Yellowjackets' Altered Egos

Maybe the word "cliques" isn't quite fair. But given the circumstances, it's totally fitting.

Consider the scene that went down in February, during an on-set screening of the Yellowjackets second-season premiere: first, the younger ensemble filed into the Vancouver soundstage and sat together in a row. Next, the older cast members entered and positioned themselves directly behind their respective counterparts.

"Nobody made us do that!" says Liv Hewson (who plays strong-willed Van). "It happened naturally. I think we thought it would be fun?"

Lauren Ambrose, a new regular as the elder Van, chimes in: "To see the youngers literally in front of us be enthused at their own work was wonderful. I poked Liv a few times to say, 'Hey, good one!' It's a unique experience to share a character."

And Yellowjackets is nothing if not unique. When the Showtime thriller debuted in November 2021, it was easy to label the two-timeline tale as a Lost-meets-Mean Girls hybrid. After all, it focuses both on a '90s-era New Jersey high-school soccer team surviving in the wilderness after a plane crash and on the team members' adult selves working through present- day issues. But the series, created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, quickly established itself as a ferocious take on female teen angst and past trauma.

The show scored seven Emmy Awards last year, earning two nods for writing, plus one for directing, casting and Outstanding Drama Series. Melanie Lynskey was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress and Christina Ricci for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

"This is not the typical version of women we've seen in movies and TV," says Ricci, who plays the older version of hyper-insecure Misty. "Everyone is flawed and nobody apologizes for it. It's incredibly exciting."

The eclectic cast — a blend of fresh faces and pros — surely gives Yellowjackets its sting. Though the actresses almost never share scenes (and rarely see each other on set), they're deeply bonded.

Ahead of the show's return in late March, they hopped on Zoom in their respective pairings — minus Juliette Lewis, who chimed in via email — to talk to emmy contributor Mara Reinstein. Their conversations have been edited for length and clarity.

Caution: some spoilers ahead. Also on the horizon: season three, which was greenlit ahead of the season-two premiere.

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Melanie Lynskey & Sophie Nélisse

CHARACTER: SHAUNA

What were your first impressions of each other?

Nélisse: Even after I flew out to shoot the pilot, I was nervous. I had heard tales of people getting fired at table reads. Then, when Melanie started speaking in this sort of high-pitched tone, I freaked out because my voice is more raspy and low. And there was no way they would see the resemblance side-by-side!

Lynskey: I remember being excited and nervous to meet her. Then her performance began, and I was enraptured. She is an amazing actor. But there was something energetically that worked with the two of us that felt like the same character. I did get my voice lower so we were both comfortable.

What is the throughline in Shauna's personality?

Nélisse: For me, it's the inner strength. She has this sense of confidence while keeping the appearance of being an introvert. Shauna sits back and observes. Even in the older storyline, she doesn't have the most dialogue — but when she does talk, it's so heavy. There's a lot going on in her head.

Lynskey: I totally agree. She doubts if she's a good friend and if she's a good person, but she knows that she's interesting and attractive. And what we see of Shauna last season and this season is that she feels most alive when she's doing something crazy and dangerous.

Not the least of which, teen Shauna is the first to go cannibal.

Nélisse: I think part of the reason she eats [the body of] Jackie [Ella Purnell] is that she's pregnant and thinks she's doing it for the survival of her child and herself. It's also respect. Like, Jackie didn't die for nothing, so she might as well make good use of her.

How often did you two cross paths while shooting season two?

Lynskey: We're never on set at the same time. They film all the younger kids' stuff and then the old ladies' stuff over different weeks. We're always coming and going.

"Old ladies"?! Really?

Lynskey: I'm going with it!

Nélisse: Just say "the olders." Otherwise it sounds like you guys are falling apart.

Lynskey: I'll stop saying it by season three.

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Christina Ricci & Samantha Hanratty

CHARACTER: MISTY

You two probably look the most alike onscreen, yet there is actually zero physical resemblance!

Ricci: Yeah, Sam has freckles and a different skin tone and eye color. But I've been in this industry long enough to understand that with casting, what's most important is the spirit of the performance.

Hanratty: We both speak with this animation and know who this character is, so it all works out magically. It's not like Christina didn't change her look for the show, either. We're both in wigs.

So, Christina, any surreal feelings about seeing a teen you?

Ricci: Well, no, because Misty is a full-fledged character. But I did grow up in New Jersey playing JV soccer until I was fourteen, so that's funny for me to see.

Did you two hash out the character before filming?

Hanratty: After our two-week quarantine in Vancouver at the beginning of season one, we were like, "We need to get out of here. Let's grab lunch." We mainly talked about life and connected on a friendship level.

Misty does some very bad things in both eras. What do you make of her?

Ricci: In the first season, she seemed like more of a villain in the beginning — and in the end. But in the second season, you realize that everybody in the show is villainous in some ways. Everybody is screwed up. She's also put in more relatable situations, and there's a bigger range of emotions.

Hanratty: I have to find the reasons she does what she does. I think she just wants to be liked. She wants to care for people. And when you get treated so terribly for so long, you don't know how to react in certain situations, you know? And I was very excited this season because Misty's never had a friend before, and she gets one with Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman).

Whose idea was it for Misty to keep pushing up her eyeglasses with her finger?

Ricci: We both started pushing them up the same way, actually! We didn't even know it until we saw the show.

Hanratty: At the end of the first season, the script supervisor went up to me and was like, "Do you know you and Christina both do that?"

Ricci: I think it's because we've both been actresses for so long, and we know not to block our faces. So we are very delicate with our fingertips and how we touch our faces.

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Juliette Lewis & Sophie Thatcher

CHARACTER: NATALIE

Sophie, how did you react when you learned you'd be sharing a character with Juliette?

Thatcher: She's an icon! I grew up with her movies. I also thought it was good casting — I feel like what I did on my self-tape for the audition was similar to what Juliette brings to Natalie. She didn't even realize it.

And Juliette, what was your first impression of Sophie?

Lewis: Sophie has an undeniable sense of self and an effortless, unique presence onscreen. She's also ridiculously stylish, like of the Warhol era.

Thatcher: We immediately shared our favorite songs, which is an important way for us to express ourselves. She sent me PJ Harvey demos. I sent her songs from this German punk singer named Nina Hagen. She's like, "Oh, we have the same taste!"

You two do seem especially symbiotic onscreen.

Thatcher: I watched all her interviews on YouTube because she has such a specific voice. I wanted to get that right. And I think we're both very expressive. She's so graceful and feels like a dancer onscreen. I wanted to be more in touch with my body, too. Then it just naturally happened.

Lewis: That's a lovely compliment, and of course what one hopes for with the style of the show. That said, me as Juliette is absolutely nothing like Natalie. I don't even like wearing leather jackets! One of my usual worries in doing serialized storytelling is that people might think I am that person and not know how much effort goes into transforming and creating a totally different energy than my own. The trick is letting no one see the effort.

So, what's going on with your respective Natalies this season?

Lewis: The older Natalie seeks revelation and redemption, however clumsily. She's desperately after the truth, self-love and deep insight.

Thatcher: The other girls want some kind of optimism to grasp onto, so they listen to Lottie. But Natalie is at a disconnect with all of them. She's more determined to find food. That serves as her purpose.

Juliette, you've been a star since the '90s. How does it feel to be part of such a buzzy series partially set in that decade?

Lewis: I'm happy for everyone involved in the show who's made it a success. Personally, I have a different definition of success, as a person who's been doing this for more than thirty years. We all know it's the magic of an audience that makes a hit ... and those little hitmaker elves that live in the wild!

Thatcher: Juliette really does make me excited for my future. She's a great role model for me. I see her being so intuitive and surprising. It makes me want to never play it safe.

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Tawny Cypress & Jasmin Savoy Brown

CHARACTER: TAISSA

How and when did you two first meet?

Cypress: Oh, my gosh, we got tacos in the park and walked around.

Brown: I know this is emmy, but maybe Tawny and I dabbled in the occasional recreational moment. ...

Cypress: I'm in my forties and my bills get paid. Say whatever you want!

Brown: My favorite time with Tawny was when I went to New Jersey after we wrapped season one. I stayed with her and her husband for two days, and we did mushrooms and went on a walk. I learned to never go into a diner on mushrooms, especially with your lookalike. I was looking into my future and she was looking into her past.

Cypress: I wish you were my past.

Brown: I wish you were my future. I say that all the time.

How does Taissa evolve in season two?

Brown: Last year, I tried to play her like she really had it together. You didn't see her break. And this season, with the presence of winter and everything going wrong, she can't stop being emotional and feeling her feelings.

Tawny, can you explain adult Taissa's trances?

Cypress: We call her "Other Tai." She makes more appearances this season. But she's not at all like the Tai that you saw in the first season, either. She used to be very poised. But the influence of her ex [Van] changes her complete being.

Brown: It's so interesting, because Tawny and I barely talked this season. I was going through a lot in my personal life. But we're so in tune with each other that we did not talk about, "Okay, Taissa is going to do a 180."

Is it hard having a counterpart when playing such a nuanced character?

Cypress: I don't know if it's harder, but I think I have the easier job because I look at what Jasmin is doing and build off that.

Brown: A play can be done a thousand times. No role belongs to a single actress. What we do is bring different interpretations and explorations. It's cool to have two people looking at the same character because we'll find different things.

Cypress: I've always said that acting is not a solo sport. Having Jasmin takes it to another level. But it's very interesting to have somebody out there who looks so much like me. That doesn't come around very often.

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Simone Kessell & Courtney Eaton

CHARACTER: LOTTIE

Lottie has been described in some Yellowjackets takes as an antagonist. Agree?

Eaton: I would say no. She is doing the best she can to survive. And she came into this plane crash and these circumstances with her own set of issues because she's bipolar.

Kessell: These are women at war, and every day is a struggle. So I see baby Lottie adapting and calling on nature and a higher power to give her this internal energy. She's literally carving her own path.

Present-day Lottie finally appears this season. How would you characterize her?

Kessell: She's completely reinvented herself as this butterfly. She needs people to come and join her community at this spiritual healing retreat. But it's really a mask and the way she knows how to cope. If she takes off the mask, she'll completely unravel.

Because she was already established, what were your conversations like with each other?

Eaton: During preproduction in Vancouver, we met for three hours and had pizza and a drink and just dived right into it.

Kessell: I was like, "Okay, tell me everything." It was basically a recap of the cast and the writers and all the people behind it. We instantly connected. I was like, "I get this girl. She reminds me of me when I was younger." There's a beautiful openness to her, which is interesting because the way she plays Lottie is so contained.

How did you like having this new older dimension?

Eaton: I loved it, especially this season. As soon as I met Simone, I knew she would take Lottie to a whole new place. But it also made me nervous. At the cast screening of episode one, I remember turning around and saying, "Oh, I hope I did bloody well enough." And you were like, "What are you talking about? I'm the one who has to match you!"

Simone, what were you like as a '90s teen?

Kessell: I would love to imagine in the '90s I was as put-together and kind and generous and fun as Courtney, but I think I was more of an asshole. I was very known in my native New Zealand, because I had been a television star down there. You become a big fish in a tiny pond very quickly. Then I moved to Sydney to do theater. Then I did tampon commercials. I've been around a long time as a working actress. But I've got to say, the '90s were pretty fantastic. Seeing it reenacted through Courtney is great.

Eaton: I was born in '96. That kind of counts, right?

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Lauren Ambrose & Liv Hewson

CHARACTER: VAN

Liv, did you play Van in season one as if she were a goner?

Hewson: I was certain Van was not going to survive in the wilderness. Like, "I'm probably not going to be here for a long time, so I'm going to have as much fun as possible." Then it dawned on me that maybe I was going to be fine.

Ambrose: Liv did such an amazing job and charmed everyone and was an incredible force of nature. So by you doing this, I get to be here talking about Van. I'm very grateful.

Hewson: I'm going to cry!

Lauren, did you watch the first season and think, "I could play adult Van"?

Ambrose: I did watch it and loved it so much. I was more like, "Why can't I be on this show?" I couldn't believe my good fortune.

So you had already studied Liv. ...

Ambrose: Before we started filming, the editors stitched together Taissa and Van's scenes for me to study. That was very helpful. But I really wanted to refer to Liv because they created the character. I just tried to add to their essence.

What is that essence?

Hewson: I think her physicality was determined by her as a teenager. It's a lot of hiding her hands in her sleeves with her arms folded. I remember sharing that with Lauren and inviting her to explore that as an adult.

Ambrose: So, we hung out together in a cool place. The one thing we discussed that I've carried with me is that Van was a protector and a survivor even before this crazy tragedy. She's the child of an alcoholic, and the first scene with her is her waking up her mom.

Hewson: It was such a pleasure to talk about that nitty-gritty because I think it all comes back to her mother. This season she is quite defensive; she steps back and watches and keeps an eye on things. But if someone like the love of her life is falling apart, she's going to fall apart very quickly.

You really could pass for sisters.

Hewson: I remember fans were throwing around people to play her and Lauren's name always came up. I was like, "Don't get my hopes up!"

Ambrose: There's a picture in the hair trailer of the younger cast all crowding around. When I'm there at five in the morning, I look up and think it's me every time. I'm always like, "When did I do that?!"

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Cocreators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson serve as coshowrunners of Yellowjackets along with Jonathan Lisco. All three are executive producers, as are Drew Comins, Karyn Kusama, Ameni Rozsa and Sarah L. Thompson. Yellowjackets is produced for Showtime by Entertainment One.

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The interviews for this story were completed before the start of the WGA strike on May 2.

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This article originally appeared in emmy magazine issue #7, 2023, under the title, "Altered Egos."