‘Billions’ star Maggie Siff on the evolution of Wendy Rhoades – Gulf News

Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades in Billions. Image Credit: SHOWTIME

Maggie Siff has a knack for choosing TV scripts.

For more than a decade, the actress has been best known for her roles on television from Mad Men to Sons of Anarchy. But her most recent silver screen success has been embodying the intricate skin of Wendy Rhoades on the crime drama Billions, now streaming its fifth season on StarzPlay in the Middle East.

Driven, unflappable and multifaceted, Wendy is a trained psychiatrist with a sharp eye for human behaviour. She aids the charitable but ruthless self-made billionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damien Lewis) build his hedge fund, and plays a key role in his company, Axe Capital, as an in-house performance coach. Behind closed doors, she leads a risque private life with her sadomasochistic husband Chuck Rhoades a US attorney fighting corruption and, naturally, Axelrods natural nemesis but this season, their marriage is skating on thin ice.

For Siff, its been a wild journey portraying the character since the shows initial premiere on Showtime in 2016. What was her way into this particular role?

I loved how sharp AND empathetic she was, writes Siff in an email to Gulf News, which she sends from the northeast of America. Im in the state of Maine, near my family, she says; the production of Billions is currently on hold with only seven episodes available to fans, due to coronavirus restrictions.

All those years ago, Siff says, it was the duality of Wendy that pulled her in.

I really enjoy characters who embody oppositional qualities the fact that she can be a shark around certain people, and wholly receptive and soft around others. This was what drew me and intrigued me about her, says the actress.

MORALLY QUESTIONABLE

The most surprising part of her Billions journey so far, however, was the way in which Wendy, one of the more likeable characters on the series, could be swayed into amorality.

Ive enjoyed the way the character has been corruptible, explains Siff. No one is immune to the seduction of power; no one is free from their ego and its dubious control over ones better moral instincts. She has been in a power struggle with her own demons and you really see her trying to regain moral ground when she loses it.

Has it been fun for Siff, as an actress, to enter into that morally grey area as the show develops?

Siff responds with a resounding: Yes!

In an industry that has proven itself to be far more sympathetic towards men playing dirty on screen, here is a female character who can get blood on her hands, rather than live up to pristine and outdated expectations.

Ive always thought women have a harder time being allowed to inhabit that kind of terrain, says Siff. For a long time, women have been expected to be the moral centre beautiful, kind, virtuous. Thats changing in the world of entertainment, but I have enjoyed seeing her fall into grey areas and seeing her deep conscience try to grapple with it.

DIGGING UP A GOLD MINE

Siff, who celebrates her 46th birthday in a few days (June 21), began her Hollywood career on the small screen.

Her first credited role was Mother in 1998 on Sunset Beach, followed by a guest spot on the crime series Third Watch in 2004. She also appeared on Rescue Me, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 3 lbs, and Greys Anatomy before she had her first small film role in 2007s Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney.

But Siffs breakthrough moment on TV was in the hugely successful period drama Mad Men, where she played main character Rachel Menken starting in 2007.

A year later, she appeared in Sons of Anarchy, a crime thriller about an outlaw motorcycle club, as Tara Knowles, a role that earned her two Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Both Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy ran for seven seasons, and Billions is now in its fifth.

Whats Siffs secret to choosing scripts that resonate with audiences?

I havent really done anything beyond try to follow my instinct about roles I like, admits Siff. But I do think Ive been interested in all of the projects because I hadnt seen the worlds depicted on television before.

THE STORY CONTINUES

In season five of Billions, the rivalry between Siffs on-screen boss and her husband continues. But Wendy forms surprising new alliances that will test her relationship to both men. For fans and critics alike, Wendyhas undergone a satisfying arc over the years and has the character growth to show for it.

Ask Siff why fans have stuck around for so long with Billions, and she points to a clear answer.

I think people like to see people who are living large lives that look nothing like their own. Its a particular form of fantasy and escapism, says the actress.

But, while fans will probably need more escapism than ever in todays world of quarantine, uncertainty and unrest theres only a portion of the season that they will be able to access. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing measures, production on Billions had to be stopped temporarily.

The tagline for season one of the series was: Trust no one. So, what would the tagline for the latest season be, if Siff had to write it herself?

Wait for It, because audiences will have to, she says. Weve shot and will air seven episodes but wont be able to complete the season until its safe to go back to work.

Don't miss it!

'Billions' streams on StarzPlay in the UAE

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'Billions' star Maggie Siff on the evolution of Wendy Rhoades - Gulf News