HBO’s “Barry” is dubbed as a dark comedy, but over the seasons, the series has been increasingly dark and less on the comedy. Still, the first 3 seasons have managed to snap 9 Emmys (from its 44 nominations). Just when you thought the story about hitman has reached its most conclusive ending, “Barry” surprises us in the best way possible.
With season 4 currently underway, viewers will get to see the powerful, complex and hilarious conclusion to Barry Berkman’s story. In this interview, Sarah Goldberg delves into Sally Reed’s f-ed up relationship with Barry and toxic dynamic with her mom. The 38-year-old actress also recalled what happened during her last day on set.
Q: We see Sally Reed on a plane going home at the start of season 4. Why is that?
Sarah Goldberg: She’s heading home, terrified and hoping for some solace. She’s haunted by what’s just happened. But when she gets home, it’s certainly not where the heart is! We get a little tableau of the upbringing that Sally had, which was less than ideal, and we get into the relationship with her parents. Clearly she and her mother have a challenging dynamic where they don’t listen to each other at all.
Q: There’s a scene where she’s having a panic attack in the car while her mom’s ice cold. You wonder if Sally’s a drama queen or her mom is dead inside…
Sarah Goldberg: Historically Sally probably has had moments of being a drama queen or crying wolf, but now when things are happening for real, nobody is paying attention. There’s a couple of moments like that in the episode where she’s really trying to make it clear that she’s in serious trouble but she’s talking to a brick wall. Romy Rosemont, played my mom and she was so good. You could see every little twitch in her face. There’s this satisfaction where it’s almost like a game of chicken between us – who’s going to crack and lose their temper first? Sally loses that game, and you see the little victory on her mom’s face. It’s very bleak. Sally is looking for some connection and she doesn’t find it.
Q: Do you think she goes back to LA because she can’t stay with her parents or because she wants to go back to Barry, or because she wants to go back to LA?
Sarah Goldberg: I think it’s all of those things. She can’t quite admit it to herself, but she wants to be near Barry. She’s got that line, “I feel safe with you,” which is pretty effed up when you think about it! But he’s the only person who witnessed her most animal self and is willing to stand by her and love her anyway. She also wants facts. She wants to know what happened to the body of this man that she killed. And LA is the only other home she knows. If I was going to give her some advice, I would say, don’t go back to LA!! But sadly, that’s what she does.
Q: There’s a moment where Gene says to Sally, “Are you telling me you didn’t work out what Barry was?” There’s this pause and then she says, “No.” What’s she thinking in those few seconds?
Sarah Goldberg: She didn’t know. She was too self involved and career obsessed to ever fully take Barry in. Her myopia got in the way. But she knows now. And worse than that, she’s complicit. She has committed a crime. When she pauses, it’s more that she doesn’t want to be seen. I think the flinch is a cover-up.
Q: When she takes over Gene’s acting class, why do the pupils reject her doing the Gene method? Why does she go in so hard?
Sarah Goldberg: She’s not someone who’s ever done anything by halves. When she makes a choice, she’s tenacious and committed. When she gets the green light to teach, I think she sees a survival path. And there are a few things going on. In the short time between when Sally was last a student and this new crop of LA hopefuls coming up, the conversation has changed, and they won’t stand for bullying. But I also read the misogyny of it all. What we might accept from a male teacher we won’t from a female teacher. Sally goes too far, but I think people might accept that kind of thing from a male. I thought that was interesting to play on – this double set of standards that exist in that community, and the world at large. The students walk. The one student who stays, Krysten, is very much a young version of Sally. Sally sets out with the best of intentions. In her twisted way, she is actually trying to help Krysten by using the methods that once helped her. But she just misses the mark. There’s a lot going on in that scene. It was one of the most fun to do in the season.
Q: What’s her arc been over the course of the whole of Barry?
Sarah Goldberg: She’s a good representative of what can happen to you in Los Angeles! A cautionary tale! She starts out brimming with hope and passion. She’s naive and green, but focused and tenacious. Then she builds into a place of confidence by season two and she’s finding her voice as an artist. She’s also working through her past but hanging on to this myopic narcissism. There’s no malice. She thinks she needs to be that focused to get anywhere. Her dreams come true. It’s overwhelming and not what she thought it would be. Then the fall from grace is so quick that I think that’s when her animal self comes out. All the demons from a difficult childhood, an abusive marriage, a very messed up relationship, all rise to the surface. By the time we get to season four, all the veneers that she’s worked so hard to create for herself chip away. The darkest version of herself surfaces.
Q: What was the last day like and what do you miss most about not working on “Barry”?
Sarah Goldberg: I’m going to miss the people. I know we’ll stay in touch, but when you’re working on a show like that, you’re a little traveling band and there’s an intimacy to that that can’t be recreated. Everybody has a huge turn this season, and I don’t think that’s a spoiler. When we rounded off all of these crazy, wild, bizarre arcs, we all saw each other out. We were there for each other’s final days. It was really moving and surreal. My final scene there was snow, so it was like a dream scape. I did my final take, Bill went, “Do you want another one?” I said, “I don’t know.” He goes, “I think we got it.” I went, “Okay, I think we got it.” Then that was it. The crew applauded. I made a little thank you speech to them, got in my car, went home and it’s another day…
Catch new episodes of “Barry” every Monday on HBO and HBO GO.
