Lizzy Caplan plays Virginia Johnson, a pioneer in the field of sex research, on Showtime’s intelligent and provocative new series Masters of Sex. Caplan previously starred in the cult comedy favorite Party Down and played Janis Ian in Mean Girls, but her captivating performance in Masters of Sex achieves a new level of greatness.
SSN spoke with Caplan about playing a woman considered ahead of her time, her onscreen chemistry with Michael Sheen—who plays Johnson’s research partner Dr. William Masters—and their emotionally tough, physically intimate scenes together.
SSN: How did you wind up doing this role? What intrigued you most about it?
Caplan: There are a million reasons it intrigued me. I read the script, fell in love with it. That was surprising to me and my agents as I don’t usually gravitate toward dramatic roles in general, certainly not procedural roles. Also, I usually never go after a role set in another period because I’ve been told throughout my career that I give off a very modern vibe. The fact that it took place in the ‘50s made it even more interesting and more layered. I became obsessed with her and tried to get people to see me in this way. And it worked!
Caplan: There are a million reasons it intrigued me. I read the script, fell in love with it. That was surprising to me and my agents as I don’t usually gravitate toward dramatic roles in general, certainly not procedural roles. Also, I usually never go after a role set in another period because I’ve been told throughout my career that I give off a very modern vibe. The fact that it took place in the ‘50s made it even more interesting and more layered. I became obsessed with her and tried to get people to see me in this way. And it worked!
SSN: Virginia Johnson has some masculine qualities for a woman living in the 1950s. Her ability to separate emotion from sex and to have sex like a man. That’s become more evident, especially in Virginia’s relationship with Dr. Ethan Haas (Nick D’Agosto.) He’s quite taken aback when he and Virginia first have sex, and she takes charge in bed.
Caplan: I’ve never fully identified being a super feminine girly-girl. [In the ‘50s}, women were given less opportunities to be selfish sexually … before getting married. Traditionally, men have been able to separate sex from love. If women were given a fair shot at that, they’d be just as good at it as men. In the show, men have just as difficult a time separating sex from love, sometimes an even harder time. Ethan can’t handle it at all and deals with it in a pretty horrific way. To me, we’re being honest. Virginia did the thing that was considered the more traditional female milestone: getting married and having children and none of that really worked for her. Even within those confines, she did it her own way.
SSN: Dr. Bill Masters becomes the chick in their relationship once he and Virginia start participating in the sex study.
Caplan: He is, he’s the one who lets his emotions get the best of him, and she really could continue separating the two for way longer than he could. Eventually, it would come to a head. Something had to give. That’s what’s so fascinating about the relationship: the push and pull. Their relationship spans 30 years and neither seems to be on the same page at the same time.
Caplan: He is, he’s the one who lets his emotions get the best of him, and she really could continue separating the two for way longer than he could. Eventually, it would come to a head. Something had to give. That’s what’s so fascinating about the relationship: the push and pull. Their relationship spans 30 years and neither seems to be on the same page at the same time.
SSN: And the show has been renewed for a second season so there’s a lot more story to tell.
Caplan: Yes. The book our show is based on is really fascinating. Really, there’s 30 years of really rich material, so it becomes a matter of figuring out which stories we want to tell, how much we want to jump ahead time-wise. It’s complicated because we’re not going to shoot 30 seasons. Luckily, that’s not my job, I just show up. [Laughs]
Caplan: Yes. The book our show is based on is really fascinating. Really, there’s 30 years of really rich material, so it becomes a matter of figuring out which stories we want to tell, how much we want to jump ahead time-wise. It’s complicated because we’re not going to shoot 30 seasons. Luckily, that’s not my job, I just show up. [Laughs]
SSN: Virginia also makes very smart observations about how women need to work to achieve results versus the way men work. Have you had similar experiences in Hollywood?
Caplan: One thing I find fascinating about being a woman, especially as I consider myself a feminist, [is] that within our own ranks as women, there are people who don’t like that label or term or identify as such. I find that really odd. Every other group of people who have been discriminated against over time in history, for the most part, sides with their people. I think the word feminism has been given some inaccurate definitions over the years.
Caplan: One thing I find fascinating about being a woman, especially as I consider myself a feminist, [is] that within our own ranks as women, there are people who don’t like that label or term or identify as such. I find that really odd. Every other group of people who have been discriminated against over time in history, for the most part, sides with their people. I think the word feminism has been given some inaccurate definitions over the years.
Girl-on-girl crime is very prevalent from when you’re young to the workplace. It’s harder for women to be paired against men in the workplace. Women have a harder time in the work force, period.
I’m very lucky in that the girls I call my friends, who do the same thing I do, are miraculously supportive of each other. I don’t think I’d be able to stomach the highly competitive alpha female actress type, and there are plenty of those and plenty of male actors who are difficult to be around as well. We all believe—and I think it’s coming from a comedy background—we all banded together early on because there were so few roles for comedic women that we would get together and lament that fact. As things are opening up in the [comedy] world for women, the more girls are out there being funny and wonderful [and that] just leads to more roles in general for all of us.
SSN: Let’s talk about working with Michael Sheen. Which was harder: the physically intimate scenes or the emotional scenes?
Caplan: The emotional scenes are more difficult for me. There’s the normal discomfort I get when shooting intimate scenes, but at least you’re in it together as actors, whereas the highly emotional scenes where Bill and Virginia are at odds with each other—you’re not in it together at all. It’s quite the opposite, and Michael can be a fairly intimidating presence. I remember one of the early episodes, he screamed at me in one of the scenes, and it really shook me up.
Caplan: The emotional scenes are more difficult for me. There’s the normal discomfort I get when shooting intimate scenes, but at least you’re in it together as actors, whereas the highly emotional scenes where Bill and Virginia are at odds with each other—you’re not in it together at all. It’s quite the opposite, and Michael can be a fairly intimidating presence. I remember one of the early episodes, he screamed at me in one of the scenes, and it really shook me up.
SSN: But you radiate this incredible poise and calm as Virginia.
Caplan: That’s a huge compliment. It’s an exercise for me as an actress because I wouldn’t say that I have tremendous grace or poise in real life. Those aren’t qualities I’ve spent time cultivating. I think these are qualities that are very feminine and the strongest part of being a woman. I’ve gotten to do a lot with it which has been fantastic.
Caplan: That’s a huge compliment. It’s an exercise for me as an actress because I wouldn’t say that I have tremendous grace or poise in real life. Those aren’t qualities I’ve spent time cultivating. I think these are qualities that are very feminine and the strongest part of being a woman. I’ve gotten to do a lot with it which has been fantastic.
SSN: What kind of conversations did you have with Michelle Ashford and the writers during the process? Ashford has said in interviews that she’s a prude.
Caplan: Yes, she is. I can’t imagine making this show with a male showrunner. It would feel a lot different. I think the story, for so many reasons, is better told from a female perspective. It would be so easy to make Libby Masters [Bill’s wife] a two-dimensional woman who simply served as an obstacle to Bill and Virginia getting together and that’s not at all what’s happening. While Bill and Virginia are participating in the study together, nobody admits or says anything, but everyone is pretty aware of what’s going on.
Caplan: Yes, she is. I can’t imagine making this show with a male showrunner. It would feel a lot different. I think the story, for so many reasons, is better told from a female perspective. It would be so easy to make Libby Masters [Bill’s wife] a two-dimensional woman who simply served as an obstacle to Bill and Virginia getting together and that’s not at all what’s happening. While Bill and Virginia are participating in the study together, nobody admits or says anything, but everyone is pretty aware of what’s going on.
Libby’s no dummy, and she wasn’t a dummy in real life. I don’t believe for one second that she didn’t know. [She and Virginia] are able to have this really beautiful friendship with each other as they both have separate relationships with this complicated man. Neither of them had numerous options. So much of Libby’s identity was being the wife of this highly esteemed doctor. Virginia could find another job, but this is the first time she’s been valued this way. It’s her calling. Would she give it up because Bill did some questionable things? She didn’t, and I don’t necessarily blame her. It’s very complicated.
SSN: Finally, what is it about the subject matter that you think has universal appeal?
Caplan: I think that answer changes for each foreign territory. Some European countries would question what all the fuss was about. Others are still going through their own sexual revolution. It’s been interesting to hear what people from other countries think about it because, on one hand, it’s such an American story. It takes place in the heartland of America during a very strange time in our country’s history. I think we can all titter at how far we’ve come … but I can’t tell you how many people can’t keep a straight face when they hear my show is called Masters of Sex. The title of the show makes people a little uneasy. America is a puritanical society, and you can still feel that. In British countries, the younger set is obsessed with these very raunchy reality shows, but the older generation still turns their nose up at discussing such things at the dinner table. It makes you think about your own culture, where you’re from, and how much more work needs to be done across the world in order for the sexes to feel equal.
Caplan: I think that answer changes for each foreign territory. Some European countries would question what all the fuss was about. Others are still going through their own sexual revolution. It’s been interesting to hear what people from other countries think about it because, on one hand, it’s such an American story. It takes place in the heartland of America during a very strange time in our country’s history. I think we can all titter at how far we’ve come … but I can’t tell you how many people can’t keep a straight face when they hear my show is called Masters of Sex. The title of the show makes people a little uneasy. America is a puritanical society, and you can still feel that. In British countries, the younger set is obsessed with these very raunchy reality shows, but the older generation still turns their nose up at discussing such things at the dinner table. It makes you think about your own culture, where you’re from, and how much more work needs to be done across the world in order for the sexes to feel equal.
Masters of Sex airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on Showtime.
Source: studiosystemnews.com
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