Somebody I Used to Know tells the story of Ally (played by the incredible Alison Brie) as she returns home to find her ex-boyfriend Sean (Jay Ellis) getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons). The movie itself is about Ally trying to find her own happiness and joy despite herself forcing something to happen to Sean and Cassidy’s relationship.
In preparation for the release of the movie, I got to speak with Kiersey Clemons all about her role as Cassidy. One of the things about her character that really works is that she’s a “free-spirit” on paper but the more we learn about her, we see how complicated she really is and it’s Ally’s own judgement of Cassidy that colors our view at first glance. So I asked Clemons about bringing a character like that to life and the challenges therein.
“I just really tried to stay settled and present and Dave (Franco) constantly kept reminding me because in between scenes I’m like, ‘woo, let’s go,’ she said. “Trying to keep my energy up cause I’m like, ‘I’m gonna be here for 15 hours.’ And so it’s nice to like be settled again. Every time I play a character who’s maybe more grounded in that moment than I would be, I love when the director is able to be like, Kiersey, chill. It’s so helpful. It’s good. It’s hard to switch back and forth.”
With Somebody I Used to Know, it challenges our ideas of what a romantic comedy is and pushes our idea of what archetype these characters should fall into. So I asked Clemons what was it about this story and Cassidy’s story that she wanted to tell. “I’m just drawn to these people that I bring to life,” she said. “I don’t really pay attention much to how much they are in the movie or what place they are. I only pay attention to where they land in that world.”
Seeing it as it is
Cassidy is the character in Somebody I Used to Know who, for the most part, sees Ally for what she’s doing. She doesn’t try and pretend like Ally is innocent. She knows that she’s there because of Sean and thinks something can happen. And it leads to Cassidy having some great reactions to things. So I asked Clemons about the show in finding those humorous reactions to what Ally is doing.
“As chill as she is, I want her to be confrontational because I think that’s what makes her so chill is that she’s not gonna hold something in and carry it around with her,” she said. “She’s not passive aggressive. I didn’t want her to be passive aggressive because if she’s passive aggressive it takes away from her confidence. And I think she’s incredibly confident.”
As we were finishing up our conversation, I asked Clemons what she hopes audiences take away from Somebody I Used to Know when they get to see it. “I hope they think about their own relationships and there are so many dynamics within one relationship that you can have and how can you extend that? I hope people learn that there are so many different ways that you can love and have relationships. That’s what I hope people take away and I hope that they’re just like cozy and like their rom-com.”
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You can now watch Somebody I Used to Know on Prime Video.
(Featured image: Prime Video)
