Roar is a new feminist anthology series from GLOW creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, which arrives April 15 on Apple TV+. The show consists of eight individual episodes with interconnected themes, and almost every darkly comic fable contained within is based on a short story from Cecelia Ahern's Roar collection. Each episodes focuses on one particular woman navigating extraordinary circumstances that bend genres from magic realism to science fiction depending on the story.
The final episode in the Roar anthology is titled "The Girl Who Loved Horses." Starring Fivel Stewart (Atypical) as Jane, this is a feminist twist on the Western revenge tale. While Jane is hellbent on avenging her father’s death at the hands of Silas McCall (Alfred Molina, Spider-Man: No Way Home), her neighbor and old friend Millie (Kara Hayward, Us) hopes she can find a more peaceful solution. While the two girls initially butt heads, they eventually forge an unlikely
bond as they learn more about themselves, justice, and each other.
Stewart spoke to Screen Rant about the unique friendship that blossoms onscreen, her real-life experience with Westerns, and just how kind Alfred Molina is when not in character.
I love the dynamic between Jane and Millie, which was so much fun. Can you talk about them bonding despite being such opposites?
Fivel Stewart: Yeah, 100%. I love Roar and the script of "The Girl Who Loved Horses" because, when I first started reading it, I thought I knew what was going to happen. And then when you continue to read it or watch it, you don't expect the things to unravel that unraveled.
I think that a lesson that you can learn by watching "The Girl Who Loved Horses" is that we immediately have an idea or an opinion or judgment of someone right when they walked through the door. It's immediately like, "Do I like this person?" Humans are very tribal in general, so, "Do they fit with me? Do they work? Do they like the same things?"
I think that Jane grew up with Millie in the same town, but [they're] not really getting along because Jane already thought that they didn't have things in common. But then all of that kind of destroys itself, and you see these two - like you said - opposite young girls really finding a neutral place of love for each other and friendship. I think we can all learn from that.
Just don't judge anyone because, at the end of the day, you will probably fall in love with who they are.
I know you already had some experience with horseback riding before training for Roar. Do you have a love of westerns? Were there any that inspired you in taking on this role?
Fivel Stewart: My father and my brother, they like Westerns a lot. My ranch at my dad's house is very westernized, and they watched the Westerns a lot. My dad's obsessed with westerns, actually - that's his favorite genre, but I never really found that same love.
But when I when I booked Roar, I watched Johnny Guitar and some [other] westerns. Gosh, the colors are so vivid, and the way they're made is so different. Which is really awesome, because now there's a female leading mixed race Western, which I don't think we've seen before.
I haven't found that love of Westerns, but Roar? I really love it.
Alfred Molina is such an awesome antagonist to go up against. What was it like to work with him?
Fivel Stewart: Too good. He was so nice. We only really worked together for two or three days, and the scene was having to dislike him [because] he just did this horrendous thing to her.
It wasn't hard to find that anger, but it was hard to find the anger just because between every take, he would be this nice, talkative, funny man. On our breaks, we were just like hanging out. In my mind, I was like, "Ugh, I wish you were just kind of mean." But I'm glad he's not!
Roar Synopsis
Roar offers an insightful, poignant, and sometimes hilarious portrait of what it means to be a woman today. Featuring a unique blend of magical realism, familiar domestic and professional scenarios, and futuristic worlds, these eight stories mirror the dilemmas of ordinary women in accessible yet surprising ways. How they emerge from their respective journeys speaks to the resiliency that exists within themselves, and with all women.
Check out our Roar interviews with stars Merritt Wever and Meera Syal as well.
All eight episodes of Roar premiere April 15 on Apple TV+.