For the explosive season 4 premiere of FROM, Julia Doyle did something unprecedented — she built two completely different people inside the same character.
And judging from the fan reaction to episode 1’s jaw-dropping reveal, it worked to perfection.
In an exclusive interview with BeatsBoxingMayhem, Doyle opened up about the psychological and physical tricks she used to tap into Sofia’s unsettling duality of the pious teenager and sadistic Man in Yellow. Instead of relying solely on dialogue or expressions, Doyle revealed she used something unexpectedly immersive to flip between personalities on set: scent.
So I went out of my way to buy two new perfumes… I got one that was a more woodsy scent that was very pine. I put that on one wrist. Then I got one that was more innocent… sweet, bubbly… it was literally called Bubbly. When I had scenes where I knew I needed to shift, I’d smell one wrist and then the other, and somehow it gets you into character.
There’s a constant tension between innocence and menace in nearly every scene she’s in — and Doyle was literally conditioning herself to switch identities in real time while filming.
But the interview gets even darker when Doyle discusses which resident of the town Sofia enjoys manipulating the most.
And fans of Kenny may not like the answer.
First thing that comes to mind is Kenny. I think Sofia knows he’s vulnerable with his own trauma he’s been through. It’s nice to toy with him. And you don’t have to worry about if he’s catching on. He’s fully locked in and my character likes to play with that.
Is Kenny being emotionally targeted for something bigger later in the season? Has Sofia already embedded herself deeper into the town’s fragile psyche than viewers realize? And just how long has she been hiding her true nature in plain sight?
Watch the full exclusive Julia Doyle interview below, and subscribe on YouTube to stay up to date on all our FROM season 4 coverage:
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