Mary-Louise Parker On Playing A Multifaceted Villain In The Institute And Collaborating With Jack Bender

After working together on Mr. Mercedes, actress Mary-Louise Parker (Omni Loop) and director and producer Jack Bender (Lost) are now teaming up again for The Institute. This brand-new horror/sci-fi series, based on the same-named Stephen King novel, centres on the story of the teenager Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman), who has been taken to a remote institute due to his special abilities. When he meets kids with similar powers, he knows that Ms Sigsby (Parker), the head of The Institute, will use them for her own good. Therefore, Luke sets a plan in motion to escape together with his friends, but that’s easier said than done, even with powerful gifts.

Ahead of the release of The Institute on MGM+ on the 13^th of July, Geek Vibes Nation spoke to Parker to discuss playing an ambiguous character, working with Bender again, and the first table read.

Geek Vibes Nation: Hi Mary-Louise Parker. Congratulations on the series.

Mary-Louise Parker: Thank you.

GVN: For The Institute, you’re reunited with Jack Jack [Bender, director and co-producer], with whom you worked on Mr. Mercedes. How was it to step into Stephen King’s world, especially with him?

MLP: What was most interesting to me was that I wanted to work with Jack again, and we became so close from the moment we met. He feels more like family to me, and he’s an incredible painter and writer, and he’s written these phenomenal books. I’ve also got to know him through his books and writing. We have a great relationship, so I wanted to be a part of it. Stephen King himself is truly the master of storytelling, and he possesses a phenomenal, freakish ability to take an audience and hold them exactly where he wants them.

GVN: There are a lot of multiple facets to your character, and there’s always the delicate balance between her doing what she thinks is for the greater good and being completely evil. Since you’ve worked with Jack before, were you able to get even more out of her to achieve a more in-depth portrayal of her?

MLP: It’s interesting that you say that. She thinks she’s doing it for the greater good of the world. Jack asked me this question, “how far would you go to save the world from Armageddon apocalypse?” And that’s what I kept going back to with this character, that she feels she’s on the right side of history. Instead of slowing down and questioning, she’s become even more relentless in pursuit of this goal of her mission, and she can compartmentalise and set aside any moral concerns about what she’s doing and how truly inhumane her choices are.

GVN: One of those moments where you see that she has almost no emotions whatsoever is during the birthday scenes, which were creepy to watch. How was it for you to play those scenes cause there are a few of them?

MLP: For her, that’s just another step. We have to get through this step. My character has to be excited; here’s the cake. The logistics of her day are based on ticking off those kind of things. It’s as if she’s able to justify her behaviour, and those are the most dangerous people.

GVN: While The Institute isn’t a great place to be, to say the least, it’s great to see a female at the head of it. She’s not taking orders from the men below her. How is it, despite her being who she is, to at least portray a female boss?

MLP: I do like it a lot that she’s boss. And if she would fail, it would be because she allowed herself to trust people she shouldn’t have trusted. It’s the kind of mistake that would happen in that kind of environment. It’s just better to stick with your paranoia and let that fuel you than to make the mistake of trusting someone. She becomes the victim of her narrative because it’s as if she’s been wronged despite trying to do everything right. It’s human nature when you do something bad or that you’re ashamed of to try to explain it to yourself in a way or even justify it. However, hopefully, you can, at a certain point, understand what was wrong, a mistake, etc.

GVN: I talked to Ben [Barnes] and Joe [Freeman]. They were discussing the first table read and the excitement from the very first scene. How was that table read for you?

MLP: I was so distracted by my dog at the first table reading. I also always feel like I’m not doing enough. Ben is just so friendly, and my daughter is a huge fan of his music and acting. Joe was just so sweet. I was all over the place at the first read. I barely even remember, to be honest. However, before the first read, I had great hopes because I had seen some of Joe’s tape. And I just thought, “Well, this kid is kind of freakishly perfect for this part.” It’s unbelievable that it was his first acting job. He has such purity, and he can dive in unselfconsciously when circumstances are difficult, or things are moving quickly. He was remarkably sweet and self-aware for such a young person. It’s amazing.

GVN: I was wondering what the set looked like, especially The Institute itself. Was there a lot of on-set designs, or was it mainly green screen or a combination of both?

MLP: The series didn’t utilize many special effects. This was an excellent crew that worked incredibly hard. They created many of those effects in the room, such as making the door shake or the ceiling move, which is much better than having to imagine it and then add it later. This was a very well-prepared crew, and that gave the actors a lot to work with.

GVN: In this series, the kids possess either telekinesis or telepathy. What kind of ability would you like to have yourself?

MLP: I would want to wake up and be a polyglot. I want to be fluent in 12 different languages. I’ve even picked out the languages. I wouldn’t want to have psychic or kinetic abilities.

GVN: Which one is the one at the top?

MLP: Probably Amharic. My daughter’s from Ethiopia, and it’s difficult speaking through two sets of translators. I’m trying to learn Amharic. It’s quite a complex language, but I’m getting there.

GVN: One last question: what other Stephen King adaptation would you want to be part of?

MLP: They’re not finished with this story. In this work, King has explored various aspects, including special skills, kinetic abilities, and related topics. However, there’s something about the idea of this organized treatment of these young kids, which is so horrific and so heartbreaking because you see them with their happy families for just a second before they set fire to it, and there’s something about that. King has a next-level ability with storytelling. It engages the audience, and it’s great for an actor to have a story like this.

The Institute is out on MGM+ on the 13^th of July