Pop Culturalist Chats with Eliza Bennett

Eliza Bennett stars as Jules Thomas on MTV’s fearlessly empowering new series, Sweet/Vicious. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with the ever-so-talented actress about what it’s like to portray a rape-survivor, where the series is headed, and how she bonded with her costar over their taste in music.

PC: How did you prepare for the scene where Jules finally confronts her attacker, Nate?
Eliza: That’s a big turning point on the show. I remember being speechless when I read the script for the first time. It’s written so beautifully by our writer, Jared. I remember that Brooke/Brigham University case was very much in the headlines at the time. When I read that and the words that she had spoken in the courtroom, I remember feeling how closely in mind the motive behind what I was saying in that scene was. So often, I think survivors never get the opportunity to tell their rapist how they felt about what happened to them. I knew it was important and I really hope it’s been empowering for some people to see Jules be able to say those things, even if they hadn’t been able to.

PC: Yes, absolutely. And, we did notice that on Twitter and other social media platforms that people were commending you for that performance and saying how it helped them kind of confront their own demons, having to deal with something like that. So that’s always a good thing.
Eliza: That’s been the best part, the messages we receive from survivors. I’m so grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to help tell Jules’ story and see the impact it’s had on people.

PC: Have you learned anything about yourself by portraying Jules?
Eliza: That’s a good question. I feel like I’ve grown massively as a person from doing this show; particularly working with the people that I get to work with. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Amanda Lasher are huge inspirations to me as women. This all started from Jen writing this script from scratch. I have never-ending respect for her for bringing this story to television.

It’s impacted my life hugely and it actually helped a lot of my relationships with women in my own life. It’s opened up a new level of conversation that was unspoken beforehand. I’ve had friends that I’ve known for years call me and tell me about their experiences with assault. It’s forever changed me, but in the best way.

PC: Staying along those lines with having renewed and new relationships with women, the show very much focuses on Jules’ friendships with the women around her. We wanted to know if you can maybe tease anything about what’s upcoming as far as if there’s growth or change in her relationships with the most important females in her life.
Eliza: Her relationships with everyone actually gets tested and I think she reached a point where she has been masking her trauma for so long and she finally comes face to face with it. The second half of the show is really in overdrive of Jules’ story. We leave at the end of episode six, her friendship with Kennedy is completely broken. She’s devastated after all this time that Kennedy doesn’t believe her.

PC: Exactly. We think it’s really important to show Kennedy’s perspective because we think, a lot of times, people have these conversations and they don’t know how to respond. We believe it was very accurate, real, and raw.
Eliza: Kennedy’s just had her entire world shattered. She’s lost her boyfriend that she’s in love with and she feels like she’s been losing her best friend for months. He sort of tips her over the edge. I thought it was amazing how Jen sort of tells not just Jules’ story, but what it’s like to be the girlfriend of [a rapist] or what it’s like to be the stepbrother. Something as awful as sexual assault affects so many people, and not just necessarily the victim of the crime. I love how Jen has told that story. Kennedy has a real journey to go on.

PC: We’re definitely excited to see that. With where the show is at now—and you said that things are going to get worse before they get better—is there any sort of light at the end of the tunnel, are there going to be any light-hearted moments that kind of break up all the tension and the drama that’s currently happening?
Eliza: Yeah, there’s always light in the dark. Episode seven digs fully into what happened to Jules and her trauma. We take the audience through the flashbacks of what happened. On the flip side, in the modern day times, it’s a fairytale. It’s the anniversary of Ophelia and Harris’ friendship. They all go out to celebrate that. Definitely, there is lightness in all of the show. It needs to feel like it’s not medicine and Sweet/Vicious does that so beautifully; it treads that line. There’s a satisfying conclusion in some way. Jules and Ophelia definitely get back to a point where they are empowering one another and that relationship we fell in love with at the beginning of the show.

PC: That’s always great. The two of you on the screen together are very empowering, fun, and real. It’s nice to see females that get along and aren’t fighting over a guy or just being at odds or jealous of one another. What are the two of you like off screen? Are you similar in that way?
Eliza: Oh, my goodness. We’re probably too close. The easiest part of doing Sweet/Vicious was Ophelia and Jules’ chemistry, because it did not take any effort from Taylor and I. From the moment we started shooting the show, we were pretty much inseparable. We live like two miles away from each other and we spent all our weekends together. We went on weekends away together. All the chemistry between us was pretty immediate. We auditioned together and they cast us five minutes later.

PC: As far as where the show is headed, can you tease anything about Jules and Tyler?
Eliza: Yeah, he breaks my heart. When we leave Tyler, he has found out that the picture of his brother snowboarding has, in fact, been photoshopped. The moment that I think Tyler feels that there is someone else involved in this story, he’s not going to let go of what happened.

Jules has her own journey to go through. When I think she’s ready to tell it, she will. All I’ll say is Tyler is just the most wonderful man and the most wonderful boyfriend. I think Jules is a priority for him. It’s funny because on the flip side, we’re dealing with the fact that she did help cover up the murder for his brother.

PC: We guess they’re kind of like two peas in a pod? They obviously have their differences, but they’re very similar too and have their own inner turmoil to process.
Eliza: They’re a little like Romeo and Juliet. They’re tragically intertwined. There’s more story to tell, but sadly, Tyler’s not going to let go to what happened to his brother. Jules and Ophelia have a handful of problems to deal with for the rest of the season.

PC: Is Harris not going to let go of these suspicions of Jules and what she may be doing with her extra time?
Eliza: Harris is another issue. He’s smart and his moral compass is very strong. He’s a law student and this is what he does. He gets to the bottom of things. He’s not going to stop until he has an answer. Between that and covering up Carson’s death, and Jules’ dealing with her trauma, the rest of the season is jammed packed full of issues for Jules and Ophelia.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Do you have a guilty pleasure TV show?
Eliza: I loved Gossip Girl and I watched all seven or eight seasons of that. Like, in probably an incredibly short period of time. And it’s so funny because our showrunner was a writer on Gossip Girl. We were all star struck by that.

PC: Do you have a guilty pleasure movie?
Eliza: I don’t think it’s guilty, but Love, Actually is unbelievable. I have watched that film more times than I could probably count on two hands for sure. I still watch it every year at Christmas. I don’t know if it’s a guilty pleasure, because I think it’s unbelievable and I think everyone would agree.

PC: Well, we definitely agree. Do you have a favorite book?
Eliza: Favorite book? Probably Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. That’s my favorite book.

PC: Do you have a favorite musical or play?
Eliza: I love The Sound of Music.

PC: That one’s a classic. Do you have a band or artist on your playlist that we would be surprised by?

Eliza: Taylor and I initially bonded over the fact that we’re both obsessed with Sylvan Esso. She’s been around for a while but not that many people know about her. We’re both like, “Who’s your favorite artist?” I was like, “Sylvan Esso.” She’s like, “What? That’s my favorite artist and she’s really quite niche. Not many people know about her.” I’m obsessed with Anderson .Paak right now. One of the best albums of the year, I think. Honestly, the music on Sweet/Vicious inspired me a lot this year, because the music’s really good.

PC: MTV really has a knack for the music they use!

Eliza: There is a Sweet/Vicious Spotify app if anyone wants music from the show.

PC: We’re sure our readers will be interested in that. Do you have any hidden talents?

Eliza: I can tap dance. I haven’t done it in a while, but I still think I can do it. That’s probably it. My first ever job was when I was eight years old. I did a touring show in London, where I played a tap dancing chicken.

Make sure to follow Eliza on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And, catch the season finale of Sweet/Vicious on January 24th on MTV.

Photo Credit: Faye Thomas