The scene in the bedroom was a long, five-page scene. I actually really liked that scene because it was intimate and had these highs and lows layered in. At one point I come back into the room after they shifted the camera, and I see Martin laying in bed. And he whips the covers open and he's got on a corset top and I think a whip. He was playing a prank on me, but I wasn't really shocked. I didn't give him the reaction he wanted. [Laughs.] I was like, “Oh, hey, you got a whip. Great.” He was like, “What was that reaction?” I think he was expecting me to scream, but I was so nonplussed about the whole thing. I have a funny video of it.
Oh my God. Not what I expected you to tell me!
I know. He was really trying to throw me, but I was unshakable.
This can be the preview piece for season five: Jack and Mel shake up their sex life. Virgin River’s getting edgy.
We can bring back the rubber man suit from American Horror Story or something funny. I mean, it's PG-14. We're never going to get too crazy.
Except you watch, it will be season 10 and Mel still won’t have given birth to her child. Maybe season 11.
That's my problem with the pregnancy. I was like, “You either got to speed it up or make a time cut. Because I'm not going to be pregnant for five more years.” [Laughs.]
By the way, Mark’s mother is a total piece of work. Thank goodness it’s not Mark’s baby.
Yeah. I was like, please don't let it be Mark's baby. Because if I have to deal with this woman for the rest of time as the grandmother…. [Laughs.] It's fun though. As an actress, I enjoy sparring with people and having some conflicts. It's fun.
Speaking of entertaining, what else can you say about what’s to come in season five? In our preview piece, you and I spoke about how important it is to see the show subtly address timely topics like abortion, miscarriage, contraception. How do you see those conversations moving forward next season?
I'm hoping that in the future we can bring more conversations to the table. In season five we're bringing some more LGBTQ+ stories into the show, which I think is absolutely wonderful. I've been fighting for diversity on the show since we started and I think we've been slowly moving toward a lot of that. Certainly with our new showrunner and directors. Netflix is really trying to bring more inclusivity into programming.
This interviewed has been edited for space and clarity.
Jessica Radloff is the Glamour senior West Coast editor and author of the upcoming book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series (October 11, 2022). You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.
