‘She cast a spell on me’: Michelle Williams on how her character’s ‘radical acceptance of her own body’ drew her to ‘Dying for Sex’
Michelle Williams isn’t someone who’s easily swayed — the Emmy winner and five-time Oscar nominee is in a "happy, stable place" in her life. But when it came to FX's limited series Dying for Sex, she couldn’t help but feel an intense and mysterious connection to the story.
"She cast a spell on me," Williams tells Gold Derby, referring to Molly Kochan, a terminal cancer patient whose tragic, often funny, and wildly sexual journey is at the heart of the story. Kochan’s podcast, cohosted with her friend Nikki Boyer, serves as the foundation for the series, which dives deeply into themes of sex, desire, friendship, and death.
After Molly (Williams) receives a diagnosis of Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, she decides to leave her husband, Steve (Jay Duplass), and begins to explore the full breadth and complexity of her sexual desires for the first time in her life. She gets the courage and support to go on this sexually explicit adventure from her best friend Nikki (Jenny Slate), who stays by her side until the very end.
Williams recalls being gripped by the story from the moment she encountered it. "I read the first episode. I was really smitten with it and taken by it — intrigued. Then I listened to the podcast," she shares. What followed was an unexpectedly visceral reaction. "I don’t often have strong emotional responses anymore to things. I’m in a happy, stable place in my life. The podcast just gutted me."
But her connection went beyond a simple emotional response — it became something magnetic that she couldn’t fully articulate. "I wasn’t even able to communicate why, and then I listened to it again thinking I could understand it. Still, it discombobulated me," Williams continues. "I couldn’t figure out, what was this calling to this thing? I think I knew in that moment, 'I’m definitely doing this. I don’t understand why I’m so attracted to it, which means I must follow where it’s going to lead me.'"
As the series unfolded, Williams found herself delving deeper into what resonated so profoundly with her about Molly’s story. "As I’ve thought about it more, now having done the show, what was speaking to me was her sheer human bravery and also her radical acceptance of her own body’s failings and desires," she reflects.
Photo credit: Sarah Shatz/FX
By Molly's side through it all is her best friend Nikki, who Slate says wasn't "cut out to be a caregiver." It's not that she's selfish, she's just not terribly responsible. "She really excels at listening. She's genuinely interested and dedicated to Molly's existence," Slate explains.
"Molly and Nikki may have doubts about other people or their individual places in this world — they have these criticisms about themselves — but when they're together those are completely inappropriate," Slate continues. "It would never make sense for them to behave cheaply to each other. They are so sure of each others' worth. I hope everyone who wants to be in any sort of relationship can feel what Molly and Nikki feel — a casual, but complete certainty to one's own worth."
FX’s Dying for Sex is written and co-created by Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether. The limited series premieres April 4 with all episodes available to stream on Hulu.
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