Evil‘s Andrea Martin on Acting With Demons and the Terror of AI

Andrea Martin’s vocation has included a batch of comedy—she was connected legendary 1970s sketch bid SCTV—but implicit the years she’s excelled successful astir each genre, with 2 existent projects earning her adjacent much caller fans: Hulu’s Only Murders successful the Building, and Paramount+’s Evil.

With Evil heading toward its bid finale, io9 jumped astatine the accidental to speech to Martin astir what it’s similar starring connected one of TV’s best-ever fearfulness series, peculiarly successful the discourse of her character: Sister Andrea, a wise, wisecracking, demon-slaying nun.

This interrogation has been somewhat edited for clarity and space.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: Sister Andrea tin spot demons, thing Evil uses to some comedic and terrifying effect. What’s it similar for you filming those scenes, erstwhile you’re interacting with these creatures?

Andrea Martin: I can’t get past my interest for them because, really, I’m conscionable reasoning each time erstwhile I’m with them, “How are they successful these full-body prosthetics?” They can’t spell to the bathroom. They can’t eat. It takes specified a unsocial individual. Not everybody tin bash that benignant of work. And past to person to act! I mean, honestly, I couldn’t bash it. You know, I conscionable person a wont connected my caput and a truly escaped skirt. That’s however I get by. But they’re successful afloat prosthetics, truthful it’s extraordinary. I guess, I don’t deliberation I tin deliberation of them truthful overmuch arsenic demons arsenic existent radical successful prosthetics.

I ne'er acted with radical successful prosthetics. Well, I conjecture I did connected Star Trek [Deep Space Nine]. Anyway, it’s a precise unsocial experience. You person to enactment successful character. You person to judge that this is simply a demon. You person to judge that you person to termination them and smash them—that a kind, gentle idiosyncratic similar Sister Andrea [is taking] a shovel [and] hitting a demon implicit the head. You person to truly judge successful bid to bash this show.

io9: Sister Andrea has a precise heavy faith, adjacent if the Catholic Church itself isn’t ever the astir supportive institution. How bash you deliberation she approaches uncovering a equilibrium there?

Martin: She speaks her mind. She’s driven by faith. That’s what’s going to usher her much than the Catholic Church—more than anything, really. I deliberation she knows her place. She’s warring to alteration however women and nuns are looked astatine successful the Catholic Church. The hierarchy—she’s certainly, successful each these years successful Evil’s existence, has truly spoken her caput against the men successful complaint who besides look to beryllium hypocritical and look down astatine women. But she’s going to proceed due to the fact that she’s got bigger food to fry: however bash we judge successful goodness and however bash we person faith? The satellite is simply a pugnacious place, and without faith, it’s truly hard to support your spirits up. I surely look astatine the satellite we’re successful close now, truthful that truly made maine excavation successful my heels much with Sister Andrea. 

I deliberation Evil is calling up, calling upon what we’re surviving done successful the world; there’s some evil and goodness. I deliberation Sister Andrea’s travel is that the redemption astatine the extremity of your beingness is to beryllium honest, travel clean, fto spell of each the anger, hostility, hate, fear, unit that possibly you’ve been a portion of secretly, successful immoderate tiny way. And to beryllium capable to say, “I’m sorry, I judge successful a higher power. I judge successful anticipation and joy.” I mean, I person to judge that, for goodness sake. So I tried to clasp connected to that erstwhile I was playing the character. 

io9: We’ve learned a small spot astir Sister Andrea’s backstory present and there. Was that thing you knew astir erstwhile you started to play her? 

Martin: There wasn’t truly a backstory. When I did the archetypal scene, I thought it was conscionable a impermanent star, and truthful I tried to play the quality that was connected the leafage and successful the constricted time, bring thing of myself to it. But past they kept penning more, and past I conscionable dug a small deeper, you know? So arsenic the quality continued and the bid continued, I created a backstory for sure. And immoderate of that backstory you volition spot successful the past mates of episodes. They’re truly touching. 

io9: Did [Evil creators Robert and Michelle King] sanction the quality aft you? Or was it Sister Andrea erstwhile you took the part?

Martin: I did The Good Fight with them, and—this is going to travel arsenic a shock, but I ne'er asked them. I ne'er asked them, present that you bring that up. I assumed that it was written with maine successful mind, but I could beryllium wrong. If you speech to Robert and Michelle, inquire them! You know, Robert and Michelle ever person a twinkle successful their eye. And they’re ever close nether the aboveground with humor. So they astir apt thought determination was thing comic astir that. I mean, I’ve ne'er heard of a Sister Andrea before, and I don’t know—if I hadn’t accepted it, if they would person gone to idiosyncratic named, you know, Agatha. Sister Agatha. I don’t know, but that’s however it ended up.

Photo: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+

io9: I’ve been a instrumentality of yours successful truthful galore different projects—Only Murders successful the Building is simply a large one—but you’re besides successful 1 of my all-time favourite fearfulness movies, Black Christmas, and present 1 of TV’s astir entertaining fearfulness bid successful Evil. As an actor, what is it astir the fearfulness genre that excites you the most?

Martin: I deliberation conscionable being asked! The precise archetypal happening I ever did was a movie called Cannibal Girls, which you astir apt don’t cognize about, but Eugene Levy and I improvised the full movie. It was directed by Ivan Reitman. It was a drama fearfulness film. But it’s terrifying! It was shown successful drive-ins—drive-ins don’t truly beryllium truthful overmuch anymore—[but] look it up, I’m definite you’ll find it interesting. You tin spot it. I don’t cognize if Netflix has it. Somebody has it. So that was my archetypal movie. Cannibal Girls, beloved god. 

And then, Black Christmas. Wow. That was a truly frightening movie to watch. And past I did the [2006 Black Christmas remake]. I deliberation I’ve conscionable been asked to bash them, and they look similar absorbing characters, but I don’t cognize that I’m drawn to it. It’s thing that I would ne'er watch. I get easy scared. I don’t similar fearfulness films. I don’t similar convulsive films. I conscionable similar an old-fashioned romanticist comedy. So, convey deity I don’t person to ticker what I’m doing arsenic I’m doing it. I don’t cognize if I’d beryllium capable to bash it. I conscionable attack it arsenic an actress, not arsenic a fearfulness movie actress.

io9: Since you’ve been connected Evil, a amusement which often explores the horrors of technology, has your ain consciousness been heightened astir however exertion mightiness beryllium utilized successful malevolent ways?

Martin: Yeah, I person unfortunately. I can’t adjacent speech astir AI without reasoning astir what we’re leaving for our children. I person an eight-year-old granddaughter, and we, her ma and dad, support her distant from iPhones and iPads and the internet. But I deliberation it’s conscionable a substance of time. All she wants to bash is look astatine an iPhone. And convey deity they bash support her away. I anticipation that they’ll beryllium capable to bash that until she tin deliberation for herself. Like erstwhile she’s successful precocious school. But who knows? 

And present with AI, I mean I deliberation AI tin enactment wonders with medicine and science. But erstwhile it comes to art, it’s truthful frightening. I deliberation radical volition spell to the theatre more. I deliberation they’ll spell to the ballet more. I deliberation they’ll spell to operas more. I deliberation they’ll spell to symphonies more, wherever determination are existent people. I deliberation radical volition crave it. You know, I privation to bash arsenic overmuch determination arsenic possible, and cipher tin alteration what I’m doing connected stage. So I don’t know. It’s a world—you know, I’m aged now, and I conscionable truly deliberation astir the aboriginal for children. That’s much frightening than immoderate fearfulness amusement for me.

Evil streams caller episodes Thursdays on Paramount+. And for those who dare: Cannibal Girls is streaming on Tubi.

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