How Michelle Williams Balanced Tragedy, Comedy and Kink in ‘Dying for Sex’

When it comes to making prestige television in the streaming age, Michelle Williams is two for two. The first TV project she exec-produced and starred in, 2019’s “Fosse/Verdon” from FX, earned her an Emmy for actress in a limited series and a nomination for best limited series. Six years later, she’s racked up two more nods in those same categories for another FX production, “Dying for Sex.” “I’ve been very lucky,” she said humbly when asked about her track record. “I couldn’t believe that I got to have this kind of material. I just wanted to be as good as the writing.”

Williams stars as Molly, a woman in a stagnant marriage who embarks on a quest of sexual discovery after she’s diagnosed with terminal stage 4 breast cancer. The series is based on the 2020 Wondery podcast of the same name in which Molly Kochan and her best friend, Nikki Boyer, explore Kochan’s experiences, and it was adapted for TV by “The Dropout” and “New Girl” creator Elizabeth Meriwhether and fellow “New Girl” alumna Kim Rosenstock.

Deftly moving between tragedy, comedy and kink, Williams gives the kind of deep, nuanced performance that has yielded five Oscar nominations and made her one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation. It was a workout for her, in the very best way. “I love Liz’s sensibility so incredibly much, because it’s the funny that hurts,” she said.

To develop your version of Molly, how much did you draw from the real woman you knew from the podcast and how much did you make her your own?

It was really a combination. I was so overwhelmingly moved and inspired and rearranged by the podcast that I held the real Molly and the real Nikki on the inside of my heart. It was my very strong desire to get as close to them as possible and at the same time acknowledge that the writing on our show takes some huge imaginative leaps and departures from the podcast itself. So I lived in between those two places.

The relationship between Molly and Neighbor Guy (Rob Delaney) blossoms in such a natural way, and it was refreshing that he didn’t eclipse Nikki (Jenny Slate) as the most important person in Molly’s life. We are so attuned to the romantic-love relationship taking over in a story — but here, it’s the women who are platonic soulmates.

Yeah, it’s about how passionate female friendship can be. I know what it’s been in my life, how central my female friendships are in my life, and that really moved me. But it hadn’t really been said [in this way in movies or TV]. That’s what we were all there for. What we all gathered around was the love that existed between these two women, that they immortalized in the podcast, and that was the spirit that had moved us all to come together and make this. So that really ran through each and every one of us. Jenny’s devotion to the material was so apparent from the moment that we met her.

Molly’s courage is central to the series. She lets herself be vulnerable in her exploration of her sexuality and pushes beyond what feels familiar to her. As the person playing her, did you feel vulnerable?

Yeah, yeah. There were a lot of things that I had to take a big, deep breath before doing them and go into this space where the worst thing that can happen is that I embarrass myself. For instance, I remember one of the first masturbation scenes that I did. I felt vulnerable or nervous or scared or alone or something. I don’t know. I just had a lot of feelings.

And there is the scene where Molly is masturbating and Neighbor Guy on the other side of the wall is also masturbating. And I asked Rob, “Would you mind being there with me? Like, would you do, basically, off-camera masturbation? Would you just be with me so that I’m not alone?” And he said yes. That was what I needed. That meant so much to me. I was having a lot of feelings about it, and then there he was, masturbating right alongside me. Now, that’s a scene partner. [Laughs] One of one, that guy. One of one.

Sissy Spacek plays Molly’s mother, Gail. Their relationship is complicated, so you got to do some juicy scenes with her [including one where Gail walks in on Molly while she’s peeing on a guy dressed in a furry dog suit]. That must have been exciting.

Oh, God. [Sighs happily] I think that some part of me is frozen in time. Right after the peeing on the puppy, it opens up this huge fight between the two of them. There was a moment… How do I say this? How do I articulate this? I experienced the truth in that woman’s eyes in such a powerful way, but it’s like a laser and it’s pinned me to a moment in time. I go back there as often as I can to look in her eyes again. That’s how I say it. [Laughs]

After I finished rewatching the series to prepare for our chat, I went into my backyard, and my neighbor was blasting “Heart and Soul,” which plays in the finale [during Molly’s last moments of energy before she dies, called the “rally”]. It’s not a song that I hear very often. I’m not usually one to read into things, but it was like Molly was there saying hello or something.

That just gave me the chills. Like, my hair is standing up on my arm. I’ve always loved that song. For decades, that’s been my driving, singing-alone-in-the-car song. And when it came up in that episode, they were looking for a song for the rally. Immediately, I was like, “T’Pau, ‘Heart and Soul!’” I was so excited that this thing that I’ve been carrying around as my personal motivator was useful in this context. Yeah, that’s my jam. I hope now it becomes known as the anthem that it rightfully deserves to be.

This story first ran in the Down to the Wire Drama issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.

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