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SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details about Season 1 of Cruel Intentions.
Although Sarah Catherine Hook and Zac Burgess play conniving step-siblings with questionable boundaries in Amazon Prime Video‘s Cruel Intentions reimagining, this duo isn’t your mother’s Kathryn and Sebastian.
Ahead of the eight-episode series’ Thursday premiere on the platform, the actors behind Caroline Merteuil and Lucien Belmont discussed the “collaborative experience” of creating their characters with showrunners Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher, as well as pilot director Adam Arkin.
“They were so specific, they were like, ‘We don’t want to copy and paste, we really want a fresh voice, a fresh take on this,'” explained Hook. “And I personally thought that was so smart. And I’m so thankful because you don’t feel like you have to try to match what’s going on there. So, they really gave us a lot of creative liberties, and it just made our job so much easier and took the pressure off as well, being able to step in, and just adding this new chapter in the Cruel Intentions universe.”
In the new iteration of the 1999 film and the 1782 novel Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Caroline and Lucien are at the top of the Greek ladder at the fictional elite Manchester University in Washington D.C. The series still includes the same indecent wager, this time with Caroline attempting to get the vice president’s daughter Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith) to rush her sorority as Lucien begins developing feelings for her.
And although the characters and setting are new, the show features plenty of nods to the original, including a kiss between Caroline and Annie reminiscent of an iconic scene between Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Kathryn and Selma Blair’s CeCe in the movie.
“Well, it’s funny because once we read the script, Sara Silva, who plays CeCe was like, ‘That was supposed to be me!'” said Hook. “She was not happy about that. And I think even Savannah was like, ‘Yeah, maybe it should be CeCe.’ I don’t think she really wanted to do it. But of course we had to add it, and I’m personally so glad that it got to be on there.”
Also a departure from the Roger Kumble-helmed film, the series features Claire Forlani as Claudia Merteuil, Caroline’s mother and an important insight into her cruel behavior.
“It was so much more informing for me to be able to understand the relationship that Caroline had with her mom, because it then informed our relationship as characters,” explained Burgess. “And that opened up the world for me so much more and allowed my imagination to run.”
Hook added, “I feel like that’s what the show needed, and it kind of helps ground the characters a bit more as well, understanding that this is a really fun show but also there’s a lot of humanity here as well.”
Read on for Sarah Catherine Hook and Zac Burgess’ experience reimagining Cruel Intentions.
DEADLINE: Tell me about crafting your cruel personas.
ZAC BURGESS: Lucien is entirely different from me as a human being. Surprisingly, I’m not as cruel as him. But I was incredibly fortunate, I got to work with the showrunners Phoebe and Sarah and pull apart Lucien’s mannerisms, his behavioral patterns, his characteristics, likes and dislikes. And so my job became so much easier because I had so much information at my fingertips to be able to pull apart and play with.
SARAH CATHERINE HOOK: Yeah, I would agree with that for myself, and I think for everyone. I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot, it feels like we all were playing characters. None of us were really playing ourselves. So, the script obviously really informed us. What we were saying, I don’t think any of us would actually say the words that they’re saying in real life. So that alone did it enough for us, and then of course, wardrobe hair and makeup, all of it really informed our posture, our mannerisms, like you said, like everything. So, all of that really made our jobs very easy. We just had to show up and just do it nice.
DEADLINE: So, you’re not playing Kathryn and Sebastian, these are new characters. Tell me how you differentiated your characters from those, but also if there were any Sarah Michelle Gellar or Ryan Phillippe nods that you wanted to include?
BURGESS: Well, I still haven’t seen the film.
HOOK: Yeah, he still hasn’t seen the film, which I kind of love. I love that you haven’t seen it because it’s like you’re representing the people who will not have seen the film and then I’m representing the people who are like die-hard fans of the film. So, it’s good we have both at the helm. But I don’t know, especially in the audition room, for me in the director session with our showrunners, Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher, and then our pilot director Adam Arkin, we created Caroline’s voice in that room together. It was a collaborative experience and they were so specific, they were like, “We don’t want to copy and paste, we really want a fresh voice, a fresh take on this.” And I personally thought that was so smart. And I’m so thankful because you don’t feel like you have to try to match what’s going on there. So, they really gave us a lot of creative liberties, and it just made our job so much easier and took the pressure off as well, being able to step in, and just adding this new chapter in the Cruel Intentions universe.
DEADLINE: What was the cruelest thing your characters did this season? Was there anything that felt hard not to judge them?
BURGESS: Mine is like right at the end.
HOOK: Mine is too. I mean, so many things she did, pretty much all of seven and eight. I will just say that, episodes seven and eight. I was like, “Oh my God, who is this girl? This is scary.”
BURGESS: So, I think Lucien’s in a real place of hurt in this particular moment. He’s at his wits end and there’s a big sort of character arc where he changes significantly, seemingly overnight. And then there’s a little revenge taken and little rendezvous with a certain someone.
DEADLINE: Speaking of which, one thing the movie didn’t really touch on was the parents. Tell me about adding Caroline’s mom Claudia (Claire Forlani) into that dynamic and how it brings more toxic family energy.
HOOK: Well, I think it was smart to bring her into the mix so we could understand why Caroline is the way she is. I feel like that’s what the show needed, and it kind of helps ground the characters a bit more as well, understanding that this is a really fun show but also there’s a lot of humanity here as well. So, I was glad that they chose to bring in the parent dynamic, for sure.
BURGESS: Absolutely. And it was so much more informing for me to be able to understand the relationship that Caroline had with her mom, because it then informed our relationship as characters, and that opened up the world for me so much more and allowed my imagination to run.
DEADLINE: There are some really great callbacks to the movie, the necklace, the car, the retirement home, the music. Did you have a favorite Easter egg?
BURGESS: I mean, I’ve seen some scenes of these on YouTube. I’ve seen small clips. I think there’s two, probably one’s the tree moment when he first sees Annie, and the pool.
DEADLINE: What was it like shooting that scene?
BURGESS: That was traumatic.
HOOK: Yeah. You guys fell down the stairs at one point.
BURGESS: We had a little mishap on set, it was no one’s fault. It was just a freak slippery accident and it involved some stairs and a bit of water.
DEADLINE: I feel like the kiss scene with you and Savannah was also a nod to the Central Park scene. Can you tell me about that?
HOOK: Yeah, absolutely. Well, it’s funny because once we read the script, Sara Silva, who plays CeCe was like, “That was supposed to be me!” She was not happy about that. And I think even Savannah was like, “Yeah, maybe it should be CeCe.” I don’t think she really wanted to do it. But of course we had to add it, and I’m personally so glad that it got to be on there, and I can continue my job as a woman-kisser on camera. It’s where I belong, man. So yeah, I’m very glad that it made it. That was a good Easter egg, for sure.
DEADLINE: Since Lucien doesn’t die in this, that obviously leaves things open for a second season. Where do you see your characters progressing to after this?
BURGESS: Yeah, that’s big. I mean, we finish this season on a pretty big cliffhanger, and I think it does leave a lot of room for character growth, definitely for Lucien. He finishes in a pretty vulnerable strong spot, and I’m intrigued to see if we’re given the opportunity to jump into a second season, to play with that more.
HOOK: Yeah, for sure. I’m more eager to see just what Sara and Phoebe come up with, because I know they’re just gonna let loose. We’re gonna run wild if we get to go to Season 2. because now, we’ve all really established these characters and we know what to do when we get there. So, I honestly have no clue what they have in store, but I trust it will be brilliant.
DEADLINE: I also loved seeing Sean Patrick Thomas return play a version of the character he was playing before. What was it like working with him?
HOOK: Sean Patrick Thomas is so lovely and so professional, and I’m really, really glad that we had him. He’s the perfect addition to this cast. I know he and Sara Silva work together the most, and he was super respectful. They obviously had to get quite intimate, as I did as well. And honestly, it was so easy. It was just like, “Yeah, let’s do it.” There wasn’t really any fear with him. I felt very safe and at ease with him and it just felt like we were doing just another scene. But he’s so lovely and we’re so lucky to have him and he’s such a great actor as well.
BURGESS: He’s incredibly lovely. We only had a couple of interactions, just because of the scenes that we were shooting at different times. But we had some wonderful chats and it was incredibly nice being able to have his presence on set.
DEADLINE: Any other cameos you’re hoping for in Season 2?
BURGESS: To be honest, I’d be happy for anyone to come.
HOOK: I was just gonna say the same thing, I would truly be happy with any one of them… No! I have someone who needs to come, because she was in Dangerous Liaisons as well. But Swoosie Kurtz, she had a role in Dangerous Liaisons and then she played the woman in the very beginning of Cruel Intentions, she’s Sebastian’s therapist. I think she needs to make a cameo because she was in both. She’s got to be in this world with us at some point. Maybe [Lucien] goes to therapy and she’s a therapist.
