The new historical murder mystery, The Artist, blends real-life figures from history with a fictional storyline written and directed by Aram Rappaport. Set during the Gilded Age in New York’s high society, the series unfolds as the eccentric mogul Norman Henry (Mandy Patinkin) and his wife, Marian (Janet McTeer), host the biggest celebrities of the time at their lavish estate, including Thomas Edison (Hank Azaria), Edgar Degas (Danny Huston), and model-actress Evelyn Nesbit (Ever Anderson), who becomes an overnight celebrity when her husband, Harry Thaw (Clark Gregg), murders architect Stanford White at Madison Square Gardens. As ambitions collide and truths are revealed, Henry is found dead, sparking a murder mystery for the ages.

Part one of the new series The Artist comes to the streaming platform The Network on November 27th, followed by part two on December 25th.

In a recent interview with SciFi Vision, Gregg and Anderson opened up about filming one of the series most iconic moments: a spectacle involving camels, a live band, and gunfire.

“Turns out I love camels. Who knew?” Gregg told the site with a laugh. Anderson added that she had never even seen a camel in real life before filming.

Gregg reflected on the ambitious scene from episode three. “[T]his was a huge scene with camels and the period costumes and gunfire and all of that stuff. So, it felt like a really big moment in the show, and luckily, it was really well written and really fun to play.”

The whole part of the shoot moved very quickly, according to Anderson. “What I can pride Hilary Shor and Aram Rappaport on is they really kept us going on that day, because we had pretty much at the entire beginning of the episode three…in one day,” said the actress, adding that it bonded the two of them.

Playing real-life people often changes the approach to building a character, but Gregg didn’t lean into impersonation. “There definitely was a look that they wanted to achieve that I approved of, which was because this guy, Harry Thaw, is quite well known, even one hundred and twenty years later, but he's pretty dead, and there's not a lot of video out there of the guy,” said Gregg. “So, I didn't want to get lost in too much impersonation. In fact, almost none. I really wanted to try to capture the spirit of what this relationship and this character brings to setting off the explosions that are necessary to the story.”

Anderson didn’t have any video to go off of like Gregg for her character. “But I did have what I knew from some autobiographies and some like Wikipedia page of who she was and just art,” Anderson explained to SciFi Vision. “…But for me playing a real person, there was something in mind where it almost felt to me like it was my opportunity to pay homage to this iconic person who was done so wrong her entire life and put through so much and abused so much and just shamed by the media. She never got any justice for that, and everybody kind of forgot.”

Gregg, who’s also known to many fans for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel film franchise and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series also took time to touch briefly on what he’d like to see if his character ever returned to the screen. “I recently had an opportunity to be at some events with Ming-Na Wen and Chloe Bennet, and it reminded me, [how] much I love that bunch of people, and I'd love to see some of that crew come back together, Iain De Caestecker or Elizabeth Henstridge…[It would] be nice to get that band to get back together.”

Part one of The Artist premieres November 25th on The Network.

Watch our interview and read the transcript below.



SCIFI VISION:   Well, hi guys, thanks for talking to me. I appreciate it. I really enjoyed the first three episodes, waiting to see the end. Obviously, episode three opens with quite a crazy scene leading up to Thaw shooting Stanford. Talk about filming that. Yeah, a lot of crazy language, tension, the camel.

EVER ANDERSON:   Camel. [laughs]

CLARK GREGG:   Camels!

EVER ANDERSON:   The camels are a big part of the story.

CLARK GREGG:   Turns out I love camels. Who knew?

EVER ANDERSON:   And I've never seen one.

CLARK GREGG:   And it turns out camels love me.

EVER ANDERSON:   Come to think of it, I don't think I had ever seen one up until then, like in the flesh.

CLARK GREGG:   They're so big. They're so, so big. But it's an incredible scene.

I mean, so much of this was kind of a new kind of streamer. That's an indie film version of a streamer, and they still managed to make it look incredibly good.

But I mean, this was a huge scene with camels and the period costumes and gunfire and all of that stuff. So, it felt like a really big moment in the show, and luckily, it was really well written and really fun to play.

EVER ANDERSON:   Yeah, and honestly, what I can pride Hilary Shor and Aram Rappaport on is they really kept us going on that day, because we had pretty much at the entire beginning of the episode three, literally the entire beginning of episode three in one day. So, that was pretty much the only day Clark and I had together, and I think we're bonded for life after that, because you just like we kept going. We're like scene after scene. They made sure we stayed in it.

So, every single moment in there that these characters are reliving these flashbacks seems so viscerally present. Like you're really there in them, because for us, they just happened. We had just done them, and I think that's really great on their part that they managed to set it up that way.

SCIFI VISION:   Does it change how you approach playing a character when they're a real person? I know these people are long gone, but does that change how you approach it?

EVER ANDERSON:   I think so.

SCIFI VISION:   What about you, Clark?

CLARK GREGG:   I mean, it does, to a certain extent. There definitely was a look that they wanted to achieve that I approved of, which was because this guy, Harry Thaw is quite well known, even one hundred and twenty years later, but he's pretty dead, and there's not a lot of video out there of the guy. So, I didn't want to get lost in too much impersonation. In fact, almost none. I really wanted to try to capture the spirit of what this relationship and this character brings to setting off the explosions that are necessary to the story.

EVER ANDERSON:   Yeah, I mean, honestly, for me, it was interesting, because I didn't have any video like Clark was saying, to go off of for Evelyn Nesbit. But I did have what I knew from some autobiographies and some like Wikipedia page of who she was and just art, and there was a part of me that, obviously, because the writing was so funny and so amazing, wanted to just go for it.

But for me playing a real person, there was something in mind where it almost felt to me like it was my opportunity to pay homage to this iconic person who was done so wrong her entire life and put through so much and abused so much and just shamed by the media. She never got any justice for that, and everybody kind of forgot.

So, for me, it was that moment of just being like, “Okay, well, this is for her.” And I would like to think, like, what would she do? And there are places that I'm not going to go to, places just like comedic, that I don't think I'm going to go with, because I still want to pay respect to this character.

SCIFI VISION:   That makes sense. Now, we have about a minute left. Clark, I want to ask you really quickly, I just watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the first time and crazy in love with it.

CLARK GREGG:    Oh, that’s nice.

SCIFI VISION:   So, I just want to ask, I know you can't talk about if you're going to be in anything coming up, but if you were, what would you like to see for LMD Coulson?

CLARK GREGG:   That's a great question. I got to say, I recently had an opportunity to be at some events with Ming-Na Wen and Chloe Bennet, and it reminded me, A, how much I love that bunch of people, and I'd love to see some of that crew come back together, Iain De Caestecker or Elizabeth Henstridge. It would love to – [it would] be nice to get that band to get back together.

SCIFI VISION:   Well, I hope you do. I'd love to see it. Really quickly, how did you guys change after this experience from filming this series?

CLARK GREGG:   I learned I love camels.

SCIFI VISION:   You love camels, yeah. [laughs]

CLARK GREGG:   I love camels and I love Ever. That's all I needed to know.

SCIFI VISION:   I've pet a camel before does that count?

EVER ANDERSON:   Yeah, a love of camels. And it was very interesting to see that champagne in movies is ginger ale. Oh, I hope that doesn't ruin anything for you.

CLARK GREGG:   Ever! You're not supposed to - Oh, my God.

SCIFI VISION:   Don't tell the secret.

CLARK GREGG:   Oh, my God. No one’s supposed to know that.

SCIFI VISION:   We're not actually getting drunk on set.

CLARK GREGG:   Nobody's supposed to know. You're going to get a call from the union, kid.

EVER ANDERSON:   They're going to call me and be like, “Actually, you're not on the show anymore.” [laughs]