An Interview with Nat Wolff, Brittany O’Grady, & Aimee Carrero from ‘The Consultant’

Nat Wolff, Brittany O’Grady, and Aimee Carrero are some of Hollywood’s hottest starts right now. In fact, they’ve all been part of major shows and movies over the past couple of years, having starred in The Stand (2020), Star, and The Menu, respectively. Currently, they play Craig, Elaine and Patti in the new Prime Video series, The Consultant, which debuts on the network tomorrow (2/24/23), and we here at NTG were fortunate enough to sit down with this trio to discuss their new series.
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John Betancourt: Now this is a show with a lot of layers. Lots of satire, lots of commentary. What’s the number one thing you hope audiences take away from this series?

Brittany O’Grady: I hope that they take away the stakes and the excitement and the pressures that all the characters are feeling because I think that's what makes the story so engaging, and it made it so engaging for all of us to be a part of.

Nat Wolff: I, when I first read the script, I was really taken by the tone and by the eerie atmosphere, and sort of obvious thematic elements that were starting to appear. But then the twist at the end, I screamed in my apartment, and I was like, “I have to be part of this.” So, I think that there's… something about this show that digs deep into your subconscious. I know, when we were working on it, I was dreaming of it every single night, I was dreaming of the show and of elements of the show. You know, I think there's something about it that you can't put into words that that permeates… that just permeates and goes into you somewhere.

Aimee Carrero: I think what I took away from it is how quickly the human mind can be bent and stretched. And it just takes a person with a very specific kind of skill, a person that is magnetic and has power. And I think as a society, we're all sort of ruminating, like, “How did we fall prey to this or that.” And I think this is this is how, I think it just takes someone with a little bit of power and you know, a little bit of influence. And we are all… we can all fall prey to a suggestion or an idea. Even if we think we really know who we are. Nobody's immune.

John Betancourt: That brings up a great point as well. How’s there an infectiousness that happens in the series, and it puts all of your characters under a lot of duress, and that brings me to my next question. How did all of you as actors, get into the mindset to be under the pressures your characters endure?

Nat Wolff: That's a great question. Yeah. I mean, every time I got a new script, it was like getting a Christmas present. Because he's (Tony Basgallop) such an incredible writer. I was like, “What's going to happen?” But every time I looked, I'm like, “Oh, my God, I have to go through this now?” every single time I’m like, “Ahhhhh!” Because then I’d think, “How could it get worse for Craig? And I'm like, “And it gets worse for Craig.” You know, in a strange way, I felt like in a way where Craig had to grow up, you know, and face his demons, I really felt like I had to grow up. And there was there was something about doing the show that I feel like I can almost measure my life from before and after doing it. It was a really formative experience for me.

Aimee Carrero: The mindset, you know, it's what… it's actually what Nat said, the script is very specific. Tony's a specific kind of writer. And I think clear about who the characters are. So, I could follow the trajectory of my character through conversations with Tony, but also through his writing. And I think that with Patti, you know, she, she has a very strong religious belief, she has an idea of what her life is going to be and what she wants and who she wants to spend it with. And I think as the show progresses, she actually starts seeing Craig for who he actually is versus who she's projecting him to be. And, and I think that's, that's a very… that's something that I as a person have had to deal with, as well in relationships. You know, sometimes you just… you just stop seeing the person that's in front of you, and just see who you want to see, regardless of what it's doing to them. And so that was really clear from the beginning.

Brittany O’Grady: I think the mindset that I had working on this project was probably very similar to Elaine's or just living in her mentality or her world. And just making sure like, kind of being the person that puts out the fires or the person that's trying to make sure that things keep moving forward. And being aware of my environment. How do I navigate that? So, I think that was that was something that was kind of parallel, I guess, in a way to Elaine. And the mindset that I kept along with the story and just making sure that I understood as much as I could where Elaine was going because her journey was a little bit elusive to me. Yeah, so that was more of being quick on my feet and trying to just concentrate on that one moment, and then going to the next moment and interacting with someone and what does she want in this moment? What does she need?

This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.

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