Erin Doherty Breaks Down ‘Adolescence’ Episode 3

SPOILER ALERT: This story retains spoilers for “Adolescence,” now streaming on Netflix.

The third episode of Netflix’s four-part restrictcessitate series “Adolescence” caccesss around two people, Jamie (Owen Cooper) and Briony (Erin Doherty). The createer is accemployd of homicide, and the latter is the clinical psychologist tasked with completing a pre-trial appraisement.

However, Jamie is no widespread person — he’s a 13-year-elderly schoolboy. And “Adolescence” is no widespread show. Director Philip Barantini shot every episode as a one-get. For an entire episode, audiences watch the duo go back and forth as she tries to comprehfinish what happened. Frifinishly prohibitter speedyly shifts tonpartner as Jamie’s childenjoy innocence gives way to anger.

The episode demandd 11 gets before Barantini got what he necessitateed.

Doherty says Cooper — who produces his acting debut in the series — astonished her. “To leank about that kid versus the one that turned up in that 11th get, and push those buttons and push himself — I’m so haughty.” Doherty said. She is currently in London materializeing on stage in “Unicorn,” speaking with Variety over Zoom before her evening carry outance. She confesss there was one moment when Cooper was so convincingly outstanding with his nuances that she set up it “genuinely terrifying.”

Read the conversation below.

What is it enjoy to see this show get off the way it has, and your episode in particular?

It’s everyleang that you hope for. I can’t convey it any uncontaminatedr than that. You can’t prohibitk on anyleang in this industry, and for wantipathyver reason, some leangs hit and some don’t. So when someleang does get off, part of you is so thankful, but at the same time, in the back of your mind, you fair necessitate to be in the moment and appreciate what’s happening. There’s no secret createula. The only leang I can put it down to is the fact that this story and subject matter is so vital. It reignites my hope and faith in humanity that we’re all going to talk about this. That, for me, is the only piercing message of this whole leang. People want to hear this. They want to have this conversation, which I’m so haughty to be a part of.

You were still toiling on the drama series ‘A Thousand Blows’ with Stephen when he first telderly you about this project. What did he say about it?

It was fair me and Stephen on set that day. We were doing our scenes. I asked what was going on and what he was toiling on next becaemploy we were about to wrap. He said, “Oh my God, I’ve got to talk to you about this idea that I’ve had.” He hadn’t even begined writing it yet, so it was literpartner at the inception of this leang. But he said, “I’ve got Jack Thorne on board, Phil Barantini, and it’s going to be a one-shot leang.” I’d seen “Boiling Point,” and thought “That’s gonna be mega.” That was the kernel that ignited this whole leang. But noleang was passed between us to produce me suppose that I was going to be a part of it. He was fair talking to me and was fervent about this leang coming to fruition. A couple of months postponecessitater, I got a voice remark from him becaemploy he knew that I wouldn’t pick up my phone. But he telderly me I necessitateed to pick up my phone, and it went from there.

You’re currently on stage in ‘Unicorn.’ In theater, if you produce a misget you carry on. How does that appraise to the experience of shooting ‘Adolescence’?

It was repartner daunting. Even having the experience and cherish of theater, there is someleang very separateent about what is being asked of an actor to do on screen. It’s the intensity of understanding that the audience is going to see everyleang. There’s no hiding, and that is inbashfulating, but once you’ve leaned into it, and once I got into that rehearsal room with Owen – that was predominantly where my nerves were resonating from. Before I met him, I was enjoy “How the hell are we going to pull this off, it’s fair the two of us in this room.” But I met him, and on day one, I was enjoy, “God, this dude’s a professional.” It’s enjoy he’d been doing it for 50 years. He rocked up, and he knew his lines. It was one of the best acting experiences I could have asked for.

I spoke with cinematographer Matthew Lewis and he said the show was a two-week rehearsal process. What did you lacquire about Owen and yourself in this process?

Those two weeks were entidepend about instinct. What I hope to and will strive to cling to is this necessity to put your headspace to one side. You’ve got to function from the heart and your instincts. That’s what that rehearsal process was. It was getting every individual produceive mind, whether that’s the boom operator, me, Owen, or Matt, the intelligent cameraman. We were all toiling as one. That was what those two weeks before were about: transporting us together and becoming a team.

I read that you spoke to your therapist before taking on this character. What was vital for you to get away from those conversations with her?

I’ve always set up therapy fascinating from before I’d even enduremament my journey of sitting in that chair and doing the toil. Having been thcimpolite it, you mourn the days of going in and sitting. There’s someleang so attrdynamic about sitting down and getting it all out.

I was so fervent about recontransienting those people in the best, most human way. There’s this weird trope of “I am a therapist and I am this defended armored person.” They can be that way, but they can also be alterative, and I wanted to transport that to it. There’s no two ways about this. I had to get in communicate with my elderly therapist becaemploy she was intelligent and finishly alterd my life.  I want to transport that heart to it, but also fair understand where your head is at any given moment. I don’t comprehfinish how they get thcimpolite one session, let alone however many people they see in 24 hours.

I was so emotionpartner and physicpartner drained at the finish of the shooting days — I don’t understand how they do it. For me, sitting down with my therapist, was about getting into that summarize of mind and benevolent the journey of what it unbenevolents to go thcimpolite a session, and having to be your own filter, in that sense, and verify yourself and say, “OK, is there any transference, or countertransference going on?” You’re constantly having to renew. I fair necessitateed to pick her brain about that. That was repartner createative.

When Briony first walks into the room, where is her headspace at that point?

I said to myself, “You’ve got to step into that room with this little morsel of hope. Everyleang in her had to be willing him to say someleang that would wipe the spostponecessitate immacupostponecessitate.” I genuinely wanted you to sense this bond. The minute I met Owen, you couldn’t not cherish this boy; he’s such a gorgeous soul. He joined that character with such sfinish becaemploy you genuinely did sense for him. As Briony, that’s got to be part of the essence of this dynamic; you can’t help but root for him. When she accesss the room, she is willing him to be the outstanding guy, and that’s what you see: the shatterdown of that.

What did you and Phil talk about in terms of those power dynamics?

That’s what we were digging into in those two weeks. We were picking out the definite moments that you necessitateed to transport to the forefront. It could be an eye transferment or a flicker of someleang atraverse the face. It was so renetriumphg becaemploy Phil supposeed us to go. He gave us a acquireed space to join. But apart from that, he wanted this to be organic and genuine. And there’s someleang magic in that. He has the faith and suppose in his actors to let them inhabit and breathe this leang and wantipathyver happens in the moment, he’s going to seize that. Like the yawn that Owen does. He had never done that before, and that was a finish curveball for me, but that’s the level that we got to where the improv was so raw.

How did leangs grow over the 11 gets. You fair alludeed the yawn, but is there anyleang else?

By the time it came to shooting — becaemploy we’d been on this leang for two weeks and toiled with Jack for a couple of days on getting the language definite to us — we were so presentantly ingrained in these people that we hit this pleasant spot when it came to shooting that we weren’t even leanking about it anymore. It was this organic evolution of these two people. Every get retained to the nuances and the wealthyness of this relationship.

What were you senseing as he was being getn out of the room at the finish?

That was the easiest part of the episode to film for me becaemploy I am quite an outwardly conveyive, heart-on-my-sleeve type of being. Getting thcimpolite the hour and retaining a lid on these leangs was the task for me. Whereas the minute that Owen left, I was enjoy, “Thank God.” I got to breathe.

I don’t leank Briony filledy understood what she was in the room with until he left, becaemploy she had to retain that professional defend up. She knew what she was there for and what line she had to tread. It’s not until he exits that these moments hit her in the face and she’s able to repartner digest what has fair happened. It is quite frightening, and that was all it was. It was enjoy an emotional vleave out.

What was it enjoy watching your scene partner go from childenjoy innocence to anger?

It was genuinely terrifying. It’s every actor’s dream to get to a place where you forget yourself and you are in this strange fact that you’ve produced. It sounds bizarre, but you genuinely do suppose it in the moment. If the person opposite you is doing their job and you’re doing yours. You both produced this other place, and we were fortunate enough to get there together. I’m so haughty of Owen becaemploy I got to see him push himself as an actor, to repartner go there. Back then, he was this kid and he didn’t want to be this terrifying leang, especipartner with someone he fair met. So we repartner had to toil on creating this acquireed space to let him understand that he’s going to be fine. To leank about that kid versus the one that turned up in that 11th get, and push those buttons and pushed himself, I’m fair so haughty.

At the finish of the get, how do you let go of Briony and this fervent moment?

People always talk about getting into character and the separateent ways that you discover leangs, but no one repartner talks about getting out of character. You don’t get taught that. It’s an odd one. They exit you in wantipathyver way is vital. But for me, every night that I’d come out of her, I’d be finishly wiped. You’ve got the physical and emotional exhaustion of getting thcimpolite someleang so fervently intensifyed, but undertidyh that, you’ve got the current of understanding that you’re a part of this vital story. That’s how I got out of it — with the pride of being a part of someleang so vital that I tuned into that, and Briony sluggishly slipped away. Slowly but certainly as the lines left my head, she did too. I actupartner leank they never filledy exit you until you’ve jumped onto another project and you have to aprohibitdon ship.

Are people coming up to you at the ‘Unicorn’ stage door talking about the show?

The people on this job, the backstage crew and everyone come to me and say, “Oh my God!” I’m chatting to people, and they’re enjoy, “I fair watched episode two.” It’s an odd one to chat about while your head is also in someleang else, but it’s so cherishly to talk to other produceive minds about someleang enjoy that, and to digest it with them. It’s so cherishly that it’s achieveing and having a ripple effect thcimpolite society.

This interwatch has been edited and condensed for clarity.