Exclusive Interview: Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper Talk The Resort on Peacock

Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper are two of the stars of the must-see new series, The Resort.

The Resort is a multi-generational, coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Yucatan’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Cristin and William about The Resort, reuniting with Andy Siara, how the series tackles timely themes with humor, and more!

PC: Cristin, I wanted to start with you. This project finds you reuniting with Andy, and I imagine there’s a level of comfortability there when you’re collaborating with somebody that you’ve worked with in the past. How has this collaboration grown over time? How has that trust allowed you to make the choices that we’ll see on-screen in this first season?
Cristin: I love Andy. I really love the way his brain works. We have similar tastes. Sometimes our tastes differ, but we both love Jurassic Park. We don’t see it as a popcorn summer film but as a piece of art. We’re very united in certain ways. I really like the ways in which he explores big themes about disappointment, regret, and commitment and how he does it without ever letting you know that’s what he’s exploring. He does it in a way that I’ve never seen before. That’s so fun. He does it in a way that’s fun, weird, sad, huge, and intimate. I feel very at home in his writing. I feel good there. I trust him. I trust where he’s going to go with things even if I don’t know where that is. It was wonderful to be reunited.

PC: William, the series is going to tackle so many timely and relevant themes through a comedic lens. Why do you think comedy is the perfect medium to tell this type of story?
William: Comedy is everywhere. I feel like whenever I walk out in the world I see folks dealing with all sorts of things. Then someone does something that’s funny, even though they’re not trying to be. It feels like the most natural way to respond to some of the big things that happen in a person’s life. It’s sort of my default. It’s funny. I feel like everyone that I’m close to I find very funny. It’s a need that I have. I’ll hang out with some other people, through another friend or something, and nary a joke gets told in the entire hangout and I’m like, “How are you all still awake?”

I don’t get it. I feel like the point of being around people is to laugh and to release some of that tension. Even if it’s to ruefully laugh at something or point out some irony in some way. There’s something about it that feels organic and real when you let the comedy happen. That’s a lot of the comedy in this show. It’s not set-up, knock-down jokes; it’s behavior that is funny if you happen to see it. That feels really human. I love it when people are funny on accident. That’s the most surprising and best laughter you can get, so it feels really appropriate to me.

PC: Over the course of this first season, we’re going to see the effect that time has on the relationship between your two characters, and the both of you handle that with so much nuance. How did you build that bond that we’re going to see depicted on-screen?
Cristin: This is the second time that Will and I have played a couple in distress. We’ve really built this beautiful shorthand and system of trust. I’ve said this a lot, but it feels like that Lady Gaga meme about the 100 people in the room. I will follow Will anywhere.

He’s such a special actor and such a beautiful human being. I really trust him. These two people started in a gold place and they’re hanging onto something that hasn’t been around in years, but they’re too afraid to leave each other. That type of love can happen where you are in love with the history of your love, even though you’ve outgrown each other. It’s so gray and ambiguous. I couldn’t ask for a better person to explore that with because I really trust him. I would go anywhere he would go.

William: Same for me. Cristin is a really organic, interesting performer. When you’re doing a scene and you get something that feels real it hits you in a really interesting way. We both like making jokes and making each other laugh. We like to have a good time. I think something that’s possibly useful when you’re dealing with the heaviness of a relationship that’s unraveling is for there to be a piece of what you love about the other person. That’s in there. It feels like something is being lost. It’s not like, “Oh, these two just need to split.” It’s like you’re curious about how they figure this out, and that’s what I hope people experience. I hope that people root for them in that way. I’m hoping that our natural rhythms and how much fun we have when we’re hanging out informs the way that we’re playing these characters that are in a tough spot.

Make sure to follow Cristin (Instagram) and William (Twitter/Instagram). Watch The Resort on Peacock today.