'Pluribus' Actress Miriam Shor Visits GDLA+

So you know those actors who can completely disappear into a character. Miriam Shore is one of those people. She's done Broadway, movies, television, and now she's part of Vince Gilligan's very mysterious world on Apple TV's Floribus. You ever read Finnegan's Wake? No. I tried to in grad school. It's probably great. I don't know. All I know is it made me miserable trying to get through it. I figure you make even one person happy. Maybe that's not art. It's something. Hottie Ravon. And then everything falls apart. I feel like every time I think I understand what's happening truly on this show, I realize I understand completely nothing and I'm confused. Miriam Shore is here though to help us get unconfused. Our plus one today. Welcome. Hi. Thanks for having me. Oh my God. I didn't realize my job was to unconfuse you. I don't think I'm going to be able to. Tell us all about this show because it is very unique and the first time you read the script, what went through your head? I felt like Vince Gilligan crawled into my brain and wrote the exact show that I had been wanting to see. Oh wow. I swear to God. You guys, like two weeks before I got the audition, someone in an interview had asked me like, what are you just thinking about in your life these days? Kind of a weird question. But I was like, okay. You know, I'm really thinking about the sort of tension between the collective and the individual. I literally said that. Oh my gosh. I love it. How much have you been drinking? A lot. Good. That's when I do my deepest thinking. I just thought like, we can tell these stories and we can grapple with really big ideas because we are doing that in our lives right now. Every day. And I have kids and they're getting older and they're asking questions and we watch shows together. And this is the kind of show that asks a lot of big questions and kind of forces you to think about them. And there aren't easy answers. I wish I could give you all the answers, but I think the show is about what it feels like it's about to you. It's about so many things. It's like untangling the knot that is being a human. Life. Yeah. That is life. That is your daily life. Usually there's no answers too, right? There aren't, but the grappling is the point. Right. It's the journey. So, and then, you know, to be asked to be a part of the show with this fantastic cast and then to be like, listen, you need to be in love with Ray Sehorne. I'm like, no problem. The minute I met her, I fell in love with her. Because she is the bee's knees. She's the real deal. She's an incredible human. And so is Vince. And so is everyone in the show. It's a dream. That's so, it's like one of those shows. That's what the fun is in this show is that it kind of hits you different depending on who you are in your life. What is the reaction? Different reactions I imagine you get from people, right? So many. I mean, first of all, I'm such a sci-fi nerd that I like have all the dissertations. I'm like, listen, I have a lot of theories. And there's those people, but I didn't know how it, the reaction would be because it's, you know, there's a lot of shows I love that it just are not for other people. And I think we've been fed this story that people don't like to work when they're watching. They just want to sit back and have it all spoon fed to them. And I think Pluribus proved that wrong. People are loving it. People are coming at me with theories and asking questions. And I love that. I think that's why we watch stories together. So we can do that together. You're so well known to melt into your character and just completely be transformed into whoever you're playing. What was, if you could tell us like the hardest scene for you or the hardest character? Well, there's physically hard, I mean, there's being carted around as a dead body throughout Albuquerque, New Mexico, which I think we all do for fun. That wasn't a dummy at all. Oh, no, no. There was, there were amazing stunt people. I was going to say. We were still out there. A little bit is enough though, right? The hardest part was getting across the history these two people have together, the love they have together in a very short period. Yes, those like bits, right? Yeah. And so Ray and I really worked together to create this bond that then really matters. You have to care that Helen, spoiler alert, doesn't make it because it's the whole show. Right. You know, that grief and Carol grappling with it. And so that was really the challenge. But it's a fun challenge. It's one I love. It's, it's why I do this. You know, I think I love being a part of storytelling that makes people have conversations with each other instead of hurl epithets at each other. Carol does a little of both. Yeah. No, no. She's standing up for herself. I'm all right with that. You know, people have asked like, is she, is she unlikable? I was like, don't even. Unlikable. Like she's human. And sometimes we're not likable, but we're what we got. You're supposed to get from the clips that we see of you two together though. That's what you're supposed to get. Why is she so unlikable and a little bit of what she's dealing with. If the person you love most in the world who was your person was taken from you, you'd probably be upset. And then on top of that, and then on top of this, it's a, it's a struggle to, to do what's right for everyone and do what's right for you. That's our struggle every day. Right. So, you know, I, I appreciate this show. I really, I couldn't believe that the show that I would be the geekiest about, I get to be on it. I love that. Landed on your lap. Yeah. And then people are like, oh, we'll nominate you for it. They're like, what? Even better. Yeah. Um, you have, you said the 13 and 16 year old. Yeah. Okay. Have they seen it? You know what? They haven't yet. Okay. Why? Um, it's a rough first episode to watch. Watch me inhabit this other world. And I think there's a little trepidation on their part and my part to like, watch me die, you know, even though it's play pretend, even though I get that though. Yeah. Um, but I also want to make sure like I'm with them and we do it together because we also always watch all our shows together and then, you know, so, um, so we're waiting for the right time. No, and bless their hearts because when you're 13 and 16, that's when you actually turn back into a toddler again. Like I can imagine like a total crying freak out about seeing that. Like it's, you turn into a toddler, you start, you know, it's like, oh, why am I teenager cried today? Yeah. I mean, it's something, the things that they've seen of mine, I mean they've seen, um, a couple of like a film called magic hour that I'm in. They, they, they watched the premiere of that, the documentary that I directed. They've seen that cause there's sort of certain things that I'm really, I want, I want them to be exposed to. Yeah. Um, but it's still, it's, you know, um, but we're going to, I keep sort of figuring out the right time to be like, that wasn't real. And here's what was happening at the, I had a lot of hand warmers that kept, you know, that were all on me cause I was freezing. If you see like I'm blinking, you know, just so that they aren't too. Oh, I like that. Can we watch it together? Behind the scenes. Would you survive a world like this? I don't know. Some days it feels like, if you feel like you're in it. I think actually that's, that's, it's great to ask that question because it forces you to think about the things you would miss if you lost, you know, and forces you to think about the world you have and what you want to change about it and what you, how you want to make sure it doesn't turn into this, you know, and how the fact that we really do need each other, you know, um, and, and, uh, and all the big questions. That's kind of my favorite thing about sci-fi in particular. Or how like you take things for granted, right? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think about her every day. Yeah. Um, but you know, I'm not sure. I think I would, I, I have a little trouble when everyone's going one way following. I kind of like to go, well, I like to go the other way. So I might be more like Carol, probably not as strong as her, but I think I would be as angry. You never know how strong or how weak you'd be. You never know. Until it happens. Yeah. I'm definitely in touch with my anger these days. I'm like, Oh, I get that. Yeah. Um, uh, yeah. So, I mean, I, I'm just, I just feel really lucky that this is sort of what I do and I'm doing it with some interesting people and I get to tell stories, you know, that stories that, uh, that, that, that are difficult, you know, those are my favorite kind. I don't, I don't think we want to be spoon fed. I think we want to commune with each other and talk about the difficult things. Yeah. You know, can we go back to your family just for a second? I'm curious because 16 is such a fun age truly and 13 is when you feel like it's a funny, you feel like you feel 16, you're a teenager for the first time. As a mom, what's the most surprising thing about raising two teenagers for you? How, how smart they are and intuitive they are about calling me on my stuff. Oh, I hate that. I know. It forces you to, right? And there's literally times where I'm like, how'd you come up with that? I don't recall being that intuitive and that smart. Don't you feel like you're like impressed but mad at the same time? Yeah. Because you can't say anything bad. They called you out and they're right. And you're like, what in the, right. You're really smart. But at the same time, they're picking up their clothes off the floor. So it's like, don't call me out on that. You can't do a basic thing around the house. But that's what I do. Good. But also they're asking big questions that now I don't have the answers for. Oh, I'm not, no, I'm not asking Chachi because we have a better computer in here. I agree. I mean, maybe not every day. But listen, when it comes to homework, I asked Chachi to do sixth grade math. Like, yep. Here's the answer. You've never used it. Wow. You're better than us. You are better than us. Stop it right now. You haven't used it at all. Do you want to? No. For fun? No, please. Can we ask a fun question? No, no. I just want, I do want to mention, let's ask how much water it uses every time you use Chachi. But it does. It uses a lot of resources. On principle, yeah. But also, how do I tell, how do I tell my kids, no, you've got to figure it out. It's hard. You've got to dig deep, figure it out. If I'm not doing that, that's a little hard. But also. Do they have phones? The older one does. The younger one is just about to. Good for you. Thirteen. That's, it's hard to keep them off. Yeah. So that's great. It's, and you know what, deciding, deciding what to talk to them about and what they're ready for, and I think actually it's, it's sad because you have to open them up to things that are really hard to believe and upsetting about the world we live in, but it's actually the time. And, you know, that's like when I, when I am doing a project that I feel like asks those big questions, I do like to include them in it and say like, hey guys, look at this hard thing that's happening. Let's talk about it. I love that. I know. And you're filming far away from home a lot of times. Is it hard to be separated? It is. I've tried not to for most of, I was lucky enough to do a show called Younger that shot in New York where I live. And so that was really lucky when they were little and it was also hard to do a play, to be away during bedtimes, had to make, you had to make decisions and I was lucky enough that the decisions I could make were that I could hang out and be around a lot. But right now I'm in Vancouver shooting season two of The Audacity. Yeah. We also want to talk about Magic Hour. Yeah. I mean, that is a movie. I got the script sent to me. I just directed an episode of Younger. I started directing on the show that I was on and I got this script about a woman who had given up her honored dream to become a director, to become a housewife in New Jersey and how she, she decides to go back to it in her forties and go back to film school. And I couldn't believe I got it at that moment when I had literally just finished directing my first episode. And it just really spoke to me about this idea that there, why a person would feel like their point of view and their voice doesn't matter, shouldn't be heard. Right. Cause I was grappling with why it took me so long to do this thing I wanted to do. And so it ended up being a really amazing project and Jackie Christie who directed it, it took, it took quite a few years to get it, to finish it happened, you know, right. COVID happened right after and her tenacity taught me a lot about pursuing something that matters to you no matter how hard it is. And I went on to make a documentary that took me six years to make. And I think about Jackie and how, and her tenacity in that project and the moments where I was like, I'm never going to finish this. And that's every project. I mean, that's also parenting. I'm doing it wrong. I'm failing. I'm not doing it right. I did. I've made the wrong choices, but you have to keep going anyway. And yeah, and that's sort of what, it's a beautiful little movie and I, I'm so proud of it. And it, you know, I'm so proud that it has a life now that, you know, it's getting distribution for Tribeca. You're going to be able to see it. Congratulations. Yeah. Thank you. It's really like when you're in a dark part of the tunnel to know that, that, you know, there's going to be light. You just have to keep going forward. I think that's helpful for others. Beautiful. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. We appreciate you coming in and catching up with you. We want to let everyone know all episodes of Floribus currently streaming on Apple TV. Check that out. In addition to everything else that you've got going on.