RainSpencerIsReadyforWhat’sNext

From The Summer I Turned Pretty to executive producing her own series and starring in Dad’s Leg, the grounded actor reflects on growth, artistry, and finding peace in the in-between.

 

WORDS Olive Walton

 

Rain Spencer is grounded, self-aware and incredibly determined – unsurprisingly. The actor behind The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP)’s Taylor Jewel, on-screen bestie of Lola Tung’s Belly Conklin, is every bit as genuine and insightful as I had hoped.

 

Between seasons of filming TSITP, Spencer has been busy travelling the world filming indie features and acting in stage productions, most recently starring in the upcoming Dad’s Leg, opening in LA this month. The breakout star is clearly passionate about refining her craft and understanding her art inside and out. Acting, for her, isn’t about mastery but evolution.

 

Following the whirlwind global success of the Amazon Prime franchise, Spencer is now set to both star in and executive produce a new Amazon Prime series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s Genuine Fraud. It’s an impressive addition to her growing repertoire, which already includes audiobook narration alongside her screen and stage work.

 

Now back in LA, and preparing to star in the upcoming stage play Dad’s Leg, we spoke about how she readied herself to play the magnetic and multi-layered Taylor Jewel, what might happen if characters Taylor (TSITP) and Jane (Good Girl Jane) met in real life, and her time in New Zealand working on Paloma Schneideman’s upcoming indie feature, Big Girls Don’t Cry, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

 

Olive Walton: Since the finale of TSITP season three premiered in Paris this past summer you’ve been to fashion weeks all around the world. Now that you’re back in LA, what has life been like after all that craziness?

 

Rain Spencer: That time was extra crazy because I had been filming in upstate New York for about a month and I wrapped a movie written and directed by Sarah Elizabeth Mintz, who I worked with before on Good Girl Jane (GGJ), so we kind of got the gang back together and made this tiny movie in the woods. I literally wrapped, went to the wrap party and then got on a plane the next day and was straight into hair and makeup for the premiere. It was this crazy, awesome rollercoaster. I had the time of my life.

 

Right now I’m prepping for a movie. So it’s been a mix of prep and me trying to just be a person and exercise, and get back into some sort of routine and be in my home and take care of it and do some nesting things. I’m buying things for my house and going to the gym, getting a regular schedule. I’m seeing friends and being outside and also prepping and doing that work, which is really nice because it gives me something to do. After a lot of commotion, just sitting down can be challenging. So I’m very grateful right now I have something to do.

 

OW: When you’re on set you’re just with people all the time, it’s constant.

 

RS: The second day I got back in LA I sat on my couch and I had this epiphany that I was just sitting with nothing to do, and I was like, this is amazing. Sitting on the couch, this is great.

 

OW: Musicians sometimes say something similar when they come off tour, it kind of feels like this drug where they’re all alone and they feel that they need to be back with people. Do you feel like part of you is like yearning for the next thing?

 

RS: I feel pretty present, and that’s not something I always feel. So I’m happy that I feel that right now. I feel sort of present and just content right now and I feel in my body, which is a gift. It is really nice.

 

OW: Season three of TSITP wrapped this time last year. It’s crazy because you’ve had this massive gap before the premiere so you’ve been having to hide all of these secrets and spoilers that you can’t tell anyone about. Over that year what were you doing?

 

RS: That is funny. I remember realizing that you film something and then you wait a year every time for it to come out. That’s wild. It is kind of strange, people don’t think about that. In that year, I filmed a movie called Big Girls Don’t Cry. I filmed it in New Zealand for a month and a half and I fell in love with New Zealand and I had the best time. I learned how to drive on the other side of the road – thank you very much, I taught myself. My goal was that by the end of filming, I was going to go on a little road trip to the other side to go to Piha Beach which is a black sand beach and the ocean is insane. It looks prehistoric, like a dinosaur could just fly over and that would be totally normal. That was also an exhilarating part of filming that movie because I don’t know how much I can say about it, but what I can say is that I fell in love with New Zealand.

 

“I remember being on social media and seeing everyone’s opinions and thinking ‘oh, interesting’. They were noticing things I’m not even seeing because I’m too close to it. I can’t actually see.”

 

OW: I imagine if you’d been in LA or New York during the run-up to season three coming out you probably wouldn’t have been able to step outside.

 

RS: I think that’s what was so special. Also, there are fans in New Zealand! People in New Zealand love the show which is always really cool to find out because I felt like I was as far away from everyone that I could physically be, because I was. It’s cool to be in a new place and feel so far away and also have people love the show. That’s so funny. It was such a restorative and grounding time that just felt really good.

 

OW: Did you watch the episodes from the final season of TSITP as they came out?

 

RS: Yes, I did. I would come home from filming with Sarah [Elizabeth Mintz] and watch whatever episode had just come out that day by myself in the kitchen, eating chips. I loved watching them because I had never seen the last couple of episodes before. I’d only seen the first half of the season so I was experiencing it with everyone else.

 

OW: How do you feel about watching yourself back on screen?

 

RS: I think because I’m so close to it it was kind of hard to watch it as an audience member. I remember being on social media and seeing everyone’s opinions and thinking ‘oh, interesting’. They were noticing things I’m not even seeing because I’m too close to it. I can’t actually see. I just know all of these people so well that watching their characters, I’m thinking, of course he’s doing that, because I’ve known this for a year. So I had a different experience watching it. But watching myself is interesting. I like watching myself from an acting point of view, because what I’ve noticed is that my body is my instrument and I can feel when something feels truthful versus when it doesn’t. So the experience I found watching this, you know, anytime I watch myself, if I didn’t feel 100%, if I felt even 99.9% truthful and there was like a 0.1% that didn’t feel right or I didn’t, you know, that didn’t feel right in my body, I can see it on screen. It’s a good reminder for me that even in one look, like when you looked at him, I know what I was thinking. And it translates watching it back, I can tell that I’m not 100% like if, you know, it translates. So it’s a good reminder to be like, even one look has to be, there has to be stuff filled in in that look. So I learn from those things.

 

OW: Taking it back to when you first started acting, was there a moment that you thought hold on, I’m actually really good at this?

 

RS: I don’t think I’ve had a moment where I thought ‘I’m actually really good at this’. My love for acting has grown and evolved and more colours have been added to it. I’ve learned a lot. It’s a relationship like any other relationship. I’ve learned how to have more peace with the process or more peace with the different aspects of the job that I didn’t know were included in the job when I fell in love with acting, like social media and interviews. I thought ‘I love this so much and I want to be on set and I want to work’, but I didn’t think about red carpets and photo shoots.

 

I played a character in a play a couple of years ago that was invite-only with Zach Shields and Noah Jupe. That character blew my mind and expanded my world. It was a two-hander, so it was just me and Noah, and I unlocked these different parts or these different feelings in my body that I didn’t know were there. I didn’t know I had access to that through that character. She was more of a hard-ass who used her sexuality to get what she wanted. I didn’t have access to that as an actor and I didn’t know how to do that until I played that character. My love for acting is constantly evolving and expanding and growing, my love is getting deeper for it all the time.

 

OW: Zach Shields has written a play that you’re acting in, Dad’s Leg, which is opening in LA this month. What is it about your creative connection with Zach that feels so generative, and what made you want to collaborate with him again on this play?

 

RS: There are very few people in this world that I trust like I do Zach. I’d blindly say yes to any project that he wanted me to do. He leads with his heart and it’s always in the name of truth and healing. He’s really one of the greatest people we have. Yes, we’re doing a play called Dad’s Leg that he wrote. It’s a dark comedy about a dad that loses his leg from alcoholism and his two daughters fighting over who gets it. Working with him is a full experience — total food for the soul.

 

OW: Has exploring this role challenged you as an actor in new ways?

 

RS: It’s been my most incredible challenge to date. My character Connie is a huge handful in the best way — she’s lying most of the time, over the top, begging for love and overwhelmed once she gets it. She’s funny, heartbreaking and in and out of reality which has been such a unique character to craft.

 

I get to experience the feeling of trying over and over again after being rejected which is something I would not ordinarily do. I’d say that’s our greatest difference — if I feel rejected I run out of the building but Connie stays and pitches a tent.

 

OW: How does the rehearsal process for a play differ from working on screen?

 

RS: It’s just so much more involved and hands on. Working on screen in my experience can be more solitary, where everyone does their own work and then brings what they have to the table. With a play you can show up sometimes and say ‘I have no idea’ and then explore it together — it ends up being incredibly bonding and oftentimes more emotional.

 

OW: How does performing Dad’s Leg in front of a live audience change the way you inhabit the role?

 

RS: Theatre in general is so different. I get to use my body and voice in a way that takes up way more space. I think theatre is truly the actor’s medium. There’s a rollercoaster ride element that is so thrilling. To be able to do an entire piece from top to bottom, to feel all of the emotions in a more linear fashion is completely unlike screen and such a visceral ride beginning to end.

 

“My love for acting has grown and evolved… It’s a relationship like any other relationship. I’ve learned how to have more peace with the process or more peace with the different aspects of the job that I didn’t know were included in the job when I fell in love with acting, like social media and interviews.”

 

OW: What was it like going from filming an Indie feature, GGJ, to a huge Amazon Prime show, TSITP?

 

RS: Filming GGJ was so opposite. The process of filming a movie in general is so different to TV. In GGJ every scene was a oner, so every scene is like a little play, and everyone has to be on all the time because you don’t know if the camera is going to be on you or not. Some of the oners are ten minutes long – so that was very different to filming for TV. In TSITP, as soon as you do the wide shot, you’re locked into everything that you did. So however I moved my body, if I hit a position on the bed, I had to hit that position every time so that the editors could do their job.

 

OW: Was that repetition hard? And as the takes went on did you find it harder to make those movements feel authentic?

 

RS: It’s a muscle, I learned how to do it without thinking about it. I’ve really trained myself to get the direction like put the drink down on that line, and then you let your body do it. It’s the same thing as hitting a mark. You want to have intention. Why are you stopping right there? If you know why you’re stopping there you’re hitting the mark and you’re in character.

 

OW: You won Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival for your leading role in Good Girl Jane. The film actually released after season one of TSITP aired. What was the fan reaction like, seeing you go from the fun, outspoken Taylor in Season one to someone as raw and vulnerable as Jane?

 

RS: They are completely different characters, if they met in a room they would not like each other. I think Jane would be really put off. Season three Taylor is different but she’s a grown up, so I’d have to imagine what grown up Jane would be like. Because if Jane met grown up Taylor I think they might get along better.

 

OW: Season one of TSITP was a hit, and the show only got bigger and bigger with every season. What was the moment you realised people were really obsessed with it?

 

RS: It evolved. There were definitely moments after season one and season two where I realised it was gaining popularity. There was a specific moment that I felt in my body towards the end of season three where I thought ‘this just hit a new level’. All of a sudden it was really known. I was scrolling online seeing posts from people, creators and actors all talking about the show. When I first auditioned for Taylor I didn’t expect this reaction or what the show was going to be like so it’s been a really insane, beautiful ride.

 

OW: When you were specifically building Taylor’s character, did you have any character references from movies or shows that inspired who she is?

 

RS: There is one thing I remember sprinkling in. Schitt’s Creek is one of my favourite shows ever and the daughter, the way she says her brother’s name with this whiny intonation as she calls out “David”, so in season one I specifically wanted to say “Steven” like that.

 

OW: I know that music plays a big part in how you prepare for a role but are there any other techniques you have for getting into character that are personal to you or this character?

 

RS: Clothes were really important for Taylor. I needed to get her into my body and get that confidence and shit she does with her head and her hips – she over exaggerates [her movements]. In the trailer I would blast music and look in the mirror and feel the clothes I was wearing. Whatever girl-song was playing, and using that to get into it physically. Getting that confidence alone first was important.

 

“If they (Jane and Taylor) met in a room they would not like each other. I think Jane would be really put off. …If Jane met grown up Taylor I think they might get along better.”

 

OW: Taylor’s character arc is so impressive, she grows so much throughout the seasons. In season one she is navigating some messy relationships and situations and by season three we see a much more grounded version of her. What do you think were the key moments that encouraged her growth, and were those moments that happened on screen or deeper parts of her story that happened off-screen?

 

RS: Interesting. I can see both. I think Taylor struggles with her fear of abandonment and that’s where a lot of stuff stems from – certain patterns in her life. It manifests in different ways. She has armour and whether that might mean getting really loud or being abrasive or something. The first scene I thought about when you asked that question was season two when she’s in the ballroom dancing with Steven to Moon River by Frank Ocean. I remember on that day finishing it and going to Jenny and she’s crying and she said “that really made me cry because I felt one of Taylor’s walls go down”. It’s one of the first times you see her being soft and feeling safe, rather than having to protect herself. I think Steven’s ability to bring that out of her is why they’re little soul mates. Just by existing he’s helping her grow by doing what he’s naturally doing. But there are definitely moments alone that Taylor’s experiencing alone where Taylor is crying on the floor and feeling her feelings and trying to console herself.

 

OW: Taylor is incredibly patient, are there any moments in the script where you personally, would’ve reacted differently? Maybe times where your patience would’ve started to wear thin?

 

RS: We’re different people. In my friendships I think I have grace and patience. And I think it’s important to not judge because as soon as judgement comes into a friendship it’s rotten and spoils. We listen and we don’t judge. Because there are going to be times, as Taylor experiences, and I’ve experienced this too, where your friendship and your bond has to be so strong that I’m going to have to tell you the truth. And because you know I’m not judging you, hopefully you see it as the truth and as loving and gentle as possible because I’m your friend. It doesn’t mean that I’m right, it just means that my spirit disagrees with you and just so you know, I have to tell you that and then I’ll never say it again. It’s not all the time that it happens, but when it does you want to have that foundation of trust.

 

OW: Season three introduces Taylor’s mum, Lucinda. How do you think their relationship influences who Taylor is, especially how she shows up as a friend?

 

RS: Such a good question, the first thing that comes to mind is selflessness. I think Taylor is always taking care of her mum and playing a more parental role in the relationship and I can see a world in which that translates over to friendships. ‘I’m going to swallow how I feel so that you feel better’ and I think in Taylor’s journey there’s been sprinkles of learning how to be both honest and loving all while saying how she feels. She had a crush on Steven forever and never told Belly. There are many reasons why, but it’s a swallowing of how she really feels to protect her friendship.

 

OW: Moving on to more recent projects, what was it like working with Paloma Schneideman on Big Girls Don’t Cry?

 

RS: Paloma is the coolest person I’ve ever met. I’m a big fan of Paloma. I just think she’s so talented and calm, cool and collected. She knows exactly what she wants and has such a specific vision which I think is so important for a writer/director. To know what the movie is and stays true to her core belief system and what she sees in her mind. She also provided so much freedom for me as an actor to figure out who this character was and play and get in the sandbox. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I loved working with her and would do it tomorrow if she asked me to.

 

OW: What can you tell us about your role as Freya? What was it like stepping into another character after spending so long as Taylor? Did you approach this role differently?

 

RS: After every season of TSITP I’ve filmed a project. They’ve been little movies and actually most of them are not out. So I have had experience in the last couple of years diving into another character in between seasons which I’m really grateful for because I get to practice my craft and go into different characters and some of them are darker. Freya was a really fun character to play. I’m so excited to watch this movie. I had so much fun filming Big Girls Don’t Cry, the cast is awesome – a lot of the cast is from New Zealand and live there. Noah Taylor is so funny and amazing, I really enjoy his company and I wish we lived in the same place so that we could get lunch. He was really making us laugh the whole time. I had an incredible time and Freya came to me at the perfect time in my life when I needed her and we hung out for a bit. I can’t wait to see it.

 

“I would love to see Taylor and Steven actually be in a relationship because this whole time they’ve just been trying to get there and they’ve been sort of fighting each other, even though they love each other.”

 

OW: You’ve done voice acting on the podcast series A Better Paradise. Are there any other mediums you’re interested in exploring or would like to do more of? Does directing, writing, or producing appeal to you?

 

RS: I’m really excited about Amazon’s Genuine Fraud – it’s been announced that I’ll be an executive producer on it and also playing the lead. It’s very early in production so I’m starting to do that right now. I’m going to executive produce my first thing! I’m really excited to see what it’s like to see what it’s like to build the world from the ground up. I met with E. Lockhard, the writer of the book and Sinead Daly who is adapting it. I absolutely adore and love them both, and I’m extremely excited. There’s not a casting director yet, there’s not a director, we are just this small family that is starting from the beginning. It feels very precious to me. It feels like my baby.

 

And then I think eventually I would love to direct. I’ve thought about that for a while.

 

OW: You’ll obviously be reprising Taylor, the role of Taylor in the TSITP movie. What’s one thing you’d like to see her work through personally in order to keep growing?

 

RS: I haven’t read the script for it, I don’t know if it exists yet, but personally, Jenny, if you’re listening, I would love to see Taylor and Steven actually be in a relationship because this whole time they’ve just been trying to get there and they’ve been sort of fighting each other, even though they love each other. I would like to see them be on the same team and tackle things together instead of being on opposing teams.

 

OW: That’s going to be a crazy first day when you sit down for that table read.

 

RS: I can’t wait.

 

OW: Thank you so much for talking to me today, I feel like I could talk to you for hours about acting.

 

RS: I feel like you’re the homie.

 

OW: Have a lovely rest of your day – bye!

 

RS: Bye.