Jessica Biel first showed her penchant for spine-tingling drama with her Emmy-nominated role on the 2017 horror anthology series The Sinner, which examined how and why people commit savage crimes. Now, Biel has found herself again at the center of a tale of murder and mystery in the chilling new series Candy, which is now streaming on Hulu.
Biel plays the antiheroine Candy Montgomery, a 1980s suburban housewife living in Texas who, as it turns out, is also an ax murderer. Montgomery killed her neighbor Betty Gore (Melanie Lynskey), on June 13, 1980, after having a yearlong affair with Gore’s husband. Though the motivation for the murder seems obvious — Gore was found with 41 ax wounds on her body — in court Montgomery said it was an act of self-defense after Gore came after her with an ax (a cut on Montgomery’s foot was used as evidence), and Montgomery was alarmingly acquitted of all charges and set free.
The controversial real-life case is riddled with tiny details that make it a fascinating story for a series — in fact, another series, Love and Death, taking on the Candy Montgomery story is expected on HBO Max this summer. For Candy, though, Mad Men writer Robin Veith compellingly tells the story nonlinearly, allowing viewers to piece together pieces of the case like a collage while Biel depicts Montgomery as a sweet, unassuming, and mysterious killer.
As the series draws to a close — the final episode airs May 13 — Biel spoke with Shondaland about the art of the antiheroine, her thoughts on hypnotism, and (spoiler alert) what it was like working alongside her husband, Justin Timberlake, who surprised viewers when he appeared a cop working Gore’s murder case, for the first time ever in the same series.
NADJA SAYEJ: The story of Candy Montgomery is a pre-internet story. What kind of research did you do to prepare?
JESSICA BIEL: It’s very pre-internet. There wasn’t that much to really understand about this woman and this experience, about the whole community — except the court documents, which we used from a legal standpoint, and also this book called Evidence of Love written by Jim Atkinson and Joe Bob Briggs [writing under his birth name, John Bloom]. They were journalists who were lucky enough to speak to Candy at the time and also her friends and family. It’s a wealth of knowledge and information. I always went back to it like a bible, going back to chapters, looking for little details. It’s amazing what these men did with this book on this story.
NS: What surprised you or compelled you about the story the most? There are so many textures. Was it the acquittal, her behavior, the hypnotism? What stood out to you?
JB: You picked three very compelling things already. Every step of the way, this story is surprising and compelling. One of the most compelling things was that Candy was such a compelling member of the community. She didn’t have an awful relationship with her husband. It wasn’t a loveless marriage. She was fun and cool, it seemed to me. That’s my portrayal of her. That may not be true, but I’m putting into it what I want to put on the screen. This lovely, sunny, kind, God-fearing, churchgoing wife and mother gets pushed to the point of enacting this incredible violence. Plus, the acquittal is just mind-boggling. In my imagination, my mind, she must have been an incredible storyteller as well. I’m not making a judgment call if it was right or wrong, but she was a compelling person herself, and her community loved her.
NS: Robin Veith’s nonlinear storytelling allows viewers to fill in the gaps and connect dots. What was it like working with her to craft that?
JB: I worked very closely with Robin, which was an absolute dream. She is so smart and cool. She’s so knowledgeable about this particular story. She lived and breathed this story with us. During the weekends, days off, on evenings, she’d be texting, “What if we did this? Or that?” She was the best guide. She was the boss lady, the best.
NS: Justin’s appearance in the series is such a surprise to viewers! There is a knowing familiarity when you’re on-screen together, but was it a challenge to work alongside him?
JB: We’ve never actually worked together in this capacity before — this is our first time being on-screen together, in the same place. Besides something silly I helped him with on Saturday Night Live a hundred years ago. It was a bit nerve-racking. I’m his biggest fan, and I wanted to make myself proud, and everybody proud. That added element of your partner being on set — I was nervous and wondering if I would be comfortable enough to be vulnerable and open to do the performance I wanted to do. When we got on set together, it was like exactly what you were saying — it was so comfortable. I felt I could be the most uninhibited with him around; he could accept me for all of it. Of course, I didn’t know how I was going to feel in the beginning, but it ended up being easy. There was so much ease when I was working with him.
NS: I imagine you guys getting ready to go to work and practicing your Texan accents over breakfast.
JB: I worked on my accent a lot; it was really fun. He has a natural ability to tap into a Southern accent, being from Tennessee, but it’s a different accent. But if you’re from the South, you have this ability to pull it out and put it away. I worked with an amazing dialect coach, Tangela Large. She’s an absolute genius and an incredible support. We went over — and over and over — lines and talked about what it sounds like in that part of the world. What is the motivation to put a “t” on one word but not another? It wasn’t only technical; it was emotional too. How being from that part of the world affects how you speak. It was an immersive experience to me, at least.
NS: Those hypnotism scenes in the courtroom were magnetic to watch in a way. Are you a hypnosis believer?
JB: It’s an interesting thing how they allowed it in the court system in the 1980s, which added another interesting element about how that verdict turned out. But I don’t know. I’m into alternative healing and spirituality, and I think some people I know have had real, profound experiences under hypnosis, but others have not. I’m up in the air. I haven’t made my mind up about that one yet [laughs].
NS: What is the most challenging part of playing an antiheroine? Can I say that? Can I call her an antiheroine?
JB: Yes, I would say that is very accurate, generous as well. I love playing the antiheroines; they’re the most complex. And it’s a risk. Can you make an antiheroine or antihero likable? That’s a huge goal and hurdle that you have when playing people who are doing questionable things. You may not be behind them the whole time as an audience member, but I have to be behind them the whole time and find a way to make you like them even though there is some crazy stuff. That’s fun.
Nadja Sayej is an arts and culture journalist based in New York City who has written 5 books, including Biennale Bitch and The Celebrity Interview Book. Follow her on Twitter @nadjasayej.
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