Gail Bean – Paradise Lost

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been busy working on?

A) I just did an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” That was the first audition I had this year and I booked that. That was amazing. We’re back filming “Snowfall.” With the Corona Virus we shutdown so we’re on a little hiatus. I’ve been auditioning and writing myself.

Q) Please tell us the premise for the new series “Paradise Lost.”

A) Without giving too much away, I would say it’s a portrait of the South and not the generic stereotype. It’s a little bit deeper and really peeling the layers back on the South, the secrets and how underestimated it is. Just how they have their own system. We have our own way of doing things in the South and it works for us. When you’re an outsider, you know it.

Q) How was your character Gynnifer Green originally described to you?

A) She’s been in the South all her life so that’s all she knows. She’s been in the city all her life, so she’s trying to escape that and break out. She’s always had dreams that I wouldn’t necessarily say are bigger because that makes the South seem really small. But her dreams are different and the series shows that the South gets a hold on you and even when you try to escape it sometimes you can’t. Gynnifer is fun. Everyone is going to love her. She’s like a breath of fresh air to the series because sometimes the South will get ahold on you and it can feel like it’s smothering you. That’s how Gynnifer feels. She’s just a ray of sunshine in the series. She’ll make you laugh, cry, think and out of nowhere you’ll think this, “Okay, I’m catching feelings.”

Q) What did you find challenging about portraying her?

A) I would say having to cut off…With my uncle, I don’t really have a great relationship with him. Gynnifer has zero feelings towards him. Being that she is cold towards him, that I felt was kind of challenging because I like love people, especially family. Family is my number one thing. So, having a family member in the series that I had to just be cold-hearted towards and not care about his situation or his wellbeing. That to me was a bit challenging.

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on this show?

A) Danielle [Deadwyler], who plays my sister…It’s so crazy because we worked on “Atlanta” together. We were best friends in Atlanta and we’re both from Atlanta and we have a lot of mutual friends. So, when I got cast and I went by the casting director’s office to thank the ladies they asked, “Do you know who is playing your sister?” I said, “No.” They asked, “Do you want to know?” I was like, “Yes!” They told me and I had to sit down because I was going to faint! I was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness and I was like in their office about to cry because I was so grateful. We’re good friends and I want to say like a month before she was in LA and we went to lunch and were talking. We were just talking about how the industry is hard, but we were both going through stuff in our personal life and our careers. So, we were just encouraging each other and saying how we had to stay positive and it is going to happen. We were both discussing that we kind of wanted to move to New York. So, we were talking about that. It was just such a blessing to be cast alongside her and not just as best friends, but she is my sister. I’d never met Josh [Hartnett], but I knew his work. Who doesn’t think he’s handsome? [laughs] So, I love him. And Bridget [Regan], I watched “Jane the Virgin” so I knew her from there. Then, Nick Nolte and Barbara Hershey are monuments in the industry.

Q) With such intense storylines, how did you shake off a day of filming?

A) I just tried to make sure that I only kept it to filming. I didn’t watch certain things while I was filming and I didn’t read certain things. Even with social media, there were certain pages that I wouldn’t’ go to. I believe while we were filming When They See Us came out and I couldn’t watch that. Certain things I made sure…Because it’s already intense material, like the script and the storyline, and pretty heavy I didn’t want to pile on top of that. Also, because my character (even through it all) is pretty light, I had to try to make sure that I stay light. On the show I’m dating a white guy and I didn’t want to have any outside influences that effected Gynnifer and his relationship within the series. I know Danielle watched it and there were some podcasts that Rose had us listen to. But certain things I was like, “Nah, I can’t watch that. I can’t listen to that. I can’t see that,” because I wanted to stay in that realm. Then, I wanted the only heaviness that did come in to be the script.

Q) What can you tease were some of your favorite episodes to film of the show?

A) I would probably say there are a bunch, but I really loved when we…I don’t know if this is giving it away or not! You’ll see the Airstream, when we first find out…Well, Danielle and I had a lot of fun. So, all of our scenes because we improved and played around a lot. There was a lot of freedom with that and it was a lot of fun. With Bridget, when her and I go to the dead Debbie’s family’s house…I don’t know why…It’s a really weird scene, but I don’t know why I enjoyed that. Then, I really enjoyed when her and I went to the adult novelty store because it was so much fun. It was so much fun! There were so many items in there that I would never have imagined. Then, there was random stuff in there like candy! I was like, “Okay…” But that was a lot fun. [chuckles] The set decorations were awesome. That was really great. All of the scenes with Danielle. I have two scenes, but I shot the very last scene with Josh first. That was a lot of fun because that was my first time working with him ever. I think majority of my scenes are with Bridget and majority of Danielle’s scenes are with Josh. So, that was cool. The adult novelty store though, for sure. You’ll have to see it to understand.

Q) What do you think it is about “Paradise Lost” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

A) I think there are a lot of people who are not familiar with the South. They know it, but they are as familiar with it, which I think is really great because they’ll get to learn a lot and see a lot and have an understanding of things. They have their stereotypes but this is completely different. It’s a whole new ballgame. It’s like you ever slide through a city or go visit a city on the weekends? If you live there, you’re from there and you grow up there it’s a different experience being a local as opposed to a visitor. So, this is the inside look – a full whole-body experience of the South. The good, the bad, the ugly and the secrets. I think that is going to immediately draw people in. I think secrets with anything keep people hooked. I think the different characters and how fleshed out they are and how true to the time and true to the story…That’s going to be the mystery that will keep people curious and wanting to know more and wanting to know about their lives and the choices and the decisions that they are going to make. I definitely feel like it’s going to be a different experience than if you grew up in the South. It’s going to keep people interested.