Dead Boy Detectives is our new favorite show! We sit down with Briana Cuoco and Ruth Connell, two of the lead actresses in the captivating series, to shed light on the intricacies of their characters and the challenges of bringing them to life in a world that seamlessly blends mystery and fantasy.
When asked about the dynamic between their characters in the series, Cuoco, who plays the determined and resourceful Jenny, and Connell, who embodies the enigmatic and ethereal character of The Night Nurse, shared insights into their complex relationship. Both described their dynamic as “antagonistic, suspicious, and potentially explosive.”
Reflecting on the aspects of their characters that resonate most with them, Cuoco and Connell delved into the depth of their roles. Cuoco expressed that “what’s important to Jenny, her values, and morals are something that I think really sits in me. She doesn’t go about it the way that I would and she might be a little rough around the edges but I think where her heart is, what matters to her, what she makes time for, and her loyalty and how she loves people I think it’s very similar to who I am, even though she doesn’t execute it the same way.”
Meanwhile, Connell shares that she has “the same motor and intensity, but spend a lot of time and money in therapy to not be like the Night Nurse, so I’m quite consciously trying to not be like her, but I feel there are so many similarities actually”
Transitioning to the challenges of working on a series that seamlessly blends elements of mystery and fantasy, Cuoco and Connell discussed the unique demands it placed on them as actors. For Ruth Connell “it’s quite a sweet spot and I actually do both because I’ve done a lot of supernatural stuff like my background in theater and then having done Supernatural. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I play a human woman i’m super excited to see what happens at some point down the line.”
“So, for me, it’s a real sweet spot that I love because you’re acting you’re using your imagination that’s what I love about sci-fi. I didn’t find sci-fi, sci-fi found me and my convert. You have to go balls to the wall and commit and the freedom that gives you, I love that as an actor,” she pointed out.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say,” Briana Cuoco shared. “Is like it forces you. You have to jump in and it forces you to sort of get back to play to fun, to being a kid, to your imagination. You know, someone asked me [in an interview] what’s it like being possessed by a demon and it’s like you just jump in and it forces you to do it and it’s really fun if you just take any insecurity or self-consciousness away and if you have to otherwise it’s never going to work.”
“So I really enjoy it and it’s just your imagination is absolutely on its the highest it could be i love that. I’m often perceived as a quiet woman, I’m five foot two in reality but then on screen, I can be toe-to-toe with five tall dudes but my character’s powerful so I’m as powerful and I love that. That’s one of the things I think about our genre that’s awesome for actresses to get to do that and for people to get to see that,” Cuoco ended.
When asked about what they hope viewers will take away from their characters after watching the show, Ruth Connell highlights that “the Night Nurse is good at her job. She’s a professional woman getting it done, taking care of the details and, you know, she’s just trying to organize the afterlife and I love that.”
For her part, Briana Cuoco commented that she hopes “people see parts of themselves in Jenny. I love that she’s a part of the queer community, that’s really important for people to see themselves reflected in that. I love that she’s funny and has sarcasm and uses it, a lot of people will identify with that, it’s easier than to feel sometimes and I think that’s what it is for. And then I think people will see her humanity like when the dating stuff starts happening in episode five and you see her like oh! She just wants to be loved like everybody else.”
Connell wonders if “the Night Nurse does really deep down, I wonder if she really does, I don’t know if she needs to. She’s like I don’t need anyone, I’m good. I have a theory…Steve [Yockey] and I talked about it a little bit but we’ll see how it plays out if we get season two or three…,” she teased.
Finally, discussing their preparations to bring these comic characters to life in the real world, Cuoco and Connell pointed out insights into their creative processes. Ruth Connell shared that she “read it, think about it, google it, imagine it as if it were Shakespeare. I try to find as much depth and expansion as I can. And yeah, that’s why I love the process. I love the preparation. And fortunately, with this, we were given most of the scripts upfront.”
“So in my experience it’s unusual in television that you get the full arc and you can really mine it, and mine it for gold and see everybody else’s arcs too, which I think is something the show really does take care of. Everybody, every character, it’s no character just left high and dry. I love that. I love it just as a reader of scripts, so I’m hoping everyone who watches it also feels satisfied with most of it,” she ended.
Briana Cuoco confessed that she’s “a vegetarian so I don’t eat any meat. I don’t like being around meat. I don’t know how to work with knives. I have a family friend who’s a chef and she kind of taught me how to like work with a cleaver. I like got this cleaver, not that I was gonna be doing it in the show, but just so I had some knowledge and as to best of my ability. I also found a butcher in LA that I went to for the day and sort of shadowed her and talked to her about how she got into it. Cause like in my mind, I’m like, how do you become a butcher? Like, is this a family? what’s your story? So I did that.”
“And then, on set, I like everything to be different every time and new and fresh. I’m really with my scene partner and reacting in the moment. So yeah, that’s the other part of it. Also all the prep work sort of, and then you get on set and you get to work with people like Ruth, who we just have so much fun. And it’s like, all you’re doing is having a real conversation with that person. You created what the kind of magic was on the spot really,” she shared.
Connell agreed because “that’s how the magic works.” And she confessed that she did “a colossal amount of research with the Night Nurse because I have a newborn baby and all my earnings from playing the Night Nurse are going towards being a night nurse. Genuinely, having a child does change my perspective on the Night Nurse. That is what staying up all night does to you.”
In conclusion, Briana Cuoco and Ruth Connell’s portrayal of Jenny and The Night Nurse in Dead Boy Detectives offers a captivating exploration of friendship, mystery, and the supernatural. Their dynamic performances bring depth and complexity to their characters, inviting viewers on a mesmerizing journey through the intricate world of the series.
Dead Boy Detectives are already streaming on Netflix.
