An Interview with Emilie Bierre & Caleb Dolden from ‘Teacup’

TEACUP -- "In the Heart of the Country" Episode 104 -- Pictured: (l-r) Emilie Bierre as Meryl Chenoweth, Caleb Dolden as Arlo Chenoweth -- (Photo by: Mark Hill/PEACOCK)

Emilie Bierre and Caleb Dolden are a pair of rising stars in the business, and currently they star as Meryl and Arlo Chenowith in the new Peacock series, Teacup, and we recently sat down with them to discuss their roles in this amazing new show!
 
John Betancourt:  I'm curious to learn what attracted both of you as actors to be a part of this incredible show.
 
Emilie Bierre: Yeah, it was. It was pretty instantly, honestly, as soon as I heard about the project, and I got the first script for the audition process. I was just amazed by the world that Ian McCulloch had created and the depth of each and every character that he had wrote. Um, especially for, you know, for my character. Personally, I love it when people write kids the right way and when they have their own storyline and they're complex, and not just the kids. So, I really, really just fell in love with that. And I loved how, you know, how, yeah, how multifaceted she was as a young girl who is, you know, still growing, still learning, but suddenly has to grow up really, really quickly to handle the situation. So that really drew me to the project really, really quickly.
 
Caleb Dolden: Well, something that drew me to the project was how the world Ian created and who Arlo was. He was just a regular nine-year-old boy, and I can see myself in Arlo. And so that drew me to the character. And then another thing that drew me to this, the want to be in this, is like how much depth was in every character.
 
John Betancourt: I do want to talk a little bit about that depth too, because it's always a treat to talk to actors and learn about their process. And I'm very curious, because every scare in this story, or every bit of fear that your characters show, and obviously Caleb, the wild stuff that happens to Arlo in this show, you guys sell it with a crazy realism. And I'm curious how each of you made that work so well.
 
Emilie Bierre: I think it's all about trusting the people that you're working with, you know, trusting the writing of it all, and because all of it was really on the page, and then it's our job is just to make those people feel real and authentic. So, you know, when you when you get to know your character, when you've prepped for it, for it, you just have to let go and just be in the moment. And we had just an incredible team of people that made that really, really easy. And it, you know, feel organic too, like we were, in the woods together. I just truly felt like you were my little brother, and we were just living those crazy moments. So, yeah, it's just about like prepping, letting go and letting the magic happen.
 
Caleb Dolden: I guess for me, my preparation was, yeah, pretty much like Emilie's, like doing what you have to do to get to that place, for me, and then just letting go and giving it everything you have and trusting your scene partners. For me, that's true.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, this is a very ambitious show, very big show, a lot of amazing moments. I don't want to spoil anything, but what are each of you most excited for audiences to experience when they get a chance to watch this very scary show.
 
Emilie Bierre: I think, well, the whole thing… we go really far, you know, with it, it starts off just presenting the characters, establishing things, but then as soon as you get past the first few episodes, you know, it just becomes bigger and bigger and more and more intense. So, yeah, I'm so excited for people to kind of join us on this Teacup ride and hopefully enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it. We had so many great challenges throughout all of it. And, yeah, it was, it was intense, but it was… we had a blast. We really did.
 
Caleb Dolden: Yeah, pretty much it was intense. We had a blast. And what I'm excited for people to see is, like the depth the show, and like the whole show, like how deep the show goes.
 
Emilie Bierre: Yeah, I think there's something for everyone too, you know. And there's… as much as you'll get those genre elements, you will have that family drama, and it keeps it all very grounded and very relatable.
 
John Betancourt: I absolutely agree. The last question that I have for you, if you had one word to describe this show, what would that word be?
 
Caleb Dolden: I'll go first, suspenseful. Probably.
 
Emilie Bierre: I really like disorienting.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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