Swimming With Sharks Stars Talk Their Characters’ Malevolent Natures

In the new The Roku Channel series Swimming with Sharks, audiences see two characters demonstrating their more nefarious sides, though their experiences that led them to this point evoke empathy in the viewer. This will surely lead audiences to wonder about their true nature, with stars of the series Diane Kruger and Kiernan Shipka also wondering how much of their characters’ more negative traits are the result of the trauma they endured and are now replicating or if they were destined to display abuse and manipulation regardless of their own histories. All six episodes of Swimming with Sharks premiere on The Roku Channel on April 15th.

“I think she’s replicating [the abuse she suffered], to a big extent. I think it’s the way she was raised, what she had to do to get where she was,” Kruger explained to ComicBook.com. “And then I think she’s very impatient with people that don’t have the same level of perfection and insane dedication to the job, right? She has zero tolerance for people that lack that ambition, which is, I think, why she’s so attracted to Lou’s character, because there’s a part of her that she sees herself in and what she did. So that was really fun to play, but then I also think that there’s another part in her home life that she can’t control and that she feels powerless about and very vulnerable is about. I think she brings a lot of stuff to work.”

Shipka added, “I think that’s what I’ve been actually saying for a minute here when we’ve been doing these interviews, is that why I related to Lou is because I think a lot of her wants and desires are normal, in that she wants to achieve success and power, and she wants to feel seen and loved. And I think she also loves movies and wants to be in this world, and those things all seem super innocent, but then you take trauma and the way that she was brought up and the figures in her life — or the lack thereof, to some extent — and it just manifests in really ugly ways. So I think that is the duality of her, is that the end goal may actually be innocent. It’s not to be evil in this world, but the way that she gets there is tremendously flawed and maniacal, because she just doesn’t know how else to do it. So there’s a lot of complexity in there, and I think that it was part of the reason why I really liked playing her.”

Swimming with Sharks is described, “The highly anticipated drama led by Diane Kruger and Kiernan Shipka, and from Kathleen Robertson, who serves as creator and showrunner, is about the dark side of the Hollywood studio system and an assistant who turns the tables on an abusive boss. We’re all in the industry, and this entire series is one intense but intriguing situation you just can’t look away from. Filled with psychological twists and turns, the series’ gripping storylines paired with powerhouse performances will leave audiences on the edge of their seat. Donald Sutherland, Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones, Erika Alexander, Ross Butler, and Gerardo Celasco round out the incredible cast.”‘

All six episodes of Swimming with Sharks premiere on The Roku Channel on April 15th.

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