” .

The adaptation for the platform, although it incorporates some characters, such as Jules, Hannah’s best friend, played by Aysha Tyler, it remains quite faithful to the book, perhaps too much, for which it has received criticism from the specialized press.

“I believe in redemption. I believe that people can change, they can correct their mistakes. So if I felt that I had been living with a good person who had been loving to me and her daughter, who has treated me kindly, I would like to know why she has done the things she is accused of… and I would give her the chance for him to come clean,” Tyler explains of his character.

“I think that we are too impulsive to decide that if a person has hurt us they should get out of our lives… and I am convinced that good people do bad things and bad people are capable of good things and that, yes. .. we are all capable of change ”, adds Tyler, known for being Dr. Charlie Wheeler in the series friends.

the last thing he said to me It has already released most of its seven episodes and has the audience questioning who Owen really is. An answer that will be known through the remaining chapters.

URSULA LEVY
FOR THE TIME
On Twitter: @Uschimusic.