‘Apples Never Fall’ star Sam Neill: ‘There’s a certain amount of self-delusion to Stan’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
[WARNING: The following story contains spoilers about “Apples Never Fall.”]
Sam Neill has played many beloved characters throughout his six-decade career (Dr. Alan Grant forever!) that you can’t imagine anyone else in the role, but from his perspective, “it never occurs to me that I should be playing any part at all,” the actor quips to Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). That was the case for “Apples Never Fall,” the Peacock limited series based on Liane Moriarty‘s novel of the same name.
“The idea of this alpha male that’s extraordinary at tennis and things seemed like one hurdle too many for me,” Neill continues. “I was a little reluctant at the beginning, but I was persuaded and persuaded myself and I’m really glad that I did it. And obviously there were things there that were extremely attractive to me — the fact that Annette [Bening] was doing it was an extraordinary magnet unto itself, and that it was Liane and all that sort of thing and the story, more than anything. But Annette would be right up there.”
“Apples Never Fall” follows the Delaneys, a tennis family in southern Florida that is seemingly picture perfect. Stan (Neill) and Joy (Bening) have just retired from their tennis academy when they take in a mysterious woman, Savannah (Georgia Flood), who turns their world upside down. After Joy goes missing one day, decades of secrets and lies and resentment are exposed. Prone to anger, Stan — who, as viewers later learn, was a hard-driving tennis coach and parent with a “win at all costs” mentality — becomes a suspect in her possible murder, especially in the eyes of their eldest son, Troy (Jake Lacy).
“It doesn’t occur to Stan that he might be a suspect in anything at all. It’s baffling to him. It does rather complicate things. He keeps insisting to his children that she’s still around, but I think there’s a certain amount of self-delusion to Stan, as there is to most of us. I thought to play him from a position of absolute innocence. And sometimes, your best intentions can be extremely misinterpreted. And his children aren’t very loyal, are they? They’re terrible! Poor Stan!” Neill says with a laugh. “He’s so misunderstood, but then again, he has some characteristics that are less than endearing. He can be a bully. He insists that everybody can be and should be a winner. I take a slightly more nuanced view of life, I think.”
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In the end, Joy turns out to be alive and was hiding out in Savannah’s house in Georgia. Feeling unappreciated, she just wanted her family to “miss me for once.” After all, Stan had disappeared at random times throughout their marriage. Upon her return, Stan explains that he was terrified of becoming his abusive dad and that all the times he disappeared was because he loved her and had left “so I wouldn’t lose you.” “It’s really interesting that he never discussed his father and that tortured relationship with his father. It explains so much about Stan, that he’s never been entirely open about that,” Neil states. “Now it opens the possibility of being really honest with each other in a way that wasn’t before. I wonder how that plays out. I’d be curious to know.”
That, of course, brings up the possibility of a second season. The show was conceived as a limited series and arguably has a satisfying conclusion. While Neill is curious to know where the Delaneys go from here, he’s not sure if we need to see it. “I have no idea what’s yet to be told,” he says. “I’d love to be with all those people again.”
The two-time Emmy nominee did have a recent reunion for another one of his iconic projects, “Peaky Blinders.” He linked up with Cillian Murphy not once but twice after the latter’s Best Actor Oscar win for “Oppenheimer.” “Oh, I was so pleased [to see him win]. Cillian is such a terrific actor and he’s a lovely man and humble,” Neill says. “I loved working with Cillian and he really deserved that Oscar. He was terrific in that film. He works so hard. I was completely thrilled.”
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