NINE PERFECT STRANGERS: Interviews With Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving & Melvin Gregg

Hulu’s newest miniseries follows the events that transpire at a unique health and wellness spa, guided by the magnetic Nicole Kidman in the eight-episode, Nine Perfect Strangers. This mysterious and compelling show digs into the heart of why each of these fractured people are looking for healing, while maintaining some moments of laugh-out-loud humor.

I was able to speak with stars Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving, and Melvin Gregg about each of their characters journeys and their interpretations, and what they think the audience will take away:

This interview is edited for clarity. 

This is Kristy Strouse with Film Inquiry, thank you so much for speaking with me today. I’m really enjoying the series so far! What would you say was the most exciting and most challenging part about playing Tony?

Bobby Cannavale: I think what initially interested me in him was the fact that he volunteered for this thing, and then spends all of his time resisting it. I just thought that’s an interesting dichotomy. Why is he like that? And then the more I kind of dug, the more into his personal plight of being this former professional athlete I learned. Which is another thing that I’m fascinated by. There are these guys that work at this high level of this physical job, and then they’re done by the time they’re, like, 30, and what does that mean afterward for them? What kind of psychological space does that put them in? So, that was fascinating to me. And then the fact that this guy is really at the end of his rope, you know, he’s just at the very bottom, when we meet him, and the unpredictability of knowing what he’s going to do say, and what are the results gonna be like… Is this guy going to kill himself or not? I found that all to be interesting ground to cover. And then, of course, you know, I’m kind of dark-humored myself. And I think, when people are desperate, they do funny things. So, I found that to be very funny as well. I kind of thought it had a little bit of everything, and then you put me opposite, Melissa [McCarthy], and then that’s just a bonus, you know?

Absolutely! I think it’s got a lot of very nuanced characters, and with Tony, a lot of layers are there. So, when you were first introduced to the script itself, was there anything in particular that stood out to you?

Bobby Cannavale: You know, I just finished reading Mike Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind, right before, right before this even came to me. I loved that book so much. I just really didn’t know how long that kind of work had been going on. How long scientists have been working on this psychedelic therapy. Since, the 1960s, they’ve been trying LSD therapy, and they haven’t stopped working on it. And I just think it’s an interesting way to help people. And I find the controversy around it to be interesting. I thought, here came this script. And it was right in line with what I had been reading and I thought, oh, there’s an interesting way to let people know that there are alternative ways to treat depression and grief and trauma.  That really fascinated me. And the creator is David Kelly. I know he can write great characters, and the cast…what a great cast.

Yes, terrific casting!

Bobby Cannavale: But I did like the idea of putting the idea out there, this thought into people’s head that was a thing psychedelic therapy, and that in a lot of cases, good can be done.

Absolutely!

You’re one of only two couples that are at the resort. But I think it’s really an individual kind of journey for each of you. So how do you each see your characters? What are they looking for?

Melvin Gregg:  Ben is looking for purpose. He’s looking for his place in the world. And, how he adds to the world.

Samara Weaving: Jessica’s looking for acceptance and love, even though she thinks she does not. She discovers what she needs.

Do you think that was what resonated with you about the character? 

Samara Weaving: I mean, she was just so alien to me. And it made me really think about how I viewed women and influences.  You have to work so hard to be an influencer, as a successful influencer, because the competition is really tough. So, I looked at…why do people make snap judgments based on people’s looks, etc? How intense is that? It was like a real social experiment. Once I had been through three hours of hair and makeup, I came out, and just everyone’s behavior kind of shifted. And yeah, it was interesting.

I can see that! This is really quite the cast! Did you all bond in a way, similar to the way the characters do in the series?

Melvin Gregg:  Yeah, I think I think we all bonded, we all hung out together. For Halloween, we went to all of their houses for Halloween, we had dinners together, we hung out quite a bit.

Awesome! What’s amazing about this series is that it balances a lot of different things, and can be really funny but also be very emotional, even- kind of absurd at times. But is there anything in particular that you think is going to really resonate with audiences? 

Samara Weaving: I think that we’re very aware that these are a lot of very privileged people going through a very privileged retreat. But, essentially, their issues are universal. So I think that because it’s such a cacophony of characters, and they all dealing with different things, I’m sure that everyone can relate to someone on some level.

Can you speak to what it was like working with Kidman, whose character is quite…unique, to say the least?

Samara Weaving: Very interesting, very intense and beautiful and stunning and ethereal and it was really interesting! We didn’t meet her until you see our characters actually meet her. So on the day, we were filming the scene where we were revealed. We were whispering to each other like, “oh, what is she wearing? Did you see her?” It was wonderful when she came in as a floating goddess woman.

So your reactions were real?

Samara Weaving: Yes!

I love that! Well, thank you all so much for taking the time. Congrats on the series!

Film Inquiry would like to thank Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg for speaking with us.

Nine Perfect Strangers will premiere on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 (first three episodes), with one new episode premiering weekly on Wednesdays thereafter, exclusively on Hulu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvqujH6boEI