Before throwing herself into a new role, Briana Middleton ready her armor. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
“I like preparation and research,” the actress says of her trial. “I don’t like this analogy, but it feels like ammo or armor going into a project. When I have all this stuff around me, and then I go into the chaos that’s filming, I’m not going crazy.”
In Benjamin Caron’s psychological thriller A24 sharperMiddleton plays Sandra, a young woman caught up in the ruthless world of New York City con artists. What begins as a perfect love story between Sandra and Tom (Justice Smith) slowly unravels as the story reveals that the characters are not who they appear to be.
Upon reading the script, the New Orleans actress says she was immediately won over by her character. “I fell in love with her heart and I fell in love with the inherent hope she has for people,” says Middleton, who grew up in a military family and moved around a lot, in places like Germany, Tennessee and Louisiana.
Taken from a performance at George Clooney’s The tender barMiddleton stars alongside Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, John Lithgow and Smith sharper, which releases February 17 on Apple TV+. “Thank God, everyone is so nice,” the relative newcomer says of her castmates. “It really takes the pressure off of having this really polished performance.”
Middleton worked with the Oscar-winning Moore and remembers learning from the actress on set. “She’s not afraid to show her process,” Middleton says of Moore. “There’s this idea that you have to go out and do your thing, get ready. Then you should come and do this really polished, finished performance. But [Moore] tries things, she says it and then says it again. You see her at work and you remember, “Oh, okay, I can really take my time figuring this out.” I can investigate this.’ “
Amidst its twists and turns, sharper touches on themes such as substance abuse and mental health issues. It was Middleton’s connection to her character that helped her get through those more difficult scenes. Sometimes she had to work to distance herself from the part and remind herself she was playing a part: “I really think this stuff lives in your body, especially after you’ve done it so many times and lived in it.”
Middleton with Judge Smith present sharper.
Courtesy of ALISON COHEN ROSA/Apple TV+
In his exploration of human nature, sharper struggles with the harsh reality of what people are willing to do to survive, but also what people are willing to do for love. “Is it a love story?” Middleton ponders the question. “Love is one of the things that maybe all of our characters are looking for in this movie. Connection and relationship.
“We have a habit of making people two-dimensional and labeling them,” the actress adds of what she hopes audiences will get out of the film. “But people just aren’t like that. I hope [the film] touches people in that way to remember that we are versatile beings. We are not just one thing.”
This story first appeared in the Feb. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
