Prime Video’s incoming new series I’m a Virgo comes bearing some of the year’s best reviews for any small screen project, and they’re entirely deserved.
The first project from filmmaker Boots Riley since his breakthrough hit Sorry to Bother You is an absurdist social satire that’s equal parts hilarious and incendiary, with Jharrel Jerome playing 13-foot tall teenager Cootie as he gets to grips with entering society for the very first time having been sheltered from the world his whole life.
Along the way, he makes friends and develops romantic connections, with two-time Tony nominee Kara Young’s Jones becoming one of his first acquaintances, while Olivia Washington – the latest member of the budding acting dynasty that includes brother John David, mother Loretta, and father Denzel – forms an immediate connection with her fellow outsider as fast food worker Kara.
Ahead of I’m a Virgo‘s release this Friday, We Got This Covered had the chance to speak to Young and Washington, where we cover their initial reactions to reading the scripts, tackling major dramatic scenes and much more, which you can check out below.
To put it lightly, I’m a Virgo deals with a lot of different genres – from absurdist comedy to social satire via drama, thriller, and many more – so what were your reactions to reading the scripts and realizing how wild of a ride this was going to be?
Kara Young: Well, on the page, you feel like it’s a larger metaphor for the world. And Cootie being 13 feet tall, and entering society as one of the most purest, most naive people, to be in contact with all of these characters just felt like something that we feel when we enter new settings. I was totally down for the ride.
Olivia Washington: I agree. You know, I think that it’s something so different. And we’ve been saying about the show; you have to see it to understand it. So reading it even, we felt like we had a good understanding about it when we were making it. But then when we got to set and then saw the final product, we were like, “Oh, wow, this is something.” I mean, it’s Boots Riley, how are you not going to participate?
Kara, you’ve got a couple of standout monologues at various points. Did you find that to be a daunting prospect at all when the day came after reading the scripts, or was it a challenge you relished given both your background on the stage and desire to do justice to the source material?
Kara Young: Wow, that’s such a great question. Um, so I auditioned, I auditioned with one of the monologues – and we’re gonna keep that on the hush because a lot of people don’t know what’s gonna happen, Scott! – but I auditioned with that. And I actually, I absolutely felt like it was absolutely connected to what we do in the theater, in regards to feeling like you’re changing the world, feeling like you’re sending a message out into the ether, and that that message will be passed along. You know, how many audience members are in the theater? Somebody’s going to take something from that and pass it. So when I auditioned, I felt like that was incredibly important to me, in regards to a character that’s going to be viewed by potentially millions of people.
Olivia Washington: And not to mention, but she’s now a two-time Tony nominee, she knows what she’s doing and she does it well!
We’ll dance around spoilers, but let’s just say there’s a “certain scene” that people will be talking about once they’ve seen it, Olivia. As an actor, what was your reaction when you read that? And how do you go about preparing for something like that as a performer, and from a logistical point of view?
Olivia Washington: Right? I think as a performer, it’s always a little daunting, but it’s the type of vulnerability that someone… Yeah, I guess… is that a spoiler? Not really. Anyway, there’s a certain amount of vulnerability that has to happen that as an actor, I think you are prepared to give. And I was excited. I called some friends that had done intimate scenes before and I really enjoyed their perspective. It was about bringing joy and this kind of really human moment to to people. And from a logistic point of view, all of my physicality was with a doll – with a 13-foot doll – and Jharrel was always in the room. So he was behind the camera when I was filming. So a lot of my stuff, I was cradling and cuddling and caressing this giant doll. You have to see!
I’m a Virgo premieres on Prime Video this Friday, June 23. You can check out our review of the series here, as well as our exclusive interviews with executive producer Michael Ellenberg, as well as stars Allius Barnes and Brett Gray.