Connie Britton’s Tami Taylor has long been considered one of the best moms on television — and the actress hopes her latest role will have a similar impact.
During an interview with Us Weekly, the Friday Night Lights alum, 57, dished on stepping into the shoes of Claire Hiller, a woman whose daughter Robyn (Freya Hannan-Mills) becomes possessed after surviving an accident, in her new film Here After.
“I was surprisingly moved by the script,” Britton told Us. “Horror isn’t usually my genre, mostly because I’m a scaredy-cat, but as I was reading it, I was sort of like, ‘What’s going on here?’”
“As we got deeper and deeper into the story, as a mother myself — [and] also just as a woman and a human being — I found myself so deeply moved by her experience,” Britton continued.
Connie Britton. Paramount Pictures
In the film, Claire attempts to save her daughter from the dark forces consuming her while being forced to address her own demons, including a painful past. “A lot of what we deal with in Here After with Claire is guilt,” the actress said. “It’s really a story of what happens when you experience such deep pain and loss that [it] creates this guilt that impacts other people around you, and how devastating guilt can be when left to control your life.”
Britton’s new role is in stark contrast to her beloved Friday Night Lights character, who is still revered by loyal fans 13 years after the drama ended, thanks to her loving and selfless personality. In fact, the White Lotus alum admitted, “They different, honey!”
“Tami had a really good handle on guilt — she knew who she was, and she really had a vision of who she wanted to be in the world,” Britton told Us. While the high school guidance counselor was “such an important part of her community,” Claire “has a much more solitary life, particularly when we meet her.”
One thing the women do share, however? Their compassion for others: “They both really care about their children and their community.”
Here After, directed by Robert Salerno and written by Sarah Conradt, called for several emotionally-charged moments, which weren’t exactly easy for Britton to film. “I had to be extra protective of myself because we were going to such dark places,” Britton said. “I had to be really, really conscientious [that] when I was leaving, I had to leave it behind.”
Luckily, she had a wonderful support system in her hair and makeup team, who helped Britton stay grounded throughout the shoot: “At the end of the day, there was kind of a removal of all those trappings of the character that, to me, felt very important and ceremonial, because it helped me realize, ‘OK, this is not happening to me.’”
“Also, frankly, some of that stuff was so intense that I was able to say, ‘That’s not my life, that’s not me,’” she shared. “I can step away now.”
The film pushed Britton to her limit in other ways, too. “Shooting in water was personally scary for me,” she told Us of one nerve-wracking scene. “It was facing some of my own fears as well, which I always think is important to do as an actor.”
“Sometimes that’s the reason why I choose a part,” the American Horror Story alum shared. “It’s like, ‘Oh, I want to face this fear — I want to be challenged in this way.”
Ultimately, Britton — who also stars in Winner — hopes viewers will be “moved” by the events that unfold in Here After. “I hope it [helps them] explore their own experiences around guilt,” she added. “Maybe they can then find a little redemption in that, too.”
Here After hits select theaters and will be available on digital Friday, September 13.
