Summary
- Director Stephanie Laing was drawn to be a part of the series Physical because of Rose Byrne's incredible talent and the opportunity to collaborate with writer Annie Weisman.
- The show pays careful attention to the '80s looks and style, with a specific color palette that progresses throughout the seasons, thanks to the collaboration between Laing, Weisman, and costume designer Ernesto Martinez.
- Physical tackles important issues like eating disorders and mental health in a personal and honest way, and the show's creators hope to bring more awareness and encourage discussions about these topics.
Physical tells the story of a housewife named Sheila Rubin who is dealing with many inner demons, including body anxiety and bulimia. The series takes place in 1980s San Diego where Sheila discovers aerobics, something that sets her on a journey toward empowerment and success. The third and final season is streaming now on Apple TV+.
Director Stephanie Laing has been around since the very start of season 1, and directed the majority of the episodes. She worked very closely with the creator Annie Weisman and star Rose Byrne in order to make sure the series achieved what it set out to do. She is also an executive producer on the series.
Screen Rant caught up with Stephanie Laing to discuss the Physical series as a whole. She confesses what it was that drew her to want to be a part of the series from the very beginning, as well as what it is about her time working on Physical that she will never forget. Stephanie also talks about the importance of showing these heavy topics on the screen. Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
Stephanie Laing Talks Physical
Screen Rant: Going back to the beginning of the series, what was it that drew you to want to be a part of it?
Stephanie Laing: From the beginning? Rose Byrne. Those two words. She's incredible. I had met her briefly a couple of years prior to being sent the script and have obviously been such a fan of her work. In Bridesmaids, she's just incredible. And then everything she does, going back to Damages, she walks that line of comedy and drama like no one else I've ever seen and has these very subtle micro facial expressions that just say so much. And I've never seen anybody cry on cue like her. Ever.
And then the writing. I mean Annie Wiseman, what an incredible voice. Just being able to work with Annie was such a joy. I didn't obviously know her, but reading it at the time and not knowing I was wanting to get the job was incredible. But then getting the job and being able to collaborate with Annie Wiseman for three seasons has been such a dream.
And then the subject matter. We get to say something that's really important. We did expose, a not often talked about disorder, and we get to do it through aerobics in the 80s. So come on. I was like, please, please, please, I'll beg to be on the show.
Screen Rant: I love all the '80s looks and style. Can you talk about diving into that and making sure it comes across in the series?
Stephanie Laing: Annie and I are very specific. And we have a fantastic costume designer, Ernesto Martinez, who is as crazy about this as we are. Every season, we've been really mindful of what colors we're introducing Sheila's character in and how the characters have progressed through the color story. We knew from the beginning, from the first episode, where we were headed, color wise and color palette. So that's been such a gift to be able to plan that out through the seasons. And Ernesto just has such a talent for really understanding the characters and the emotion of the scene and the journey of the character. His wardrobe is just so specific and really telling a story about every character, to be honest. I mean, even Danny had his moment and in season 2, where he was like a hot dad for a minute.
Screen Rant: You mentioned planning out the color palette, but did you know where you wanted to end up at the end of the series from the start as well?
Stephanie Laing: Yeah, we always had an end goal in mind, which is really nice. Annie was gracious enough to share a little bit of that with me as we were progressing through the seasons, and it really did influence a lot of what we did you know, and we sort of saved certain things visually for season 3. Just the way we move a camera or things like that, we would be like, Okay, that's for later. Specifically with wardrobe. Like neon, not yet, but coming soon.
Screen Rant: Can you talk about bringing Zooey Deschanel in and working with her this season?
Stephanie Laing: We're so lucky to have Zooey because she, like Rose, is so fearless and not afraid to be vulnerable. It was always, in our minds, Zoey, and we were so happy when she said yes. And the idea that she's playing two characters. Like a character from the golden era of television, in a way, where she can sing and dance and do it all and had to work really hard to get any attention from anyone because the time, I mean, it's the 80s.
But then so much fun to see her play an imaginary character where she's walking in a completely different way. The wardrobe is from her made up backstory of a made up character, which got really hilarious to all of us. And her catchphrase, don't make me blow my whistle, as a lifeguard. She was great because when she was imaginary Kelly we did a lot of improv, and it was really very fun to sit with a crew and just watch Zooey completely blast Rose with improv insults and to be able to collectively laugh about how bad that was.
Screen Rant: How did you keep yourself from absolutely cracking up while filming?
Stephanie Laing: I don't. There's a couple of scenes, every season, where I laugh so hard I'm practically crying. I've blown takes. Rose has been like, "What?" I'm like, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, It's just so dumb. I can't help it." And on the opposite where I've cried. Like water would just spring from my eyes and be like, "Oh my God." Because she just, again, rides that line of comedy and drama so well that you're like, Oh, this is so good.
Screen Rant: As the seasons went on, did Rose bring her own suggestions and ideas for Sheila to the table?
Stephanie Laing: It's such a team effort really. It truly is a collaboration. All three of us have such a mind meld, but obviously Rose has a lot of fun opinions and ideas about her character. And they're always so spot on. I just feel like all of us collectively dove really deep on every character. For me, it's directing and Annie writing it. Then Rose really understands Sheila in a way that no one else could. It was always very welcome. Whenever she had any idea they were always great.
Screen Rant: This series has a lot of dark and heavy subject matter, but then things like the importance of female friendships. Can you talk about the importance of shining a light on that?
Stephanie Laing: I think that's sort of the surprise storyline of it. It is about female friendships, because it certainly doesn't start off that way. Rose's inner voice really completely blasting, who will become her best friend. But the importance of the female friendship, and then female entrepreneurship, in some ways hasn't changed. I mean, the entrepreneurship side, from the 80s to today, obviously, it's more of a struggle in the 80s, but it's still a struggle today. I love that this friendship sneaks up on you. And that Dierdre, who plays Greta, is so honest in the way she portrays this woman and so willing to meet Sheila, at every place that Sheila is emotionally and mentally and in her recovery process. And as a human, that by the end, Sheila will only show her true self to Greta.
Screen Rant: This show also tackles things like eating disorders and mental health, that we don't see too often. Can you talk about the importance of showing that on the screen?
Stephanie Laing: I've always been attracted to material that has something to say, and I think Physical has so much to say, and says a lot of it and does it really well, because we just it meant so much to us to portray it in an honest way. We did a lot of research. It's a very personal topic to many of us on the show, and to many women and men who we would hear from throughout the seasons, like saying thank you for showing this. And being vulnerable in showing it, but also doing it in an honest way.
Honestly, we're still sort of surprised that we have a show about it. That we got to make this, and have fun making it, because it's set in the 80s, and it's crazy. But in its darkest days, it is a disorder that a lot of people suffer from and that should be talked about more. And if we can give anyone the confidence to talk about it more than we've done our job.
Screen Rant: What do you hope audiences take away from Physical as a whole?
Stephanie Laing: Acceptance of yourself, no matter your size. Appreciating your body for the things that you hate about your body, learning to love those things. For Sheila, at the beginning of the season, meeting her popping a zit and just completely tearing herself apart physically with their inner voice, to the end where she's made some progress. There's hope. It's a journey. And you need friendships, really strong friendships, to make it through. That's what I hope anyway.
Screen Rant: What will you take away from your time working on all three seasons of Physical?
Stephanie Laing: Three things. The first part is just collaborating with Annie and Rose and being such a mind meld and working in such a safe space and having such incredible fun. Then, show wise, of course the aerobics because that's impossible not to love. The music and building that storyline into their movements across the characters, and just watching that transform. And I have to say, in season 2, there's a scene where Danny tries to be there for Sheila, and tries to do aerobics with her. It's the moment I think America falls in love with Danny, but it's very short-lived. I do really love that moment. It is one of my favorites in the show.
About Physical
Set in the idyllic but fragile beach paradise of sunny 1980s San Diego, “Physical” is a half-hour dark comedy following Sheila Rubin, a quietly tortured, seemingly dutiful housewife supporting her smart but controversial husband’s bid for state assembly. But behind closed doors, Sheila has her own darkly funny take on life she rarely lets the world see. She’s also battling a complex set of personal demons relating to her self-image… that is, until she finds release through the unlikeliest source: the world of aerobics.
Check out our previous Physical interviews with:
All episodes of Physical are available to stream on Apple TV+.