Naomi Watts is no stranger to complex characters. She's made a career out of playing complicated women on the silver screen, and in her first foray into series regular TV work, she's made no exceptions.
In Netflix's new psychological thriller Gypsy, Watts stars as Jean Holloway, a Manhattan therapist who has it all. Or seems to, at least. But when she begins developing intimate and illicit relationships with the people her patients talk about during their sessions, the line between personal and professional all but disappears and it becomes abundantly clear that Jean's in dire need of some mental health care of her own.
"It's fun to play people who are struggling with things. It makes good, juicy drama," Watts told E! News on the red carpet at the show's premiere in NYC. "I'm always interested in human flaws, and she's definitely full of them. I feel like everyone has a dark side, everyone has desires, but not all of us act on them in the same way she does. Therefore, it makes it interesting. It's kind of like a cautionary tale. We get to stay home in the safety of our own environment with the people we love and we don't have to be complete self-destructive."
"I just thought she's a great woman that was full of all kind of contradictions and she's got human flaws," the actress added. "That makes it interesting to play that kind of character. On paper, her life looks really good. Why would it not be enough? I think she's just at a point in her life where she needs a shakeup." That's putting it mildly.
For more from Watts, be sure to check out the video above!
Gypsy also stars Billy Crudup as Jean's husband Michael, Sophie Cookson as Sidney, and Lucy Boynton and Karl Glusman as Jean's (unlucky) patients Allison and Sam.
Season one of Gypsy is now streaming only on Netflix.