With the second season of Hulu’s Marvel series “Runaways” on the horizon, series star Brigid Brannagh talked with OMFGTV about her character of Stacey Yorkes and playing one of the show’s villains, while also previewing the show’s upcoming season 2 debut on December 21.
Brannagh’s character in the series is one of the many villainous parents of the Pride, who in season two, take a more hands on approach to finding their lost children.
“I think Dale and Stacey, in terms of finding our kids, take a more prominent role this year in using our skillsets and trying to find ways to get our kids back,” Brannagh said. “How we can get back to our family life, which is what everyone in Pride wants. And then it goes bananas from there!”
Brannagh also delved into the fractured relationship between the various members of Pride and how that affects the group dynamic. “It’s like an alliance of convenience. It’s basically Machiavellian. I don’t like this person, I don’t agree with this person but I’m going to stand with them.”
“For instance, nobody is a fan of Leslie, but we still stand with her to get our kids back and get rid of Jonah,” Brannagh continued. “She’s diabolical, but we have something bigger to get rid of first. Even with Tina and Robert, for someone who couldn’t be worse for them for obvious reasons, but they stand with her. We band together to get rid of this monster in our lives.”
Both Brannagh and her onscreen husband, Kevin Weisman, despite being the funniest members of the Pride, are still just as villainous as the rest of the parents. With that, Brannagh went into playing a character who is evil, yet still understandable.
“It’s been very exciting, but also very confusing. Kevin Weisman and I have had conversations because we clearly believe and are coming from a place of wanting to be good and do the right thing and help the world and then end up in this situation where they still believe all those things but now they’re stuck in this situation where the penalty is their kids. Kevin and I discuss, how are we justifying it?”
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“We constantly say we’re going to keep it light because it’s going to be over and we’re really going to do all these things and save the world. It’s like telling yourself a lie in your head. That’s how we have to play it to keep it light. You can’t be kind and evil at the same time. You have to think you’re doing the right thing.”
Brannagh also touched on the influence the iconic comic book series from Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona has had on her performance in the show. “The first season, I was very focused on the comics and then I realized it was going to be hard for me to play what I needed to play if I kept doing that,” Brannagh said.
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“Only when we do iconic moments from the comics do I go ‘Oh, there it is!’ But I try to set the comics aside because it spins my mind a bit. At the beginning, I was excited to stay in line as much as I possibly could, but then it started taking a different path.”
Building off that, Brannagh offered her perspective on the show diverging from the comics’ storyline. “Brian K. Vaughan is involved with the show, so it’s not like it’s happening without thought of the comic book,” she continued. “It’s like the new ‘Star Trek’ movie with Chris Pine; there were so many odes to the old one, so they were honoring it, but they still updated it. That’s what’s exciting. No one’s showing it a lack of respect for it.”
Finally, Brannagh revealed what she’s most excited for the fans to see in the show’s second season. “I’m excited for them to see where the kids end up in the Hostel. The set design is incredible. I’m super excited for them to see Old Lace because I love Old Lace. I swear to God, I would just take that dinosaur home!”
Brannagh also teased a shocking “crescendo” moment halfway through the season. “For me just reading it, I was totally shocked. I was like, where are they going from here? Somebody needs to tell me! [Executive Producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage] really do surprise me a lot.”
All 13 episodes of “Runaways” season 2 will premiere on Hulu December 21.
