Holland Taylor is known for her masterful performance throughout her steady six-decade career working on hit TV shows, movies and Broadway plays.
But during one scene in season 3 Morning showshe gave such a striking performance that it touched those who worked on the set.
One of the most memorable scenes from last season was when Taylor’s character Cybil Richards, the resistant chairwoman of the TV network board, sat down on live TV with Christina Hunter (Nicole Beharie) after Cybil sent a racially insensitive email.
“It was a target for Nicole and for me, I think, because it touched on personal concerns that someone can have about themselves,” Taylor, 81, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “[Cybil] she kind of stumbles into a situation where she wasn’t paying attention at all, which is the point. She was careless. And Nicole has to fight for what is right, being herself someone who has suffered from people who have not done right. And her character has that experience, but Nicole has that experience too.”
Holland Taylor ‘doesn’t like’ couples working together and ‘can’t imagine’ acting with Sarah Paulson
Taylor says she and Beharie “wanted to get it right.”
“We both wanted to be alive in the moment and have a risky conversation that was really risky for the actors. We were worried about it before and we kind of sweated through it, we kind of held on to each other. Even though [our characters] were opponents, of course we as actors were not. So it was a very, very multi-layered, multi-faceted experience performing in that,” she explains.
They had to deliver several shots of the high-tension scene, and Taylor says she was told afterward that all the onlookers watching in the studio “were as electrified as the people who were there would have been.”
She adds, “Everybody was holding their breath and everybody was sweating through the tough moments of that scene.”
When the last take was done, Taylor says, “the whole room blew up. I think Nicole and I were both wild when we left that place.”
Holland Taylor on ‘The Morning Show’.
Apple TV+
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Taylor’s striking performance earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. “I was surprised,” she says. “Four women were nominated only from Morning showso I was lucky to be among them.”
Beharie also earned a nomination in the same category along with morning show’with Greta Lee and Karen Pittman.
“Morning show it’s just a joy to work with because you’re acting with such good people, men and women, young and old,” Taylor says. “And it’s just wonderful to have every scene something you can’t wait to do.”
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Holland Taylor.
Victoria Stevens
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Another cast member Taylor also praises is the “fantastic” Billy Crudup. “He’s such a chunky, electric actor and very, very generous, very encouraging. He’s one of those actors who’s really there when he’s doing it. He doesn’t just walk away, turn to his phone, as soon as you’re done taking it. He stays on place.”
As for what’s in store for Season 4, Taylor can’t share any details. But she trusts writer-creators Mimi Leder and Charlotte Stoudt.
“They’re extremely imaginative in where they shoot the stories. And they’ve surprised me countless times,” says Taylor. “Sometimes I thought about certain decisions, ‘Why go there? I don’t see where it’s going to lead.’ And of course, it leads to some wonderful place.”
For more on Holland Taylor, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.
Morning show streaming on Apple TV+
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Source: HIS Education