Over the years, Nicola Walker has played detectives, lawyers, and women struggling to juggle complex roles. But her latest role in the comedy-drama Alice and Steve may be the closest she's come to playing herself.
The six-part series, written by Sophie Goodhart and also starring Jemaine Clement, begins with a premise that shatters a friendship. Alice (Walker) discovers that her best friend, Steve (Clement), is dating her 26-year-old daughter, Izzy. What follows is a mixture of comedy and emotional warfare, as the two middle-aged friends find themselves embroiled in a battle of resentment, jealousy, and revenge.
The show's central dilemma may seem extreme, but when Walker was asked how she would react in Alice's shoes, she said the underlying parental emotions felt very familiar.
«"My son is already grown up and has had several affairs, and for his mother, each of them is a surprise," she told BBC News.
«"It's very difficult to go from having complete control over them to being a small organization that believes everything you say and in their eyes you're great at everything.".
«"Then they become teenagers and start bringing home whoever they want, and that completely changes the way they approach raising children.".
The main challenge, she says, is learning to know when not to interfere.
«"You just have to keep your mouth shut, which is the complete opposite of what Alice does.".
«"You have to be a real cow," a friend told me. "You just have to say 'mm-hmm, mm-hmm' and act like a big cow, pretending to agree," she laughed.
Jemaine Clement and Yali Topol Margalit as Steve and Izzy [Disney]
So it's perhaps not surprising that Walker feels a close connection to Alice.
Although she has played a wide variety of characters, from detective Cassie Stewart in Unforgotten to divorce lawyer Hannah Stern in Divorce, she says this is the character she most closely resembles.
«"In every job I do, I always play Alice," she says. "I think I feel closer to Alice than anyone else I've ever played.".
She explains that she experiences the same "rage" as she does, and that "parenting is crazy, but you'd do anything for your kids, so I understand her core personality traits.".
It's this ability to evoke empathy that makes Alice not just a domineering mother, but a real woman who, despite the chaos and comedy of the situation, struggles to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is making choices she can no longer control.
Steve is also much more complex than he seems at first glance, judging by the plot of the series.
Jemaine Clement is also known for his roles in What We Do in the Shadows and Flight of the Conchords [Disney].
While viewers might assume he's simply a middle-aged man dating a much younger woman, Clement says he was drawn to the character because of the internal conflict at his core.
«"Steve's humanity is defined by an internal conflict—he has something he really wants that he shouldn't have, and that's a very powerful conflict in acting.".
The New Zealand actor adds that he believes many viewers will have formed an opinion of Steve before watching the series and "assume he's a nasty guy.".
However, both actors argue that the series is less interested in assigning blame than in exploring an uncomfortable situation from multiple perspectives.
«"The author carefully shows that if it hadn't been Alice's daughter, these two people could have had a good relationship," says Walker. "It's difficult to point the finger at any one character and assign blame.".
«"A True Story Full of Hate"»
Critics have repeatedly emphasized in their reviews that the refusal to portray anyone as an unambiguous villain.
In its four-star review, Radio Times magazine described Alice and Steve as "an impressively twisted drama about love and hate," praising its ability to combine sharp comedy with more touching themes.
The review called it "a true hate story" and noted that "while the romantic relationship is the starting point for all the dramatic tension, the more interesting story is the one about the friendship it destroys.".
The Hollywood Reporter also gave positive reviews, calling the series "witty and unexpectedly touching.".
Instead of asking viewers to choose sides, Alice and Steve repeatedly encourage them to empathize with people making decisions they may disagree with.
Walker and Clement certainly hope so.
«"People think they know where this is all going, but we can assure them it's not going to go the way they think. The author is much better at that," Walker says.
Clement agrees: "None of us predicted what would happen in the end.".
[Disney]
The series also touches on broader discussions about relationships with large age gaps and how they are perceived.
Clement, best known for What We Do in the Shadows and Flight of the Conchords, says he thinks people "would be harsher if it was an older woman with a younger man.".
Meanwhile, Walker says what she liked most about the script, written by Sophie Goodhart, the writer of Sex Education and The Rivals, was its depiction of aging.
«"Towards the end of her life, Alice has no self-pity, and I don't think I've ever encountered anything like that from an older woman. There's always this attitude of, 'I'm still going strong.' But I appreciate the honesty of a woman who says, 'I've had enough, and this isn't my time, it's theirs.'".
As for advice they might give to modern people looking to date, both admit they might be out of touch with reality.
«We haven’t seen each other in a while,» Clement laughs, before finally suggesting one option: «Go to the movies.».
Walker is even less sure she should be giving advice.
«"My advice is useless," she says. "I will remain silent.".
Given everything she just said about raising children, perhaps this lesson could be useful to Alice, too.
Alice & Steve will be available to watch on Disney+ starting June 8.
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