Maya Erskine Reflects on Emmy Nom for ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ and Balancing Motherhood with Two Kids
Maya Erskine was speaking to a contractor when the Emmy nominations were released. “We’re turning our garage into an office,” she says. They were talking about paint samples when her husband called with the news.
Erskine, known for playing a 13-year-old on PEN15, is nominated for her performance in Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane reimagining of the 2005 feature film. She and Glover star as John and Jane, the titular spy duo adept in combat but inept at staying married. The show earned 16 noms at this year’s ceremony, including for best drama series.
“I just feel like I’ve won already,” Erskine says. “Being nominated is like, ‘What! That’s so insane.’ I feel like I can lie down now, I’m good.”
You helped develop Jane’s character after joining Mr. & Mrs. Smith. What aspects of her feel most influenced by you?
Some of [Jane’s] idiosyncrasies, it’s a mix of things from me, from Fran and Donald. What I did informed Fran and then what Fran wrote informed me. It’s just sort of this dance. In the fight scene when [John] says, “Fuck you,” to Jane, and Jane says, “We don’t say that” — that was something I had shared that my parents did when they first started dating. When they had a big argument, when my mom said, “Fuck you” and my dad was like, “OK, I’m stopping it. We’re not going to have that kind of discourse.” I just shared that because I thought it was interesting and we used it for that moment.
The dynamic between John and Jane sometimes feels like its own character. Do you have a favorite aspect of their relationship?
Jane can seem so closed off, but when it comes down to it, the moments in the relationship where they actually really enjoy each other are when she’s getting roasted by John, or getting made fun of. There’s that exposed vulnerability that she actually enjoys, but she’s so scared. That dynamic was really fun to play.
What’s your process for finding a character once you’ve said yes to a project?
First is by reading. Scripts, any treatments, any anecdotes — that’s always the first step. And then the biggest help in transformation is physicality. I start from all my surroundings and what I wear and how I walk — all those things help inform who I am inside. And then the more you play the person, the more it becomes part of you and it starts to mesh together with who you are. It’s really fascinating.
Did your approach to Jane change over the course of the story?
We filmed mostly in order, except for some episodes, but it was almost like it was mirroring [our] dynamic. [Donald and I] were just friends getting to know each other, and then we became very close friends. [By the end,] there was more freedom for expressing the dark sides of ourselves. I do think it evolved as we went further along.
You’ve said this show was intense because you filmed so many scenes with just one other person, Donald. You’ve said similar things about creating PEN15 with Anna Konkle. Is that type of close collaboration something you gravitate toward?
No one’s ever asked me that before! It’s true. I think with Anna, it was this all-or-nothing mentality. And same with this show. Every day you’re here and you are giving it your all, and you’re just with this other person and you’re depending on them. For me, what I look for is probably just the collaboration, so anyone that is just as interested in the collaboration, that’s exciting to me. And that’s what Mr. & Mrs. Smith was, so that was a really big gift.
Have you seen the finished show?
I didn’t at first. I didn’t want to ruin the experience for myself by getting in my head. But my husband really wanted to watch it, and I felt like I owed it to the people who made the show. I love them so much, I wanted to see what they made. And then I loved it! That was a first for me, to love something despite myself.
We know there’s a season two, but you may not be onscreen for it. Are there any updates you can share?
I can’t, because I don’t really know. I know that they’re in a writers room, and I know that they’re writing.
Jane was very different from the other characters you’re known for. What else do you want to dig your teeth into?
I want to play every type there is. The traits I look for, at least in a written character, would be someone who gets to have a full arc, a full change within a story. But it could be anything. I would love to be in a romantic comedy, but have it be a fully dimensional character, I would love to be in a dark, Gena Rowlands-type character, like A Woman Under the Influence. Just to have the ability to play out all these dynamics. I’m a freak, and I just want to play the people of society that are not looked at all the time.
You filmed Mr. & Mrs. Smith shortly after having your first child, and now you are pregnant with your second. Does parenthood change your approach to work?
Once you become a parent, for me, everything changed. I was like, if I’m away from him, then the work and the people have to be great. Everyone has to be a joy to work with, and that’s what [Mr. & Mrs. Smith] was. That was the only way I got through it.
With filming, you’re at the behest of a schedule that you don’t make on your own. When you’re writing, you can create your own schedule and be at home with the kids. So I’ve been really enjoying that part of my career, being able to try different facets of writing.
Speaking of writing — any updates on your The Perfect Nanny project you’ve been talking about?
I turned in my draft to HBO the day of the Emmy nominations. We’ll see. They could be like, “We hate it.” But I turned it in. I did the work.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.