With Pieces of Her now available for all of you to watch, some of you may have already finished watching the show. You might wonder what all went into bringing this riveting show to your screens on Netflix. In a recent interview, actors Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote successfully solved that mystery for you.

They discussed how some critical scenes took days to film, how the director made everything clear and simple for the actors in terms of script or character analysis. Furthermore, how they internalized their respective characters, and how they shot some challenging scenes. They covered everything in depth during the interview. And we have some very interesting information about the show to share with you.

Pivotal shooting scene took three days to film

The Pieces of Her director, Minkie Spiro, was very dedicated to the process and supported the cast throughout the filming of the series. She works extremely hard on all of her scenes, but the shooting scene was a massive undertaking that required three days of filming. And they were three particularly “hot” days, according to Toni. It is the scene that sets the tone for the rest of the film.

During the filming of some crucial scenes, the actors relied heavily on instinct

For Laura, it’s always been about saving Andy. As is the case with all mothers, their first instinct is to protect their children. Toni Collette did the same thing while filming most of Bella’s scenes. She did what she always does for her own children: she protected them from harm. Toni recalls the shooting scene in particular, “that moment where I do put my hand over Andy’s eyes I just did that instinctively” she continued, “as a parent I wouldn’t want my kids to have those visual memories.”

Bella Heathcote discusses a scene in Pieces of Her where she didn’t have a scene partner

It was challenging for Bella to perform the scene in which she is sitting in front of the television screen. Watching old videos of her mother Laura. She said, “I feel like I just shot a whole day of me looking at a blank tv screen but I’m seeing all these things you know like I’m seeing my mum play piano, it’s this momentous moment of discovery.” She had to give an intense shot because her character was learning unknown things about her mother. Bella was actually sitting in front of a blank television screen, in which she could see the crew. That was a tricky scene to pull off.

Andy’s relationship with Charlie

Andy has a special bond with Charlie; he acts as a second father figure to her. He turns out to have been Laura’s witness protection agent, another close relationship built on shaky foundations. She had the distinct impression that everything she believed to be true about her mother’s and her own lives was a lie. Bella reacts, “he was a shoulder to cry on throughout you know she talked to him about boys” she continued, “as far as she is concerned its all a lie like all the people that she’s gone to for help in her life, it’s just been a complete facade”

Toni Collette and Aaron Jeffery, like their characters, met after 30 years for Pieces of Her

Toni’s character Laura and Aaron Jeffery’s Nick met after thirty years, both with an agenda, both displaying their power. However, the characters shared a lot of history, which the actors had to portray in one scene. To which Toni shared some very interesting information that helped them bring out all the emotions that were required for that scene. Toni shared that, “we were at drama school together, we had not seen each other in 30 years and that really helped.” Seeing each other after such a long time, and especially for this series, helped to highlight the dynamic that the characters shared. Laura had been holding on for far too long and was finally relieved when she saw Nick, so much so that she wanted to embrace him. But stopped herself because of Andy.

Pieces of Her is a rollercoaster ride with many twists and turns. While there is no word on a season 2, Toni Collette believes the story has a good potential of getting a second season. We’ll keep you posted on the developments. Until then, check out more of Toni Collette’s incredible work on Netflix, such as Hereditary and Unbelievable.