Lili Taylor: Cecilia still coping with 'earth-shattering' reveal in S2 of 'Outer Range'
NEW YORK, May 23 (UPI) -- Lili Taylor says Season 2 of Outer Range finds her Wyoming rancher character Cecilia emotionally and psychologically shattered by the the big secret her husband Royal reveals at the end of Season 1.
"They say you know you've hit a bottom when you can't dig anymore and that's where she is," Taylor, 57, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"But the interesting thing is that, once you've got nowhere to go, now you have somewhere to go, and that's what's exciting about the beginning of Season 2. Anything is possible for Cecilia."
Editor's note: This article will discuss spoilers.
Now streaming on Prime Video, the new episodes of the contemporary, sci-fi western series sees the devoutly Christian Cecilia grappling with the shocking knowledge that the recent disappearances of her accused-murderer son Perry (Tom Pelphrey), daughter-in-law Rebecca (Kristen Connolly) and granddaughter Amy (Olive Elise Abercrombie) are linked to a mysterious hole on the family's property, which is about to become foreclosed-upon.
Cecilia always suspected Royal (Josh Brolin) was keeping something from her, but she had no idea it was that he traveled through a portal as a boy from the 1880s to her family's homestead in the 1960s.
"It's earth-shattering in that it's like, 'Will they be able to repair [that broken trust]?' because secrets can destroy lives," Taylor said.
"There's another thing, too, when a secret's revealed. That something you felt or sensed is now made real and, so, you don't feel crazy," the Six Feet Under, Mystic Pizza and Say Anything icon added.
"So, that happens. She feels less crazy. Its lost power because it's out in the open, and Royal wants to make it work. So, now it's just: 'Can we do it? Does the universe want us to do it?' And that's what begins and, so, I love getting into that relationship."
Season 1 ended with a lot of questions, Taylor pointed out, but Season 2 shows Cecilia finally starting to put puzzle pieces together based on the new information she receives.
"Even though her faith might still be kind of unanswered, I do feel there's other things that are being answered and that is giving her agency," Taylor said. "When you don't know what action to take, then you are stuck."
The actress found this character easy to relate to.
"She's an easy one. Some characters are more open than other characters," she said.
"We are like living together inside," Taylor added. "We have to get along and, so, she's open and friendly to me getting to know her. I like her and, so, it's a little bit easier. I can play characters I don't like, but it's just a little bit easier [ if I do]."
More than anything, Taylor admires Cecilia's grit and her devotion to her family.
"I don't love self-pity, in general," she said.
"I don't think many people do. It's not a great quality She doesn't have it. She doesn't like it and, so, we really connected on that and I just love how she's just staying in the solution and I think that's that's one of my things -- I like to stay in the solution with stuff."
The silences between Taylor and Brolin's long-married characters convey almost as much as the dialogue, with the relationship between appearing to be liven-in and authentic.
"The first season, we did in COVID and it took ages and we didn't leave that ranch and we couldn't leave to go home and that created a bond and, then, we already liked each other as it is," Taylor said.
"We have a bond and, now, we're back again for Season 2 and, so, that's the nice thing about working with the same people again and again. A thing is created and you can feel it," she added. "I can tell when a theater company has been together for years. I can feel that."
In between Seasons 1 and 2 of Outer Range, Taylor played famous first lady Mary Todd Lincoln in the Apple TV+ limited series, Manhunt.
"Talk about time travel! Jesus!" Taylor said.
"That was wild. How many times do we get to be in a recreation?" she added. "I felt like I was there at times. That's just fun. We don't get that experience a lot, and, so, it was kind of fun and kind of deep and profound to play the wife of a president. It just was like, 'Whoa!'"
