From creator Rebecca Addelman, the 10-episode Paramount+ half-hour dramedy Guilty Party follows Beth Burgess (Kate Beckinsale), a journalist whose discredited career leads her to a young mother, Toni Plimpton (Jules Latimer), who’s in prison with claims of innocence. Deciding to try to uncover the truth, Beth quickly finds herself in over her head, but still determined enough to put her life back on track that she keeps pursuing the story.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, which you can both watch and read, Latimer talked about why she was initially hesitant about doing this show, what she loves about Toni, the Toni-Beth dynamic, collaborating with showrunner Addelman, why her character’s guilt or innocence wasn’t her sole focus, what she’s learned from her first professional acting gig, and what she’d like to do next.
Collider: I love that this is a show about two women, one being a disgraced journalist in need of a great story, and then this other young woman and mother who’s convicted of a crime she says she didn’t commit. Was that really one of the most appealing elements of the story to you? Was that something you were looking forward to exploring, especially seeing how it had a little bit of humor injected into it?
JULES LATIMER: It was, and then it wasn’t. I felt a little sketchy about it. This is the first thing I’ve ever done in TV and film, which is insane, and I didn’t know if I wanted that to be folks’ first impression of me. So, when I was auditioning for the show and I read it, I was a little iffy about it. I was talking to my manager and he was like, “You know? What if we get you on the phone with the writer, so that you can see what the direction is for the whole series?” And when I got on the phone with Rebecca Addelman, I was overwhelmed by how much I enjoyed her and how much I connected with the vision of the show and that it was humorous. I was hooked. And then, I got the part, which I was very overwhelmed by. That element of me being an incarcerated woman and this disgraced journalists, it’s a Thelma and Louise sort of situation, but probably worse. It was very interesting to me and it all came to life when we started shooting. I was thrilled from then on.
Toni is in a position where she has to rely on this woman who is just a complete mess and not the person you want to have to rely on, to come through in such a big way.
LATIMER: No, and Toni questions it, the entire time. I even think the audience will question it too. It’s like, “Why are you with this woman? She’s such a mess.” And Toni is a bit of a mess too. For some reason, Toni keeps going back to her. I don’t know why I keep choosing her.
What have you liked about Toni, as a character, and about playing her, from day one?
LATIMER: I love her sense of humor. I loves how unabashedly herself she is. I love her interests. When I was collaborating with Rebecca Addelman, I was like, “What if she’s into anime? What if she’s into these things that you wouldn’t associate with a Black woman who’s incarcerated?” That was a lot of fun for me. I was also invited into the writers’ room to give those suggestions as well. And I love how funny Toni is. How funny you are being locked up and having a sense of humor about this woman who’s making a mess of trying to figure out a way for you to get out is, is really interesting and requires a lot of trust. Even though she’s skeptical of Beth, she trusts her, to a degree. I loved all of those aspects of planning Toni.
Because this story does run that risk of dipping into a white savior story, I love that it does point that out and addresses it pretty early on. Was that something that you also thought was important to do?
LATIMER: One thing I was so impressed by, with Rebecca, was how bold and brave she is. She was like, “I wanna bring in these topics and I don’t wanna shy away from them. I want her to be a mess and a disaster.” That’s the world that we live in. The one thing that I admire about Rebecca is she wants to call those things out and for folks to talk about it. In a world of being politically correct and cancel culture and all that stuff, you do shy away from bringing up topics like that, but I think that’s what makes this piece very good.
Especially when we all live in a world where we now know what to call it, it’s hard not to address it.
LATIMER: And Beth had no idea. She was like, “Yeah, I know.” But does she really know? I love that it was a group of individuals who were younger than her trying to school her, so that she doesn’t make a fool of herself.
Did you care whether or not your character really did what she’s been accused of? Did that matter to you?
LATIMER: It didn’t matter to me because I believed that I was innocent. Especially as an actor, you have to play what it is that your character is saying. It was like, “No, I’m innocent, period.” I didn’t get all of the scripts at once, but I tried my best to just read each script as we were shooting. I wanted to really get into the mindset of what my character was doing, right then and there. If I’m innocent right then and there, then that’s where I’m at and I believe it. I can’t wait for people to see whether or not I’m innocent. It mattered to me, but it wasn’t my sole focus. There were a lot of other things to focus on.
I love what you’re doing on the show and with this character. As a newcomer to Hollywood, what’s it like for you to step into this role, take on an 10 episode series, and have a high profile co-star like Kate Beckinsale? What are you learning about at all?
LATIMER: Everything, and I’m not afraid to say that I don’t know. Juilliard definitely prepared me for this. When you have a question, ask a question. I also know I’m a good actor and I believe in myself. I’m also a spiritual person, so I’m just accepting the gifts of this 10-episode series. I believe that I can get it done, and they believed in me too. It’s overwhelming, but I can do it. I know I can do it. And I did it.
Where do you hope all of this you next? Have you thought about the kinds of projects you want to do? Are there specific types of roles you want to play, or is there any person like in history that you’d that like to take on?
LATIMER: I’ve been looking at historical figures lately, like Audrey Lorde. I’ve always wanted to do a biopic of her and playing her. I would love to continue to do theater. That is my first love. Doing a show on Broadway has always been [a dream]. I’ve done an off-Broadway show, but I’d love to do a Broadway show. I had little things that I wanna do. Right now, I’m shooting a period piece, and that is something I never thought I would do. Also, it’s about trusting that, when the right project appears, I’m going. I have visions of things that I wanna do, but life is long and hopefully I’ll have a long career and get to make projects that I’ve always wanted to make.
Guilty Party is available to stream at Paramount+.