“It was a bit of a fantasy of, What would I say to a cop if I had to stall for my fiancée who was on the run?“ says the Furious star. “That’s hot!”
Photo: Sarah Shatz/Disney
Spoilers follow for Furious episode six, “They Make a Noise Like Feathers,” which premiered on Hulu on August 17.
In Furious, Lola Petticrew’s Catherine Grace is a woman on a murderous mission. The chameleonlike former sex worker shuffles through identities — down-to-clown cater-waiter, OnlyFans model, lingering one-night stand — to get close to, then kill, the men she believes are responsible for the death of her best friend. But to Alden, played by Steve Way, she’s just Vanessa, the in-home nurse who bathes him, checks his medication, and treats him with a frank respect and playful flirtiness he’s unused to from other relationships. Yes, she’s lying about her identity to him, but Catherine visibly relaxes when she’s with Alden, letting go of the anger that drives her actions and settling into a kinder, more mischievous persona. Alden lets her be herself, and Catherine’s committed to caring for him as her patient and friend — and later, her fiancé.
In both his standup and his previous role on Ramy, Way is matter-of-fact about how living with muscular dystrophy shapes his relationships and sense of self. As Alden, he injects a much-needed frisson of dark humor into Furious, whether he’s convincing Catherine to agree to marry him or defending her honor when he learns she’s actually a sex-trafficking victim hunting down the men who harmed her. The police track Catherine to Alden’s home, where they find the body of her latest victim, lawyer Hal, in the kitchen. Catherine flees the scene and Alden is taken into custody with a hidden flash drive of evidence against Hal’s client Jay Easton (Peter McRobbie), the billionaire who seemingly played a role in Catherine’s friend’s death. In episode six, as NYPD detective Danny Kelly (Scoot McNairy) and FBI agent Frank Choi (Rob Yang) question Alden about Catherine’s whereabouts and what could be on Hal’s laptop, Alden ducks and parries, insulting the men with anti-authoritarian sarcasm while refusing to cooperate. Even when Danny and Frank suggest that Catherine killed Alden’s mother for her fentanyl stash, Alden sticks by her — and, in the episode’s final moments, hands Danny a flash drive with tons of incriminating information on it. Because of Alden’s quick thinking, Danny now has evidence of all the women abused by Hal and the Eastons over the years.
Way credits series creator Liz Meriwether with letting him improvise often on set, particularly during his tête-à-tête dynamic with the task force. “I understood my role as the comedic relief. I was allowed to be funny in this dark world,” Way says. “That’s real life: The world is scary, and I’m here to make it funny.”
Tell me about how the role came to you.
I met Liz on a panel about caregiving in media. We talked about what we’re working on. Liz is very accomplished, she has this long list, and then it gets to me and I said, “I’m unemployed. If anyone has a job, sign me up.” Two months later, I get an email from Liz’s people saying she wrote me a part. Always shoot your shot!
I knew Furious was based on Black Widow, but obviously Liz has her own spin on it. She told me I would have this very complex relationship with this woman who on the surface is not a good person, but the person I know, deep down, is someone who is very loving, caring, and nurturing, and just wants to be accepted. Honestly, that’s pretty much the disabled experience.
When you started reading the scripts, did you suggest any tweaks to Alden?
Alden doesn’t mean much if the character does not connect to Catherine, and the authenticity really helps with that. I would tell Liz how I would specifically do something: work a computer, get an injection, drink a smoothie, take a shower. I was very lucky to be able to improv a lot of my lines. When we first meet Alden, he’s really teasing Catherine. “Howdy” — that’s a word I say a lot. When she’s trying to take her shirt off and he says, “Do you need help?” — it’s a little joke, but it’s the comfort that they share. It shows the audience right away that this guy knows her better than anyone else. Those specific little moments make that relationship the most genuine throughout the show.
How did you and Lola build that relationship?
Lola, they’re fantastic. Along with the directors, they brought out so much of me. I’m a comedy guy. I’ve never done something as serious as this. Before Lola and I had any scenes together, we met up on set and talked for over an hour about politics, our lives, our families. We talked about wrestling! We went outside and shared a cigarette. We had this level of camaraderie going into it. I made it a point to tell Liz, the directors, and every actor I was with, “We’re going to do one take where I throw the script out the window. Go with it. If you’re stuck, that’s okay. I’ll keep going. But just trust me.” Pretty often, they were happy with it.
Is there an improv moment that made it into the final episodes that you’re particularly proud of?
When I was being interrogated by Scoot, and I was stalling and describing Vanessa, that was all improv. When I talked about what love is and disabled love, that’s from the heart. That’s what I’ve been told my entire life, by society’s lies — that we’re not worthy. And it was a bit of a fantasy of, What would I say to a cop if I had to stall for my fiancée who was on the run? That’s hot! On the laptop, Alden saw something that’s going to make him need a lot of therapy. But he understands that the person who needs therapy the most is Catherine. He might not support what she did, but it’s justified. It’s totally understandable. He wants to help her and save her. He’s going to stall, and then give the evidence when he thinks the time is right.
Scoot McNairy plays Danny as good cop; Rob Yang plays Frank as bad cop. Tell me about working with them.
When Choi is trying to arrest me in the bedroom, we did this take where he asked me a question, and I raised my chair all the way up to his level. I say, “Love!” and then bring my chair all the way back down. It shows the real level of disrespect that I have for him. He broke character right away. I’m so happy that they left in the take where Rob knocks the computers over — total accident. That’s just a small taste of what it was like working with Rob. He understood his role. Scoot’s character, Danny, was much more human. He really tries to connect with Alden. Alden doesn’t respect any authority, but he respects Danny’s effort.
What emotions did you want to come through when Alden asks Danny, “Please don’t let her die”?
Oh man. [Pauses.] It’s a little vulnerable. I thought about every relationship I’ve ever had that didn’t work out. I thought about all the fear that I felt of losing the people you love. And I thought, Alden doesn’t know what’s going to happen to her. Is she going to spend the rest of her life in jail? Could she be killed by the police? The last time he saw her, in the house, will that be the last time — for good? I went dark. I thought about every relationship, that fear of losing people. I channeled it. I think it worked.
Your line delivery made me think that Alden would still marry her, even with everything he knows.
Absolutely, yes.
Earlier in the season, we learn how close Alden and Catherine are when she bathes him. How did you coordinate that, and what do you remember about filming it?
We had a wonderful intimacy coordinator, Claire Warden. I spoke to her almost a month before we shot. I was supercomfortable, and I think that’s because of my time on Ramy. Ramy was not afraid to put me in some bizarre situation; shout out to the episode “Atlantic City.” We shot that with a room full of people. No intimacy coordinator, just homies of 20 years. But here, I was prepped in a way that made me feel so safe. I was like, “I’ll do anything. I’m ready. If I am opening the doors for an entire community, sign me up.” Shooting it sucked, because the water was either superhot or super-cold, but we made it work. That was my shower chair that I use. That was my soap. The authenticity makes it so real.
Where do you think Alden goes from here?
One, he manages his health and he wants to live. And two, he tries to break Catherine out if she gets captured. Why not? As you just found out, he can get away with a lot. What are they going to do? Put him on house arrest? He doesn’t care.
What do you think most TV viewers don’t know about caregiving that you’re hoping they’ll understand, or want to learn more about, through Alden?
They can understand that they’re probably caregivers themselves. Just because you’re not bathing a guy in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you’re not a caregiver. Caregiving is very broad. Apps like DoorDash or Instacart, they’re inherently about caregiving. Sometimes I can’t get out and I need food. A different human is doing it for me, I’m just doing it through a service. Someone might be doing a food order who doesn’t have the energy to cook that night. They’re having a flareup; they’re sick. Uber — too sick and can’t drive, or too tired to walk? That’s caregiving.
A lot of people might think Liz took a risk by having me play this role. But I earned it. She knew I was good enough. I was able to show how much better I’ve gotten at acting. Now, there are reviews that say that I should be in the awards conversation. That only happened because one person made a decision. That has to happen for so many other disabled firsts, because so often jobs are taken from us. Nondisabled writers write disabled stories; nondisabled actors play disabled characters. It has to stop. Please let this whole experience be the new benchmark. Let that raise the bar, and show you we’re not too much. We’re just like everyone else. We’re just as good. And audiences — I’m getting stopped on the streets all the time. People want to see disabled characters. They want disabled stories. The proof is there. No more excuses. Hire more disabled people.
Have you heard anything about a fourth season of Ramy?
If we can get season three of Twin Peaks 25 years after it ended, anything is possible.
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In “Atlantic City,” written and directed by Ramy Youssef, Way’s character asks Ramy to help him ejaculate because being unable to causes him physical pain.