Gus Birney – Dickinson

By starrymag | November 5, 2021

By: MJ Asuncion

 

 

Q) Season 3 of “Dickinson” arrives soon, keeping it spoiler-free, what can fans expect during this new season? Does the season start shortly after the events of Season 2?

A) In true “Dickinson” fashion Season 3 does not disappoint. This season dives deeper into the darkness of the time period that Emily Dickinson was surrounded by and continues to ride that perfect balance of dealing with real gut-wrenching moments while finding levity and light. There are some incredible cameos and new faces who you’ll fall in love with. I think every character has a moment to sparkle this season and, seeing as it’s the last, it manages to wrap everyone’s stories up in a way that will leave people satisfied I think. As far as where the show picks back up I will leave you to find out on November 5th cause you’re in for some surprises!

Q) I love the “Dickinson” cast. What were some of your memorable moments during filming over the seasons?

A) Oh man where to begin!!! Each season I fell in love with different moments. Definitely so much of the first season was us all bonding as a cast, filming the third episode where the Dickinson’ throw a house party will go down as one of my favorites. It’s where I really got to know Sophie [Zucker], Allegra [Hart] and Kevin [Yee] and we developed our little island. Jane Humphrey would be nothing without Abby and Abiah and Toshiaki. They’re a unit and I couldn’t have gotten three better people to form it with me. Also doing the scene with Adrian [Enscoe] where he is writing Jane’s will in Season 2. I loved any moment with Austin and Jane, but that one in particular was written so beautifully. They are both such flawed people who mean so well but just couldn’t seem to get their timing right while still deeply caring for one another. And Adrian is such a fantastic person to act with. The show gave me so many memories I’ll hold close to my heart always and introduced me to Ella [Hunt], who later became one of my best friends. So, I could not be more thankful for its three fabulous years of life.

Q) Although there is excitement for this upcoming third season, there are some mixed emotions since it is also the final season. What do you hope fans take away from this last season, and from the series as a whole?

A) I definitely had mixed emotions as well saying goodbye. I think the whole cast did. I wasn’t a main character at all on the show, but I spent so much of my time working with these people for three years knowing it was ending took a moment to swallow. There’s a time though when you feel it’s a natural close to a story and we all felt that time had come. You want to end on a high and not when the party is clearly over, and people are begging you to go. I’ve always been a fan of an Irish goodbye. [laughs] I hope the show leaves people curious, curious to learn more about Emily Dickinson, about poetry, about love and life and being your own unique wonderfully odd alone self. Celebrate being different. We’re all our own poets inside our shells waiting to come out.

Q) What have you learned from playing Jane Humphrey the last three seasons and what will you miss most about this character?

A) What will I miss about playing Jane Humphrey?! Absolutely everything! She is so much more complex and intricate than what you perceive at first glance and getting to develop her into the woman she is by Season 3 was such an honor. I actually went in on Sue and then Lavinia (Anna Baryshnikov) before auditioning for Jane. And I remember when I read her part I thought, “Yes, okay that’s it! I know who this girl is.” She’s so much more than your typical “mean girl,” which is what originally her description had been. And I remember after I got the part Alena [Smith] (the heart and mind behind the show) told me not to worry about any idea that Jane has to be one thing, she’s many things and can be awful and wonderful all at once. She grows and morphs and fluctuates as we all do. Her relationship with Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) is one of genuine love at moments and genuine jealously and I learned that the moments I’m most interested in are the ones where we see the vulnerability behind the mask we all wear.

Q) I am excited to hear about your upcoming new series ‘Shining Vale’. What can you tell us about your character or about the storyline?

A) I can’t wait for the world to see it! We finished shooting about a month ago and I’m still having withdrawals. The show follows Pat Phelps (Courteney Cox) and her dysfunctional family that moves to Connecticut, in the hopes of repairing their relationships, into a house that may or may not be possessed with some spirits. But Pat is the only one who sees them. I play their daughter Gaynor. She’s edgy and complicated and despises her mom but is everything like her. It’s that point in your life when you want nothing to do with your parents but probably need them more than ever. Throughout the season though she starts taking a look at the person she is and maybe there’s hope to change. It’s some of the best written scripts I’ve read, I would be laughing out loud reading them and then crying a second later.

Q) I’ve read that the new series is a horror comedy, which is quite different from “Dickinson.” What about this series that made you decide to join this project?

A) Yes, it is very different from “Dickinson!” The show is unique in the fact when it wants to be scary, it’s genuinely scary, but then can be lighthearted and hilarious at the flip of a switch. Jeff Astrof, the showrunner (and one of a kind human being), along with the help of the brilliant Sharon Horgan have really done something that hasn’t been seen before on TV and created their own wacky whirlwind of a genre. “Dickinson” was such a world of its own and now Shining Vale feels like stepping into a totally different universe and that’s what’s so wonderful, I got to explore a new side of myself in Gaynor that I haven’t gotten to play before.

Q) What type of preparation did you do to get ready for this new role?

A) Well, the show stars Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear both of whom have starred in “Friends,” a show I’ve probably watched from start to finish about thirty times (yes, I know I am not alone in that) and Little Miss Sunshine, which is my favorite film of all time. So, in terms of preparation to work with them, I’d say I’ve been unintentionally preparing for about ten years. But really, I think I learned on the job working with the two of them and watching how masterfully they handle comedy taught me more than I ever expected to learn. I would constantly be in awe while studying both of them from afar. They are some of the hardest working people and humans I’ve ever come face to face with.

Q) Tell us about what you are looking forward to most for audiences to see in “Shining Vale?”

A) So, Jeff said a few people have described the show as The Shining meets “Schitt’s Creek,” which hey, I’ll take it. It’s really unlike anything on TV right now and I can say that whole heartedly. There’s something in it for everyone and at the end of the day actually has a lot of heart that sneaks up on you in unexpected ways. It deals with mental health, and what being a woman over the age of twenty-five looks like and motherhood and the heartache of being an artist and gosh it has it all. Plus, some romance and jump scares and a gosh darn amazing set. I can’t pin-point one thing I’d say I’m most excited for people to see other than to say expect to be taken on a ride.

Q) What inspired you to focus on acting full time, after an early start in modeling, where you achieved a lot of success?

A) I started modeling at the age of fourteen and at the time that was the coolest thing in the world to me. My mom (Constance Shulman) and I had watched every season of “America’s Next Top Model” and for fourteen-year-old Gus who was a late bloomer in all walks of life, getting scouted to be a model when I still saw myself as a lanky giraffe felt like being crowned princess. Little did I know how physically and emotionally exhausting the modeling world can be and at times is anything but glamorous. I have such great respect for the models out there who work full time and continue to keep their head on straight and don’t develop a warped sense of self. I mostly did a few seasons of runway and even did Kanye’s Yeezy Season 2 show, which to this day I will look back and think, “Wait was that me… that’s awesome!” Acting has always been my first love. It’s number one criteria is the ability to allow yourself to feel. Feel it all: the good, bad and everything in between. I grew up with two parents who were actors and a brother who is an actor. It’s the language we speak and very much intertwined into our family. I think it is magic how much we as human beings can feel if we allow ourselves to feel it, and how lucky I am to have a job that encourages that.

Q) You have experience in theater, with the 2016 off-Broadway play Connected, followed by the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s production of Tennessee Williams’ play The Rose Tattoo. What are some of the unique challenges for you when working in theater versus film and television? Have you thought about going back into theater again in the future?

A) I would absolutely love to do a play again. Growing up I watched both my parents perform in the theater and went to a preforming arts high school where I grew confidence as an actor doing my school’s shows. I think every artist who is starting out should begin doing theater because it expands your sense of self and helps you really understand stories start to finish. And there really is no feeling like having a live audience all share a moment in time with you. It is terrifying don’t get me wrong, and the nerves that come with doing a play I don’t miss for sure, but the rush and thrill that it brings along makes it all worth it. The beautiful thing about doing a film or a TV show is the intimacy that doing a one-on-one scene brings. There’s no need to perform to anyone. It can just be a shared moment between you and the person inside it with you. I don’t have a preference because in my head they are apples and oranges and I like both of those fruits.

Q) What are some of your favorite theater productions, and what about theater most interests you?

A) Truly, not just because they are my parents (okay maybe I’m a little biased), but anything my mom and dad (Reed Birney) are in. It is a gift to be in awe of your parents and watching them on stage is like watching a painter slowly shape out a beautiful masterpiece. A few years ago, my mom preformed in a play called Bobby Clearly at the roundabout and not only was I swept away by her performance, but the entire room was – to the point that when the play would end, and the audience would need to clap there was a collective moment we all shared getting our breath back. She is as remarkable an actress as she is a mother and, let me tell you, that is saying a lot. My dad, on the other hand, was a huge part of shaping my taste in theater, and I had the chance of growing up watching him perform in a wide variety of pieces. The one which in my head will be his Tony-winning performance (though he did actually win a Tony for The Humans) was his performance in I’m Going to Pray for You So Hard. He simultaneously broke my heart and terrified me to my core. Let me tell you, the experience of watching your parent on stage and forgetting they are your parent is a bizarre event. I wish I had more articulate words to say how brilliant he was in that play. The magic and dynamic energy that comes with live theater is what interests me most.

Q) What theater project would you love to be a part of, if given the opportunity?

A) Oh, anything written by Tennessee Williams I would love to do again. And I love Annie Baker’s ultra-realistic, and off-kilter look on the world. My dream is to do the play Night Mother with my mom at some point and I guess putting that out into the zeitgeist maybe it will happen. Or to play Laura in The Glass Menagerie. I feel like I understand her, and she understands me.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is this such an important way to connect with your fans?

A) For the most part, I think social media is a whole lot of ickiness. And to keep from toppling over I try to limit my interaction with it. But leaning into the positive, it is a sensational feeling when someone reaches out to say they liked a film you were in or even throws a small comment your way complimenting you on something you didn’t think anyone would even notice. It’s such an odd tool because it can simultaneously make you feel so much less alone and so isolated. When used correctly, social media is an amazing device to be heard and spread love and remind people we are all on this world together.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans, and to all those who support you and your work?

A) I wouldn’t’ say I have “fans.” I’m still just Gus who trips on her herself and walks around with chocolate on her face without knowing, but the people who take the time out of their days to say something complimentary, I hope they know how much I appreciate it and hope they know it goes right into my heart and stays there. Being an actor is a rollercoaster ride and so is being a human so offering such wonderful support and giving the gift of acknowledging someone’s hard work is better than a life time supply of peanut butter. And coming from me that’s saying a lot.