The reality TV drama, UnReal is back for a second season with a new suitor in the hit dating competition show Everlasting. Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) are back on set as supervising producer and executive producer, for another round of creating ‘TV drama’ and manipulating relationships in UnReal Season 2.
InCinemas had the chance to interview 34-year-old Michael Rady who plays Coleman Wasserman, a documentary filmmaker who is brought in to the set of Everlasting as one of the key producers. Rady also plays Rachel’s love interest in the new season. He shares more about his new character, being Rachel’s lover and behind-the-scene snippets that happened on set!
InC: Hi Michael, share with us more about your role in the 2nd season of UnReal.
I play Coleman Wasserman. Coleman is brought in to the world of Everlasting by the head of the network. He has got word from someone that there’s trouble at the helm of the ship, and so to speak possibly that Quinn, Chet and Rachel are dropping the ball. Wasserman is a young baby-face, quite successful New York film school graduate. He had a lot of success in documentary filmmaking so he is brought in to take the reign of the show, to make it a fantastic reality TV show.
Talk about your character’s relationship with Rachel. She seems to have a lot of her love life going on in the new season.
Rachel is always seemed to find herself a man. Coleman and Rachel’s relationship has a lot going on. Let’s say they form an alliance, with like-minded characters. What they aspire to do in life, what they dream of telling, develops a deeper relationship than others in the show and so, they share this passion and so that helps to build their passion together. It’s still unfolding. We are shooting the eighth episode right now, and just when I thought I understood what’s going on, the saeason, it’s also a little bit morphing, a little bit changing and I might give you a different answer today than 4 weeks ago. Instead of giving any spoilers, I might just say that it is going to be the deepest, possibly most well-rounded relationship Rachel is involved in thus far.
UnReal season 1 was very well received by critics and viewers, was there some sort of pressure coming into the 2nd season as a new character?
I have to tell the story in a way that is fun and exciting for me. We want everyone to love season 2 as much as they loved season 1. We will be paralysed with fear if we just thought of that all day long, so this kind of work isn’t executed at best if you just think about all these. So yah, I think there is a healthy pressure and so, every show, whether it is critically-acclaimed or not, I feel you always want to be telling the best you can tell, making the best product you can make. So yes, we do always feel that but I think but we all are really excited telling it.
What are some of the challenges you faced playing the character of Coleman in the series?
There has been a delicate balance in terms of how much of a chess player I want Coleman to be - just in the way he relates to the people and especially those in power positions. I envision him as a chess player and maybe someone who is incredibly savvy with human behaviour and so, it was challenging for me to figure that out. He is also one who is very charismatic and attempts to be a commanding leader as he is a head producer and a show runner in Everlasting. I would say the challenge is finding a blend between a commanding presence, being charismatic and a chess player.
UnReal is all about creating ‘drama’. What are some of the ‘dramatic’ moments on set that audience won’t be able to see on camera.
(Laughs) I wonder what are the expectations people have on us behind the scenes because I am so curious. I’ve watched season 1 and yes, the drama is so thick you can cut it with a knife, but everyone on set is truly just having so much fun laughing all day long. Maybe, perhaps love scenes are really silly? They can look really dramatic and intense, but usually when you are shooting those (scenes), they are just ridiculous.
At one point of the show when I was in the middle of this awkward kissing scene, that scene just kept going on and on, and (directors and producers) they kept switching lenses to get really close and just all these different shots. And we were just cracking up all the time! Everyone in the room realises how ridiculous it is right now. I’ll say that is probably the overwriting feeling for me from ‘behind the scenes’ in such a heavily dramatic show is how silly we get because when you are being that intense and dramatic, you have to have a release and that release is always laughter for us. I say it’s pretty universally, across the board for the whole cast.
UnREAL airs every Tuesday, 10pm on the Lifetime channel (StarHub TV Ch 514)!