Chucky: Jennifer Tilly Teases Her Layered Performance as Tiffany & Herself in TV Series

A casual observer may not think that the Chucky film franchise, which is now bleeding over into television with the first season of its new show, has a well defined and strict continuity, but it does. It’s not just that a killer doll reappears in each film and terrorizes people, there’s a web of characters and multiple ongoing plot threads that are still tight over thirty years later. As an example, actress Jennifer Tilly joined the franchise in 1998’s Bride of Chucky, playing the killer doll’s human lover that gets turned into a killer doll herself. That film’s sequel, 2004’s Seed of Chucky, sees Tilly playing both Tiffany and a fictional version of herself, in the end the wires get crossed and Tiffany takes over Jennifer Tilly’s body. 

Now, some seventeen years after that plot thread happened, and a couple of teases about her place in the franchise in the direct-to-video sequels Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky, Tilly finally gets to spread her acting wings big time in the new TV series by playing herself through the lens of Tiffany. Speaking with ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, Tilly opened up about the challenge and fun of playing a character that is playing her, but also what it means to be back in the part after she was uncertain about a return.

“It’s so much fun,” Tilly said. “The thing about Tiffany, she loves being a movie star. She loved it even more than Jennifer Tilly. So when she’s going down the red carpet, she’s doing all the things that she thinks a movie star would too. And you know, using her Jennifer Tilly movie star voice, and she’s blowing kisses and she’s wearing silver glittery sunglasses. And she’s like, ‘Hello, Hackensack!’ But it’s an exaggeration of what she thinks Jennifer Tilly would act like. I mean, it’s a little strange. She’s a little strange. I’m really actually astonished that some people haven’t noticed it. She’s in Jennifer Tilly’s body. I guess people are like, ‘Actresses, they’re odd. And you know, Jennifer Tilly has gotten a little crazier as time goes on.’

She continued, “One of the things I like about her in the series is she actually starts to become sort of splintered. She’s spiraling and she’s almost… I see her a little bit as Cybill, a little bit. She has these different personalities as she becomes more delusional and more unhinged and it’s kind of fun to play such a crazy person. I mean, not kind of fun. It’s really fun, but I just love the direction that she’s taking. There’s some poignant moments too. I mean, she’s in love. She wants to be loved. I mean, that’s what we all want, right?”

Chucky airs Tuesdays on SYFY and USA Network at 10 PM.