Netflix’s “The Eddy” is often a strange brew of a series. Created by Jack Thorne and initially directed by Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle, the contemporary drama is as infused with a jazz aesthetic that, in theory, would seem apt for its Parisian jazz club setting. The eight episodes feature four directors of differing styles and melodramatic moments fit for a night of singing the blues. And, yet, besides Joanna Kulig‘s blessed vocals every episode (truly magical) there is one guiding light in the series, Amandla Stenberg.
READ MORE: “The Eddy”: A sprawling, free-form jazz drama [Review]
The acclaimed 21-year-old actress is a light in a serious that is often craving it. She plays Julie, the rebellious teenage daughter of Elliot Udo (Andre Holland), the co-owner of a struggling jazz cabaret in the French capital. Her character is the one you root for the most even when her storylines (drug abuse, parental conflict) strain for originality. That’s almost entirely thanks to yet another charismatic turn by the LA native.
Stenberg spent six months shooting in Paris working on the project which involved a good deal of improvisation depending on the director. This allowed her to help shape her character in a manner few actors get to experience. She jumped on the phone last week to discuss “The Eddy,” her filming overseas for an extended period and more.
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The Playlist: What made you want to visit “The Eddy?”
Amandla Stenberg: I thought it was really cool and unique in tone and just was also attracted to the fact that it’s this international multi-lingual piece. I honestly never see projects like that come across my inbox, so that was really exciting. When I spoke to Damien Chazelle and Jack Thorne initially about the project, they kind of just said to me that it would be filmed in this verite manner. That it would be following in the lineage of French New Wave, and I’m a huge fan of a French New Wave, so that was really exciting to me. Also, I thought it would provide a really cool opportunity to play and explore as an actor because as they were describing the process behind making it, they wanted us to have a lot of freedom and for a lot of the project to be improv-based. They wanted us to respond naturally to what was in front of us. And I also thought that the script was beautiful in the way that it highlights a lot of different facets of life and allows the time and space for us to really understand those facets. Especially, a place like Paris, which we traditionally have a very kind of Eurocentric, white-washed view of. But through the show, hopefully, we see kind of the multiculturalism and all the vibrancy and color of it.
In terms of the improv was it in figuring stuff out in rehearsals or was it more of on set discovery? If you had a reaction to something, you could take the scene in a different direction?
It was real-time improv, like on camera. There were a couple of scenes, especially with Houda Benyamina, who was our second director,* who is absolutely incredible. She had us do some rehearsal beforehand, which we improvised. I had a little more room for preparing what we were going to improvise, but in general, we were following our instincts and were given so much room to do that.
*Benyamina directed episodes 3 and 4
What do you think you brought to Julie that wasn’t on the page?
Oh, Lord. A lot, I think. I think the seeds of who she is were all on the page, but once we got on set, I was given so much encouragement to just go to the furthest place that I possibly could, which was really liberating and exciting. Especially in that first unit with Damien, I was always encouraged to just take it there and see what happened. I think Julie is probably a bit more… her presence is a bit more… God, I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s [she turned out to be] a little more chaotic and obnoxious, I think than it is written on the page. But, yeah. But definitely the seeds of who she is were all there.
Were you given backstories for your characters to assist in the improv or take them in a different direction because you knew something that wasn’t explicitly on the page?
Right. We had a lot of backstory conversations as we were working on the series. We had an initial one deciding if Julie was going to be bi-racial or fully black. And I felt it would be most appropriate if she was biracial, just because I’m biracial. I also thought that there would maybe be an interesting story to tell there in terms of seeing this girl who, obviously, has kind of constructed difficult and not the best coping mechanisms in order to navigate the world, and deal with this fragmented part of herself. I saw this as an opportunity for her to grow from that and become something different if this was a story about her reconnecting with her blackness, or maybe at least leaving the environment that she’s been in where she’s been mostly socialized by white people.
You sing a bit in the series, but were you hoping that you would sing more? Was it less than you thought it would be?
No, it’s actually way more than I thought it would be because, initially, Julie didn’t sing in the series. But that just became the story by the time that we got to the end of the series, a decision that the directors and producers wanted to make.
If there is a Season 2, would you hope for more musical opportunities?
That would be awesome. I would love that. I would definitely love that. Yeah. But at the same time, I don’t know, I think it would be really cool to also see Julie play the clarinet more.
Oh, I was going to ask that. Did you play the clarinet before this?
No, I didn’t. I did not. I had to learn, but I mean I had to learn very minimally. I had to learn how to play four or five notes. It really wasn’t too challenging, and it’s kind of funny, but my tone in the scene where I play the clarinet, is not a great tone because I don’t play the clarinet, but I actually really liked it. Damien really liked it because of the sound of it, it’s like croaking out.*
*As someone who played the clarinet for years as a kid it’s…a choice.
One of the really interesting things about the series is that the directors who worked on it have such distinct voices. Whether it’s Houda or Alan [Poul] or Damien or Laila Marrakchi.
Yeah. Yeah.
Also when watching it I felt when the new directors came on board their episodes purposely took a dramatically different tone and I sort of liked that. Is that observation a stretch on my part?
No, not at all. Each unit was such a distinct experience and each director brought such a different perspective and color to the series, which I think was Alan Poul’s vision for the project. Also, just that it would feel in the spirit of jazz, it would feel like it was constantly evolving and shifting and each block, each unit could freely have its own distinct style, and that wouldn’t be an issue. For instance, the first block is totally shot on film. But then the second block, Episodes 3 and 4, are not. I think Alan thought that was such a cool choice, wanted that freedom for these artists to make their work in whatever way they do and still have it be the same show. I mean we started off with Damien on this really fast-paced, super music centered. Damien loves music so much and so the music felt like the heartbeat of the show during that unit and we were super encouraged to improvise. We were given this freedom to fly super high and not look down and it boosted the show and it set us off on this very exciting path. And then when we got to Houda’s block we were allowed to delve deeper into the emotion of the characters, who the characters were, the actors, the acting itself. Not that Damien was not beautiful at doing that, but that’s just Houda is an actor’s director, so the rehearsal process was so different. She did exercises, like spinning. She would spin around in circles and whisper into my ear and rock me back and forth and then say, “Action.” It was a totally different experience, and when that was less centered around music but more centered around the grit and the grain of human existence, which I think is what Houda is so special at. And then with Laila, she kind of painted the series with a ton of different color. It became softer almost and sweeter and maybe more, I don’t know, sentimental. At least that’s what I felt working with her. And then with Alan, it felt like this huge climactic finish. Alan being American, it kind of brought us closer in terms of bringing it back to an American perspective and focusing on the drama of the interpersonal relationships. It was definitely a whirlwind adventure. Every couple of months was different but so rewarding in different ways.
It sounds so unique even for an episodic. When you think about that time, what did you enjoy the most? Was it those directorial changes? Was it the cast? Was it being able to film in Paris?
Oh man, there are so many things that I will carry with me, and so many things that I’m grateful for. It was incredible filming in Paris and living there. I never thought that I was going to have that experience, but it was so beautiful, so formative for me. I feel like it happened at a period my life that was perfect timing in terms of the age that I’m at. I mean being my first time traveling abroad and living abroad by myself. So, that definitely was really formative and challenging and beautiful. In terms of the production, I had never had a filming experience like that ever before. I felt like I was constantly being challenged to dig deeper and be more truthful and I was also given so much freedom to construct a character. I don’t know, it felt like I had so much self co-sign in order to get the job done, which was a really fantastic challenge. And I got to work with such talented directors that make such beautiful work, and just helped me to rise to the occasion.
The first season ends in a way that you could almost think it was just a limited series. It almost feels like the end of the story. Did you feel that at the time or was it always “We’ll definitely come back and do Season 2”?
I think it feels ambiguous. I think it felt like it was the closing to a chapter, but that there could potentially be more chapters. We’re not certain. I mean, I have no clue. It depends I think on how it goes, but it would be such an honor to continue working on the project and continue playing the character.
Well, I think you guys wrapped this up in the fall. Am I right? Or the early fall?
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
When this whole isolation quarantine happened, were you working on anything? Were you about to start a new project?
Yeah. Well, I was supposed to head into rehearsals for another project in June, but right now everything is so indefinitely paused or just up in the air, so we’ll see.
Well, before I let you go, I’m asking everyone is there any movie or series that you’ve binge-watched during this iso that has really stood out?
I’m late to the party, but I recently started binge-watching “Fleabag” and I love it so much. It’s so good.
“The Eddy” debuts on Netflix on Friday, May 8.