Stephan James On What's Beneath The 'Surface' Of Apple's Latest Psychological Thriller
Stephan James as Baden in Surface - Courtesy of Apple
In just a few years Apple has managed to create one of the most robust catalogs of content in the streaming industry via its platform Apple TV+. What started out as the service where you could exclusively watch Carpool Karaoke: The Series has now become a certified awards contender. From the topical drama The Morning Show to the mind-boggling and much-discussed Severance, the streamer is showing no signs of slowing down.
Surface, the next original series coming to the platform later this month, is further proof of this. The psychological thriller follows one woman’s journey to recover her memory after a failed suicide attempt. While trying to figure out why she tried to take her own life, she discovers the pieces to a terrifying puzzle - one that makes her question if there was more to the life everybody believes she lived and if she really tried to kill herself.
The thriller stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki) alongside Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Invisible Man), Ari Graynor (I’m Dying Up Here), and Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk), the latter of whom sat down with FilmSpeak’s Dempsey Pillot to discuss the series.
Having worked with the likes of Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, and even the Russo Bros, James could do anything at this point in his career. But he explained that Surface gave him “the opportunity to do something different.” He added that the character’s own mystery was so different from anything that he had ever done before that he felt compelled to join the project. That’s not all. He wanted to work on a project that, above everything else, also empowered women.
James (left) and Mbatha-Raw (right) in Surface - Courtesy of Apple
“There’s not enough [stories],” James said. He championed his Mbatha-Raw for not only playing two different people in the series, but serving as an executive producer too. “It was incredible to see her journey, and live through her and be a conduit to her story. I just felt great about the opportunity.”
The first three episodes of Surface will be available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 29th. New episodes available every Friday.
Check out the full interview with Stephan James:
