Can we change the course of our own destiny? Or are we fated to follow history? In the highly anticipated Netflix series East of Eden, the answer is nestled somewhere between good and evil – and which side we choose to place our moral compass.
The seven-part adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel, written by Zoe Kazan, tells a multigenerational story about the men of the Trask family, whose lives are intertwined with manipulative mistress Cathy Ames.
Florence Pugh on the emotional toll of Cathy
In this version, set in the 1900s, actress Florence Pugh immerses herself into the troubled mind of Cathy, who vies for autonomy in whatever way she can. She is monstrous in many respects, but her guile and beauty instantly charm those who meet her.
Speaking in an excluisve interview with TV WEEK, the Academy Award nominee says, “Cathy’s one of the hardest characters I’ve had to understand.” Not wanting to cheapen the character by making her a pure villain, Florence wanted to grasp the trauma that led her to be this way.
“I didn’t know her immediately, but living with her and putting myself through extreme emotional trauma in those scenes, bit by bit, I understood the shell she’d created for herself,” Florence, 30, says.
“She still does these awful things and hurts people, but Cathy’s not one thing. She’s not just evil or bad, she is a human dealing with a lot of situations she was put in and had to deal with. It’s more interesting creating a person who has flaws but also has their reasons – and then it’s up to the audience how they feel about her.”
To immerse herself into Cathy’s world. Florence listened to curated playlists on set.
“I have one for Cathy and one for [her alter-ego] Kate and they’re totally different vibes,” she says. “I just use them as a way to figure out the characters I’m playing and prepare for big moments.”
A family affair for Zoe Kazan
For writer and executive producer Zoe, whose grandfather Elia directed the 1955 film starring James Dean, taking on such a personal project was daunting. But her version is different enough and, like the original novel, told over decades so viewers witness how time can change everything – or absolutely nothing.
“I fell in love with the book when I was 15, and there’s an uncanny tie between myself and this material. I’ve spent my entire career, sort of, skirting my grandfather’s shadow and trying to stand on my own two feet. But this book kept calling to me and I had a vision of what I wanted to do with it.
“So when I got the opportunity, I didn’t have any hesitancy and I’d worked through any feelings of ambivalence. I dove in.”
A dynamic trio
Florence echoes this sentiment by adding how different the series is from its’ previous iterations.
“Ultimately, what Zoe allowed for me to do because of the scripts she created, was fill in gaps that maybe [author] Steinbeck didn’t do for her and give Cathy context and give her motive,” She says.
“Through that you maybe allow for people to feel sympathy for her, which is totally fine. You can feel sympathy for the fact that she got beaten within an inch of her life and also be totally shocked by the acts she does. But allowing for there to be both, we felt, was important.”
Christopher Abbott, 40, who plays Adam Trask, has known Florence for years, but the duo had never worked together before now.
“I’m so happy this is the first thing we ended up doing together because it’s the most epic sort of dynamic,” he says.
Christopher also ‘worked’ previously with Mike Faist, who plays Charles Trask, just not in the way you’d think!
“We first met in a boxing ring [during a training session],” Christopher says, with Mike, 34, jumping in to add: “Yes, we met while Chris was punching me in the face repeatedly – but he couldn’t have been nicer about it!”
East of Eden is available October 1 on Netflix
