When Linda Cardellini first read the script for HBO‘s DTF St. Louis, she was just as mystified by her character, Carol, as the audience would eventually be. Created by Steve Conrad, the series blends drama, comedy, and murder mystery centered on a messy love triangle. After Floyd (David Harbour) ends up dead, suspicion immediately swirls around Carol and Clark (Jason Bateman) — and Cardellini admits she was kept guessing until the very end.
“I read the script not knowing who did it or what happened. My suspicion shifted to almost everybody,” she tells Gold Derby. “At first, I thought it was me, and then I thought it was my son [played by Arlan Ruf], then I thought it was Jason.”
Keeping viewers off-balance was a fun challenge for the actress, who first broke out on Freaks and Geeks before memorable roles in Mad Men, Brokeback Mountain, and Dead to Me. For DTF St. Louis, the part not only required a master class in deadpan suspense but also some physical endurance — namely, donning an incredibly bulky umpire uniform when Carol takes on a side gig to raise money for her family. She also had to navigate a more vulnerable, intimate side of the character in sex scenes with Bateman.
“There’s always something more being revealed, and it’s never truly what you think it is,” Cardellini says of the show’s intricate plotting. “That’s the thing that I loved about the script so much, you’re constantly peeling these layers off these people.”
Below, Cardellini talks hilarious robot sex, uncomfortable umpire attire, and why she loves playing complex women.
Gold Derby: When you first read the script for DTF St. Louis, what were your initial impressions of Carol?
Linda Cardellini: The first few episodes, I felt like the audience felt when you first meet Carol. This woman’s up to no good. Is there more to her or is that who we’re going to see throughout the series? Then by episodes four and five, I think things really start to come into focus for her. I loved the idea that she was not exactly what you thought. Even though her character doesn’t change necessarily. Who she is as a person doesn’t change, but what you believe about her changes.
How do you approach playing a character where you have to actively keep the audience guessing?
Steve Conrad is such a brilliant writer and it’s written that way. It’s not just edited that way. We’re kind of learning along with the audience. I think Carol is so opaque. The men, you can see what they’re feeling a lot, whether you believe them or not, their hearts seem more open and they seem more to wear their emotions on their sleeve. Whereas Carol’s guarded in general, like she has been since she was young. I think that lends itself to the audience inserting whatever they think or feel about her at any given moment.
What went through your mind when you first saw the umpire attire you would have to wear?
I did not expect it to be quite so bulky. But the first time I tried on it, it felt so funny and to handle it with such seriousness just made me excited. I took classes with a local umpire and I studied it and it was really fun. She doesn’t have to be good at it so I didn’t have to be masterful at it or anything.
Was it a logistical nightmare to get on and off? Were there any behind-the-scenes wardrobe disasters on those shooting days?
I needed a few people to actually help us. There’s a mic in there. There are all kinds of other things happening, but it’s a full process. There’s like a whole undergarments thing because it was cold when we first started shooting. And then it’s shin guards that go over your legs. And then that bulky thing that goes on and then the face mask. I remember there’s a scene where I turn and I give Jason a look over my shoulder and it is so awkward to try to turn over your shoulder and give somebody this kind of a sensual look in that outfit. I just think those two things together, it’s number one, uncomfortable and number two, just very Steve Conrad hilarious.
The series operates with a distinct, deadpan sense of humor. Was there a specific day on set where you completely broke character and just couldn’t get through a scene?
I think the robot. There’s a scene where Jason’s fantasy is to be a sex robot and that was pretty funny. When I opened the box and there’s all those packing peanuts in it, that box is so gigantic in the hallway that the two of them somehow got that box there, put packing peanuts in it and then he laid in it and she opened it up that whole day sort of cracked us up.
The show features several unusual, deeply intimate scenes. How did you prepare for those moments, and how did you find a comfort level on set when it came time to roll the cameras?
Steve Conrad he wrote it all and he directed it all, but he had prepared so beautifully with the DP and storyboards and so there was no excess. It was just what we needed to get, and it was handled with great care and it’s also funny. I think the best thing about anything that could potentially be nerve-wracking is to have a laugh. For the first scene that I did with Jason is where I put weight placement on his face and the best part about that is I really must be busy on my phone. So, you don’t have that much time to be worrying about all the things that are happening beneath you because I have to have a full conversation with somebody about FedEx on my phone. It’s a funny duality there.
Through out the season, how does Carol’s underlying motivations slowly get revealed?
Everybody thinks Carol has these nefarious plans when in reality she’s just trying to get her kid into a better school and make sure he’s safe. I always point to the scene with David when he tries to give me earrings, which is funny because he’s trying to give me earrings to make me look more feminine because he doesn’t like the umpire’s outfit. But she thinks of it as a gift, but she never takes the gift. She never takes anything for herself. When you first start seeing the series, you think, “Oh, this woman’s manipulative and greedy.” And it wasn’t it at all. She doesn’t want anything herself. She just wants to make sure her family’s OK.
As a mother yourself, how did Carol’s fierce commitment to her son resonate with you personally?
I think it’s relatable. You do anything to make sure that your kid is happy. She wants to make his room seem more grown up. That’s really what she’s saving for. I think that’s really sweet and beautiful. You see her working at a job she doesn’t like, that is actually kind of ruining her marriage and her sexual life with her husband and doing it so that she can have that one very interesting moment where she’s singing with those bags from Home Goods. I peppered in some moments of true joy for Carol and they’re also in the script, of course, but that’s one of them, getting enough money to shop for his things and do the thing that she was planning for him. Then when he comes home and gives her a thumbs up when he’s on the bike, I think that’s probably Carol’s truest smile.
What do you think DTF St. Louis is trying to communicate about human connection and loneliness?
I think the loss of intimacy happens to people and sometimes you get it back and sometimes you don’t. All of the characters are sort of trying to figure out ways to feel again. They’ve lost touch with that kind of feeling of closeness with people, whether it’s sexual intimacy or whether it’s talking through things. I think it’s just about human connection.
Your credits are incredibly varied — from Freaks and Geeks and Mad Men to massive comedies like Daddy’s Home and Dead to Me. Is there a through-line you look for when selecting these complex female roles?
I really do like the intersection of something that is funny, but it’s also can be deadly serious. Freaks and Geeks was sort of a dramedy before that term was even around. I think Dead to Me was like that too. They’re all very different but they sort of straddle this line and then I think that gives it this very human quality. But I love good storytellers and I’ve been really lucky to have worked with some amazing people on and off camera and I just feel like I like to choose things that challenge me or sort of make me go, “Ooh, I don’t know how I’m going to do that.” And that happened with DTF St. Louis. It’s so much fun to figure out if you can do it or not. That’s really kind of the adrenaline rush.
