Emilia Harcourt has had quite a journey so far on Peacemaker this season. Despite saving the world in season one, this second betrayal of Amanda Waller has got her blacklisted from any government agency that would take her. This despite a history with not only A.R.G.U.S., but the CIA., the NSA, and other agencies. Now lost, she’s been self-harming in rather unique ways, all while trying to deny her emotions.
In the most recent episode, we find out Emilia Harcourt and Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) were in a relationship, and she considered him her best friend. Since Christopher Smith/Peacemaker killed Flag, it explains why she’s been so conflicted when it comes to her feelings for him. We spoke with Jennifer Holland about her character’s season two journey, including her alternate universe counterpart.
Nerdist: The barfight scene for Harcourt in episode one was brutal, and also amazing. Obviously, she holds her own, but ultimately it’s a numbers game, and she gets her butt kicked. Reading the script, how did you feel knowing it would end with Emelia tossed out on the sidewalk and not victorious?
Jennifer Holland: I loved it. I love the journey that she goes through. In one sense, that’s what she’s kind of hoping for. Harcourt is putting herself purposefully into situations where she will be hurt. She’s a masochist. I mean, it’s kind of like being a cutter or something like that, and that’s how she’s dealing with her sort of numbness in her life, and not being able to feel. So she’s going out and doing these awful, harmful things to herself. And it’s also a little bit of the control that you feel that you can have over your life.
A lot of people who have some sort of harmful habit in their life, they’re doing it because they like the control that it gives them over their own life. And so that’s the way I view what she’s doing. And so I loved the journey. I love the fact that this isn’t just a fight scene. It’s not just, “Oh, Harcourt gets to kick some ass, and then she gets her ass kicked.” She is going through an emotional journey, and just as much as Chris having an orgy, what she does is in response to the emotional turmoil that she’s going through. She’s doing the same thing as Chris with putting herself into that.
His way of coping is actually a bit healthier than hers, in the final analysis.
Holland: Oh yeah, he’s totally healthier than Harcourt. That’s what’s interesting about it.
In this season, we learn that Emilia has a history in her line of business going back 18 years. Which is wild, as she’s still young. Did James give you a full backstory for your character based on the comics, or is your version of the character one who has a totally different backstory?
Holland: We talked a little bit about her upbringing, where she came from. I always hold it a little bit close, because I don’t know if James [Gunn] will stick to this, if he ever decides to sort of go down that path in the future. Unraveling what her set of circumstances was when she was growing up. But we talk in season one about how she got her first Glock when she was 12, or something like that. And so we know that it has something to do with her father. And I think James kind of knows who her father is. But she’s the kind of kid who, as soon as she was able to aim, someone was putting a gun into her hands.
You get to play an alt universe version of Emilia this season, who’s a little more “girly girl.” She’s almost a completely different person, and seems happier. What parts of her do you think are fulfilled in her that the “real” Harcourt doesn’t have, and vice versa?
Holland: Well, I think that they both have their sort of certain issues that are unhealthy. And I think Harcourt in the second universe, she has an unhealthy attachment to men. An unhealthy attachment to all that gives her some sort of self-worth, I think. And so I think in that sense, I think Harcourt from our dimension is more self-actualized. She’s just so incredibly incapable of allowing people in and being vulnerable. And so in some ways, I think that Harcourt in the second dimension is just much healthier emotionally.
She’s able to talk about her feelings. She’s just more open. She says, “I’m hurt, you hurt me. I don’t like that.” And that’s not something Harcourt’s capable of doing. She doesn’t talk about things like that. She goes, “Whatever, I don’t want to talk about it. Just let’s not talk about it.” So I don’t know. I don’t think that Harcourt in the second dimension is for better or for worse. But she’s definitely more emotionally put together than Harcourt from our dimension.
Emilia is a lot more vulnerable and closer with her friends this season, even if she still keeps Chris at arm’s length. We know he’s clearly in love with her, but do you think Emilia is even capable of loving him back, even under the best circumstances?
I know the answer to that, and I think that’s because of the fact that’s what we sort of explore throughout this season. This question of “Is she capable of this, or is her wall too thick that it just can’t be penetrated?” And is her hatred towards Chris because of what he did to Rick Flag Jr. going to be something that she can ever get past? In that sort of intimate way, I think you see that she can sort of let her walls down a little bit with friendships. And I think you get the feeling that maybe she started to let her walls down a little bit too much, and she’s pulling back. It’s scaring her. And so I can’t tell you what the answer is to that, but I can tell you that you will get an answer throughout this season.
We learn that Emilia suffers from toxic masculinity this season. And she has a pretty colorful response to the doctor evaluating her who’s giving her that diagnosis. As the person portraying Harcourt, do you concur with that diagnosis, or do you think he’s full of it?
Holland: I think that, despite as much nuance as I think the character has, and as much empathy as I have for her, because I know her so deeply…yeah. I think that diagnosis is real. I think it’s true because she’s toxically masculine. It’s very real. It’s Something she needs to take a look at [laughs]
Everyone has a story about shooting the opening credits. All I’ll ask you is was it harder to get through it without cracking up this year, or less difficult?
Holland: I think it was definitely harder for the people who were new in the group to keep a straight face. They’d never done it before. The rest of us who had done it the first season, we all kind of knew what to expect, and we had some practice keeping our straight faces and all of that. Of course, you still break out into laughter every once in a while. It is such a ridiculous situation. You’re standing up on stage with John Cena, Danielle Brooks, and Frank Grillo. And I mean, Tim Meadows! The list goes on of all of these incredibly famous, successful, serious actors, and they’re all doing this ridiculous dance, and it’s some of the best moments of my whole life. Getting to do that with those people is really amazing.
Season two of Peacemaker debuts new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max.
The post Jennifer Holland on Playing 2 Harcourts in PEACEMAKER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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