‘Awards Magnet': ‘Yellowjackets' cast on who dies, who has ‘nothing to lose,' and what ‘delicious' Hilary Swank really tastes like
"I took a bite from Hilary Swank, and it was delicious," says Melanie Lynskey. "It was mashed up strawberries and sugar."
That's how Lynskey summed up one of the most memorable scenes from Season 3 of Yellowjackets at a recent panel at the Newport Beach TV Festival, where the cast received the award for Outstanding Drama Ensemble. Lynskey, who plays adult Shauna on the Showtime drama, was joined by Christina Ricci (adult Misty) and Samantha Hanratty (teen Misty) for a Q&A moderated by Gold Derby's editor-in-chief.
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The cast also discussed the one question they would ask the showrunners, the deaths that shocked them the most, and who's going to be left standing at the end. Listen to the full Q&A on Awards Magnet below.
SEEHow 'Yellowjackets' brought the shocking 'Pit Girl' hunt to life in Season 3
Lynskey admitted she wasn't interested in the series when she was first presented with it, especially when she learned that she was only going to be in half of the show. "But then I read the script, and I was like, 'Oh, no, it's great." I was hooked, and I wanted to know more," she says. "I was fascinated with why [Shauna] was the way she was."
Ricci was lured in by the concept. "I'm fascinated by trauma and PTSD and what it does to people," she says. "And then when I read the script, I was also really fascinated by deviant behavior."
Hanratty actually auditioned for Natalie at first — in fact, the producers kept auditioning her, torn over whether she should play Natalie or Misty. "I don't know if they hate me or love me!" she says. "It was a tough time, but I'm so grateful for it."
The adult/teen versions end up mirroring each other through "happy accidents," says Hanratty. "It's just kind of instinct," says Lynskey of her conversations with Sophie Nélisse, who plays teen Sophie. "We're very much on the same page about who she was, just fundamentally about a person."
Now three seasons in, "it feels second nature," says Lynskey, even though her character takes dark turns this season. "I've never read a script and been like, 'What's happening? I'm just excited to get a script and see what they're going to make me do."
The cast is still reeling from the series' extensive death toll, especially this season.
SEE'I was terrified — she has an Oscar for "Million Dollar Baby"': Melanie Lynskey on her epic 'Yellowjackets' fight with Hilary Swank
"I still haven't come to terms with the fact that showing up next season, we're not going to have all of our actors there, and that's really hard for me," says Hanratty. "A lot of the people, the characters we've lost, they're really good friends of mine. Alexa [Barajas, who played Mari], she's gone, we ate her, but you never know with ghost stuff. I think I'm a little bummed out because Misty doesn't really see people the way everyone else gets haunted."
Ricci was especially shocked about Steven Krueger's Coach Ben dying. "I never got to work with him, but I really just loved him," she says.
Lynskey was surprised about adult Van (Lauren Ambrose) and Lottie (Simone Kessell). "When it's people you love and enjoy working with, which is everyone in our cast, it's horrible," she says.
The '90s cast holds death parties for the actors who get killed off. "We do funeral parties for whoever wants it," says Hanratty. "It's however everyone wants to be honored for their character." Quipped Ricci: "Well, like most things, it appears that the younger generation is more advanced and able to process their emotions in a healthier way than us old ladies. We haven't done anything for anybody."
SEE'I do think that I burned down the cabin': How 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline
So who's more dangerous, the teens or the adults?
Though Hanratty and Lynskey think it's the teens because they have nothing to lose, Ricci disagrees."The writers have kind of put us in a situation where also the adults don't have that much to lose," she says. "[Shauna's] estranged from [her] family, I have nothing and Taissa [Tawny Cypress] has lost everything as well. So it is sort of an interesting situation where finally both sides are balanced in that everybody's got nothing left to lose, so we're all dangerous. So it could be really exciting."
The actors also shared what they'd like to see for their characters next season. Lynskey hopes Shauna reunites with her husband, who left her at the end of Season 3. "I do think it's so terrifying for her to be understood and unconditionally loved by somebody, and she was just starting to kind of accept that that might be possible, and then, you know, there's always the consequences of your own actions. So she's facing that right now. She can't help herself. She can't be settled. But I really hope that, at least I hope to have scenes with Warren [Kole]."
Ricci appreciates how active Misty is, so she hopes to get to play with that more. "I feel like that is such a realistic thing that I understand doing in response to trauma or any kind of emotional feeling to do instead of sit there," she says. She particularly liked the scenes chasing Swank, for example. "I just had the best day showing everybody how fast I can run."
As for teen Misty, Hanratty says, "If there is a rescue. I just really look forward to seeing how everybody acclimates back into society," she says. "Misty's going to have a mixed bag of loving attention and missing her friends. I'd love to do some unredeemable stuff, too. I like when people don't know if they love her or hate her."
So who do they think is going to be left standing at the end?
Predicts Ricci, "Walter's [Elijah Wood] going to survive us all."
Yellowjackets streams on Paramount+ with Showtime.
Email your questions to slugfests@goldderby.com.
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