'There Is A Part Of Us In Every Character': Annabelle Wallis On 'The Loudest Voice', Russell Crowe, Roger Ailes

(CBS Local)-- Annabelle Wallis has worked on a lot of movies and TV shows, but nothing has ever challenged her like Showtime's new limited series "The Loudest Voice."

The Russell Crowe led show dives into the complicated legacy of Roger Ailes, the rise of Fox News, and the women that were victims of sexual harassment at Fox. Wallis plays one of those women in former Fox booker and executive Laurie Luhn and says it was really difficult to portray something so upsetting.

"She is a tour de force in many different ways," said Wallis in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "She definitely remains in the kind of fascinating, pressure cooker environment I like to find my female characters in. She is an executive at Fox climbing the ranks and ends up entering into a coercive and dark affair with Roger Ailes. She suffered immensely from it."

Wallis and Crowe worked together previously on "The Mummy" in 2017 and Crowe called Wallis to see if she would do the show. The call went a long way because the scenes between Ailes and Luhn are some of the most intimate and difficult to watch in the series.

"It was amazing...Russell actually called me about the show and of course I said yes immediately," said Wallis. "He was like 'it's tricky, but I think we can get there together and I'll feel more comfortable if it's the two of us.' It really was amazing to have that shorthand. He felt safe to go the distance. In this climate, it's hard for any man to deal with that subject because it's so horrible. It helped with a vulnerability that was needed. I don't want to shy away in my work. Bravery is needed if we are telling female stories. I don't want to tiptoe around it."

"The Loudest Voice" premieres on Showtime Sunday and Wallis is excited to share this riveting series with the audience.

"I want them to walk away thinking how proud they are to watch a show that is trying to tell a truth," said Wallis. "That is trying to inform them and give them their own choice about a world we are all part of today and a narrative in the media that affects everyone's life. I think they will be wowed by the story. It's brave, it's bold and it's the American dream at its finest and also what the desire for power leads you to. There is a part of us in every character."