“There’s not a lot of bulls–t there,” Benanti tells TooFab of her ongoing working relationship with ‘Life & Beth’ co-star Schumer.
There’s a reason why Laura Benanti wants to continue working with Amy Schumer and it’s not because Schumer is a “giant movie star”.
“We just really like each other, who is to say why humans get along? I mean we have a similar sense of humor,” Benanti told TooFab before adding that Schumer isn’t the typical movie star people would expect.
The 44-year-old actress revealed that Schumer is not one to worry about the glitz and glamor that comes with being a name in Hollywood.
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“She’s a giant movie star but she doesn’t fall into that role very much. She’s not worried about fashion and how she looks and other people’s perception of her,” Benanti said. “And I’m the same. There’s not a lot of bulls–t there. And so it’s nice to find a friend where it’s like ‘Oh, good you’re no bulls–t, too.'”
Benanti co-stars in the Hulu series Life & Beth, created by and starring Schumer as Beth, while Benanti plays Beth’s mother Jane. Beth goes through quite a catharsis when Jane dies in a car accident, and she is left to face the aftermath of the tragedy.
Most of Benanti’s scenes in Season 1 were filmed as flashbacks, which gave the audience an opportunity to see how Jane, a deeply broken but loving parent, haunts her daughter through her own personal demons. Benanti continued these appearances in Season 2, though not as frequently.
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Beth had a complicated and tumultuous relationship with her mother after Jane ruined her relationship with her best friend Liz by having an affair with Liz’s father.
“I mean Amy is so funny, the humor of that character really drew me in,” Benanti said of the script. “Playing flawed people is the most gratifying thing to play. So often women are not written as multi-dimensional. They’re either evil or perfect; to have a woman who is in between and is actually just a person was really gratifying, and to get to do those scenes with Amy, who I also love very much, was really fun.”
Following the death of Jane, Beth and her younger sister Ann were not only working through their grief, but also through the harm their mother perpetuated in their lives, and in turn, their relationships.
Heading into Season 2, the sisters have been able to let go of the past, managing to forgive her after the “do-over” funeral reception they held for her. As for what Jane wanted for Beth in this second season…
“I think that continued journey toward her most authentic self, and as she becomes a mother, giving grace to herself,” Benanti told TooFab. “At least for me, the hardest thing is to treat ourselves the way we would a friend. We’re so hard on ourselves, I am hopeful that the grace that Beth found in the space of acceptance of love in her heart for her mother, she can also find for herself.”
Life & Beth is written, directed, executive-produced by and starring Amy Schumer, with Michael Cera, Susannah Flood, Violet Young and an all-star cast of celebrity guest stars (see trailer above). The series is executive-produced by Kevin Kane, Daniel Powell and Ryan McFaul. It is produced by Fifth Season. The first two seasons are streaming now on Hulu.
