Amy Adams and author Gillian Flynn on pain and parenting in HBO's "Sharp Objects"
Amy Adams, star and co-executive producer of "Sharp Objects," found freedom playing Camille Preaker, a disturbed character in the new HBO series. The show is based on the 2006 book by bestselling author Gillian Flynn, who also wrote "Gone Girl." Adams said Preaker reminds her of herself in some ways.
"I'm a little messy. I think everyone has a little bit inside of them that they keep to themselves. And so for me it's really freeing to get to share that and to get to sort of deconstruct myself a little bit," Adams said on "CBS This Morning," adding, "I'm at a good point in my life to share that part of me."
Preaker is a self-mutilating, sex-addicted, alcoholic newspaper reporter who returns to her hometown in Missouri. She is tasked with investigating the murder of two young girls, while battling her own inner demons, including the ones still present from her childhood.
Adams said she identifies with how Preaker internalizes her pain.
"She's hard on herself, really hard on herself and she's really affected by people," Adams said. "And I think she bears a lot of pain, and I think that's something that's pretty common. I wasn't raised to sort of share my pain and talk about it. So that's something I have in common with her."
Adams said that most people feel unable to express their true feelings and share their darkest secrets, which is extremely difficult to do everyday.
"Camille wears her pain and sometimes it would be so freeing, wouldn't it, if everybody could just see the pain that everyone's wearing," she said.
Flynn, also a co-executive producer of the series, praised Preaker's mental tenacity despite her struggles.
"To me, I think Camille is a very heroic character, because I think sometimes if you're in a lot of psychological pain and have been through a lot of psychological damage, the most heroic thing that you can do is keep your head above water," Flynn said. "And that's what Camille does again and again, every single day."
Adams added that her character's reconnection with her estranged mother made her think about her relationship with her own daughter, Aviana.
"I did think about like the way that generationally, we pass down our own dysfunction, intentionally or unintentionally," she said. "So it made me look at how I parent and sort of what I need to own on my own in order to be a really good mom to her and what I need to let go of."
Flynn said she hopes viewers find "comfort" in the series. She shared that of all the books she's written, people approach her about "Sharp Objects" the most.
"That's the one that people linger in bookstores or book events or that write to me about and want to share a story with me about," Flynn said. "And so I think, again like I said, sometimes keeping your head above water is the heroic thing in any given day."
"Sharp Objects" premieres Sunday, July 8, 2018 on HBO.