Exclusive Interview: Niamh Wilson Talks Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Creating Impact Through Art, and More

Niamh Wilson is a gifted storyteller who has built an illustrious tenure within this industry, bringing complex characters to life with ease in projects like Degrassi: The Next Generation, Giant Little Ones, and Map to the Stars.

This year, Niamh stars in Paramount+’s must-see series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. The musical comedy takes place four years before the original Grease, before rock ‘n’ roll ruled and before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school. Four fed-up outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Niamh about Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, creating impact through art, and more.

PC: You got your start in this industry at such a young age. Have you always known that you wanted to be a creative and storyteller? Has anything surprised you about this journey?
Niamh: It’s funny because I really fell into acting as a child. It came to me because my brother wanted to be an actor. My mom was like, “If you say that’s what you want to do, I’m going to support you.” She took me and my two older brothers to the audition. She was like, “If one of them wants to do it, I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t take all of them. They are all going to want to do it.” At that audition, I signed my manager. I’ve been with him for twenty-one years now. It was never like I decided that I wanted to do it.

Over the years there have been many moments, especially between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, where I was like, “Do I actually want to do this or is it because this is what I’ve always done? Is it because this is what everybody has told me that I’m good at, so I should keep doing it?” I had a lot of personal confusion around that time. I was nervous that I was doing it because people told me that I should do it and was continuing to do it because I had already established a career. I feel like between eighteen to twenty-one is the time when you’re trying to figure out what you want to do as your career anyway.

I think what I had trouble with is that it felt like a job that wasn’t going to change the world in a better way. I always wanted to do something that was going to have a positive effect on society. Then I got really depressed. I started watching so much TV and film. Anyone who’s struggled with mental health is probably familiar with the feeling of numbness you get. After watching a lot of really moving films and television, I felt like it taught me how to feel again.

I was like, “Oh, no. There is a very important element to people who work in entertainment as well.” A world without entertainment is so bland. People are so annoyed. Then it led into, “Well, there’s also an important space for representation.” Obviously, I’m White and a very passable gender-conforming woman. I’m still high on the privileged spectrum, but there’s an element of, “What does it mean to bring queer storylines to life? What does it mean to write nuanced stories about women and people outside of the gender spectrum? How does that also positively impact society?”

Because people feeling seen and represented is also incredibly impactful. When I had that realization, I was like, “Oh, no. This can also be an important job.” As much as I’d like to do the work of someone who changes policies and things like that, part of the way that we get to social change is through a paradigm shift.

Media is also a very important part of that. Having that realization is when I was like, “Oh, no. I love doing this. It’s not like what I’ve always done. It just happened to find me at a very young age and I got very fortunate. It is my life calling, and it’s what I want to do for as long as I can continue to get work and what I’ll do until I am old and unable to work anymore.”

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Niamh: It’s interesting that you bring that up because there are so many things. My mom has had such a huge impact because she gave up her own personal career to be able to take me to auditions and help facilitate my career. I’m so grateful for her doing that and allowing me to have this life that I am so grateful to have. She’s one of the people that I consult with regarding business matters as much as my manager. He’s the person that I consult with. But my mom has been there for me in so many instances when I didn’t know what to do. She’s been one of them. But there have been a lot of women along the way who have really influenced my process.

The first was when I was in this horror film called The Marsh with Gabrielle Anwar. There was one specific moment when I remember she sat with me. The scene was very emotionally charged, and she sat with me and talked with me. I feel like that was my first experience with method acting and what I understand it to be—her teaching me how to draw on personal experiences to channel the emotion that was needed in the scene. That stuck with me for a very long time.

The next big, big turning point I had was when I worked with Helena Bonham Carter in a movie called The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet. Everyone on that was so incredibly talented. Working with the director was a dream. She specifically had something that has stuck with me forever: every take has to be a little bit different in order to keep it natural. That’s been one of the greatest inspirations for my career thus far, until the next biggest one which was working with Ari [Notartomaso] on Pink Ladies.

I spent most of my time working with them. They commit so fully. One of the first days that we were working together was the scene in Episode 3 where we have a bebop alien scene. They went for it so hard. I genuinely remember being like, “Oh my.” I was like, “Holy sh*t. I’ve never seen someone absolutely go for it.” The way that they did that inspired me for the rest of the filming experience. I was like, “You’ve got to throw yourself into it. You can’t be worried about what you look like or if you feel stupid. You’ve got to do it because you can’t be worried about what you look like or if you think you feel stupid. If you can just go for it, it’s going to be great.” I took a lot from them. I found myself really touching on that experience a lot in the past year since working on that scene and working with them in general. They’re a huge inspiration to me. I’ve told them that before, but I don’t know if they understand how much it meant to me.

PC: You’re one of the stars of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and you’ve brought so many dynamic characters to life throughout your career. What was it about Lydia that resonated with you?
Niamh: I think it’s because I’ve met people like her before in drama class. I’m sure anyone who has taken a drama class has met people like her. Instantly, I felt like I knew who she was. But also what I found so interesting about her is that I couldn’t be less like her in real life.

There were a couple of different times throughout filming where we were all talking about who is the most like their character and who is the least like their character. My castmates were always like, “You couldn’t be less like this woman. She’s so not you.” That was really fun for me to explore because I’m used to playing people who are relatively similar to me. When I get to play someone who is just the complete opposite, it’s like, “Well, this is fun. I get to lose myself for a little bit of time and be in a different world and universe.” I really, really enjoy that aspect of playing Lydia.

PC: As part of your preparation, you created a Pinterest board for Lydia. What was on it? Is that how you typically prepare for different roles?
Niamh: This is the first time that I actually did that. It was mostly a mood board, predominantly focused on costuming. I felt as though part of getting into this character was so much about the aesthetics. When you look the part, you naturally fall into it. So a lot of it revolved around costuming. But there were a lot of vintage photos that evoked a certain feeling that I liked. A lot of them had a 1960s beatnik type of vibe. But I’ve also got photos here of “lesbian” couples in the 1950s. During that time, the term “lesbian” wasn’t being thrown around the way it is now. But there’s a lot of Audrey Hepburn and photos that evoked emotions. It did help me explore the world that Lydia lived in. I remember being on Tumblr as a teenager and the way what was on my Tumblr page helped me form an identity and this aesthetic of who I am as a person.

PC: You’ve also said in previous interviews that you weren’t all that confident in your singing ability, but you deliver such a standout performance in Episode 5 especially. How did you prepare for that musical number, and what was it like getting to put your dance training back into practice?
Niamh: I can sing, but I don’t identify as a singer. I don’t feel as though I’m strong enough of a singer to really identify with that professionally. But I do enjoy singing and I can sing. Training for that, I was working with a vocal coach quite frequently leading up to the recording. I was so nervous. I found Ari’s TikTok page beforehand and I was like, “Holy sh*t. This is the caliber of singer that I’m working with?” That freaked me out because I’m not that good. I’m nowhere near that good. I was training a lot with a vocal coach beforehand.

The dancing portion, I was like, “Yeah, whatever. That I know I can handle.” We’ve got incredible choreographers on the show. I knew I’d be able to handle that. The singing, I was nervous about. I was doing like two or three coaching sessions a week leading up to it for about a month because it came up quickly. When I booked the role, I thought I was going to have some background ensemble vocals, not a whole song. I was like, “I’ve really got to jump into gear.” I really pushed myself. It was nerve-wracking but I’m glad that I did it. I’m super thrilled with the outcome for sure. But for the actual production, we had two and a half dance rehearsals. I’m really impressed that with the short amount of rehearsal time we had that didn’t compromise the quality of the number. We all knew we were running with a short amount of time and everyone in those rehearsals was so focused and brought their A-game. Also, all the audio engineers and people who work in the music department made me sound the way that I sound. I’m very grateful to them as well for making me look good.

PC: Jennifer Morrison also directed that episode. Is the filming experience different when the person at the helm directing also has experience in front of the camera? What was that collaboration like?
Niamh: Absolutely. Jennifer is so organized. She’s such a stellar director. She came to set with this color-coded binder of shot lists and notes that she had for each scene. She was such a joy to work with. I think most of the cast would say that she’s one of their favorite directors to work with because she was so lovely and had such a clear vision. She came to set every day and knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. She’s a very efficient director, which I always appreciate.

I’ve worked with other directors that are actors as well. I worked on a movie with Jay Baruchel, and he directed it. I’m a little biased being an actor, but I do really enjoy working with directors who have previously been in front of the camera because there’s an element of understanding the pressure of being in front of the camera.

If you’re having a bad self-image day, every actor understands the feeling of coming to set on a day where you’re like, “I hate the way that I look today and I have to be on camera. I also have to have it recorded and played back for ages and ages.” So there’s this understanding that actors have about the vulnerability of being on camera. Working with Jennifer, she’s so talented and a pleasure to work with. She gives it to you straight. She’ll be like, “I don’t think that’s the energy that we need for that scene or that doesn’t quite fit the right tone.” I always appreciate someone who’s not going to beat around the bush or try to be an actor. She really knew how to push those boundaries, and I got so lucky with the fact that the episode she was directing was the number I had mine in.

PC: Lydia and Cynthia have such a tumultuous relationship. They’ve had their ups and downs. What was it like working with Ari as you brought that dynamic to life on the screen?
Niamh: It’s funny because there’s this enemies-to-lovers storyline and I’m a sucker for that trope. I love that trope. Collaborating with Ari was so easy. They’re so easy to work with, like shockingly easy to work with. We got each other from day one. I feel as though we both really made an effort to forge a good relationship with each other because we knew how vulnerable we would have to be in scenes together. I feel as though we put a good amount of effort into building a relationship outside of work, which we’re both proud of. They’re a wonderful person to be around and so sweet.

There were a few gender-nonconforming people on set, but having someone who specifically was trans and non-binary talk about the gender implications of playing a character that is a different gender than yourself, especially for Ari who is trans-masc and playing a woman in the 1950s when we didn’t have verbiage around different pronouns, and being able to have a non-work-related context and to talk about identity and the queer experience of actors on set was really fulfilling. It brought us that much closer. I feel like I’ve tried to express to them my love, appreciation, and respect for them. I don’t know if it fully translated, but I have so much appreciation for them. I can’t even put it in words.

PC: While there are so many fantastic musical numbers throughout the series, what I’ve enjoyed the most is how the show is able to tackle so many universal themes even though it’s set in the 1950s. Was there one in particular that hit home for you?
Niamh: I don’t show up until Episode 3. But I remember when I got all the songs for the entire season. They set us all the demos. Before I had even started filming, I got to listen to the entire discography from start to finish. I remember the first time that I listened to “In the Club” from Episode 2. I was like, “Oh, this is what we’re going for.” I read Episodes 1 to 3. There’s so much that you can get from a script, but so much of it depends on the people who are directing and the people who are at the helm of it. I didn’t know what tone they were going for. I didn’t know if it was going to be very CW Network or a gritty Euphoria, A24 type of thing. When I heard “In the Club,” I discovered it’s a song about straight White privilege in a very fun way. It’s a catchy song. I remember hearing that and being like, “I’m so glad that this is the show that I’m being a part of.”

There are elements throughout the series where they tackle race and gender. “World Without Boys,” I love that song. The Socs and the Pinks are pitted against each other. There’s this dream sequence where they’re like, “Oh, no. We could have all been best friends in a world where the patriarchy wasn’t pitting us against each other.” I love that. I love that it’s communicated through music. I love that it’s communicated in our scripts. I wouldn’t say there was one in particular that hit me, but I do like that there are songs that people would say are politically charged, but I think they go about it in a very light-hearted way that’s relatable. That’s the most important part. Can we make these relatable to everyone? Even in “Merely Players,” it’s a queer love story and we touch upon the fantasies around what we imagined for our lives and how I’m kind of scared of it. There are so many important messages throughout the music and storylines. I’m so thrilled that this is the version of Grease that we’re doing and that I get to be a part of.

Make sure to follow Niamh on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies on Paramount+

Photo Credit: Kaela Leone