Cast Interview: Under the Banner of Heaven | Screen Rant
Under the Banner of Heaven, FX's new true crime series, is based on investigative journalism about the 1984 Lafferty murders that was chronicled by Jon Krakauer in his book of the same name. The story, which premiered April 28 on Hulu, raises questions about the Mormon community and faith when viewed through the eyes of Detectives Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom!) and Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham, Yellowstone). The partners attempt to learn who killed Brenda Lafferty, and who might be helping to cover up the crime.
The limited series spends time with various members of the powerful Rafferty family, who are at once powerful members of their church and at the center of the storm. The women of the family, however, are in a very precarious position that becomes crucial to the understanding of the murders. Chloe Pirrie (The Queen’s Gambit) plays Dan Rafferty's wife Matilda, recently arrived from Scotland while Daisy Edgar-Jones (Fresh) plays Brenda, the outspoken wife of Alan Rafferty who becomes a victim. Then there is Emma Smith, played by Tyner Rushing, who represents the religion itself as the wife of its founder.
Edgar-Jones, Pirrie and Rushing spoke to Screen Rant about what made Under the Banner of Heaven a challenge compared to previous projects, and how they found moments of levity on set.
Screen Rant: Congratulations on this series. How does this role differ from anything you've taken on before?
Daisy Edgar-Jones: I think Brenda is, as a character, so self-assured in a way that perhaps none of my characters have ever been before. She's very, very driven and is - I guess you could say, ahead of her time. Certainly when it comes to her experience. Compared to the other women in the series, I think she has a lot more agency.
Chloe Pirrie: It was really interesting too. I don't know that I've ever played a religious character before. It was really interesting to get into that, and Matilda's an outsider as well. She's from Scotland, and she's very far away from where she originated. So understanding what motivated her to change her life that much and join this community was really, really rich for me to play.
Tyner Rushing: Yeah, I've never played a real person before. So that was a new thing for me, and to have the opportunity to play such an iconic, influential woman, I wish we'd had more of her influence. She started a religion with Joseph Smith. It's an amazing, amazing role.
And the pressure, right? The obligation you feel to get it right and to serve this person's story in a way that you hope that, if they saw it... There's some times where I thought, "I think Emma's with me. I think she's in the room. Is she happy? Does she approve?" You just kind of do everything you can to make them proud. That's how I feel about it.
When you read the book and the script, what would you say stuck out to you the most?
Daisy Edgar-Jones: I think quite a large amount of it, really, because I didn't know much about it. Well, I didn't know anything about this particular story. Nor did I know anything about the Mormon community. So, coming to it and reading the book that this script is inspired by was so fascinating. One of the things I love most about being an actor is that you really get the chance to learn about something that you might [not have] necessarily have come to. So, I found a lot about it so intriguing, and so interesting, really,
Chloe Pirrie: Definitely. I think I was really struck by how the women are trying to communicate with each other and how difficult that is - certainly in the Lafferty household. There is a set way of doing things and you've got to learn how to do that quickly. Matilda's struggling to do that. Brenda comes in and has to figure it out really quickly. Those scenes were really powerful, the big family together.
When you're doing something as dark as this, knowing it's real, how do you bring the levity when you're not filming? Was there anything that you did during your downtime to just have a little fun? Andrew told me that he took up knitting, I have no idea if that's true.
Group: [Laughs]
Chloe Pirrie: Yeah, we laughed quite a lot. We didn't get to really interact because we shot at very different periods of time. But yeah, we had a lot of fun.
Daisy Edgar-Jones: We went to the cinema!
Chloe Pirrie: Went to the cinema for a bit. We cooked. We watched Squid Game.
Daisy Edgar-Jones: We did, and I think you could actually see how much we interacted and got on off-screen. Because I think the dynamic, particularly in those first two episodes between all the laughter, had such a comfortability between us all. I think that's because we had a lot of time to get to know each other. We went hiking.
Chloe Pirrie: We went hiking. That was great.
Tyner Rushing: I did a lot of hiking too. Yeah, I got to go to Banff. But it was so cold when I was there. I was there in November, and so I was taking a lot of hot baths trying to stay warm. But also the rodeo culture of Alberta, did y'all get into that at all?
Chloe Pirrie: We just missed The Stampede.
Tyner Rushing: Oh yeah, I didn't get to see that. But yeah, that's something I'd like to go back and check out.
Chloe Pirrie: I missed the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights were out in Banff when I was there and I missed them. Yes, pretty upsetting.
Daisy, did you see them?
Daisy Edgar-Jones: I have seen them in my life. I saw them in Finland, but sadly not in Calgary. But they're spectacular. I would recommend.
FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven, the original limited series inspired by the true crime bestseller by Jon Krakauer, follows the events that led to the 1984 murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her baby daughter in a suburb in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah.
As Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield) investigates events which transpired within the Lafferty family, he uncovers buried truths about the origins of the LDS religion and the violent consequences of unyielding faith. What Pyre, a devout Mormon, unearths leads him to question his own faith.
Check out our interviews with stars Sam Worthington, Andrew Garfield & Gil Birmingham, and with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black as well.
The first 2 episodes of Under the Banner of Heaven are available to stream on Hulu, with new episodes dropping every Thursday.