The Netflix original series Hemlock Grove recently put up all the episode for its second seasons and fans might notice something a little different. The character of Shelley Godfrey has been recast by former Calaforniacation actress Madeleine Martin. Now Martin is opening up about taking over the role.
Showrunner and Executive Producer Chic Eglee recently spoke to Yahoo.News about why Shelley was recast:
“Shelley was a little bit of an ad hoc formulation week to week. It was kind of a mixture of stand-ins and actors and voice-overs and the 7-foot stand-in and the little girl. It was just cobbled together week to week. And out of that, by the way, came an incredibly visceral, very palpable performance. It was quite arresting and obviously had a huge viewership judging from the boards.
“So I thought, my lord, what if one were to sit down and actually design that character? And then how about we go and get a really wonderful actress, which we were able to do. So really, it was about our enthusiasm for that character and really wanting to invest time and resources to bring that character to life in a fully realized way.”
For the second season, the stand-ins and body doubles stepped aside, and the role went to former Calafonication actress Madeleine Martin.
Martin had a few words to say about the role of the Frankenstein-esque teenager:
“I sympathized with the character immediately: this girl who doesn't look like a girl, and she's rejected by society because of her appearance. She just wants to be a normal teenage girl.”
Madeleine went on to add that she came to the series with a fresh set of (and somewhat squeamish) eyes:
“I hadn't seen the first season. My brother was a big fan of it; he likes really scary things. So, when he told me to watch it, I knew I would find it too scary because my tolerance for horror is very low. That was one of the things I was worried about when I started working on the show. I had never worked on anything supernatural or so scary. I thought, gosh, I wonder if that would be a hindrance to me acting in this. But it was not. And my tolerance is much higher now; I'll probably even watch the show! When people ask me what Hemlock is, I love to say that Hemlock Grove is a world where people's deepest desires get to be explored and given free rein.”
Both seasons of Hemlock Grove are currently streaming on Netflix:
