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Erica Ash on playing the hilarious womanizing lesbian of “Survivor’s Remorse”

Survivor’s Remorse, Starz’s hit show produced by Mike O’Malley and Lebron James, is officially at the halfway mark of its sophomore season. So far, we’ve had the pleasure of watching Mary Charles aka M-Chuck smash racist lawn decorations, punch her arrogant brother in the face, and hook up with an actress while on a tour of a historical plantation complete with slavery reenactments.

AfterEllen chatted with Erica Ash about the evolution of her character and what we can look forward to for the rest of Season 2.

AfterEllen: I follow most of the cast of Survivor’s Remorse on Instagram, so I’ve seen a lot of fun behind-the-scenes pictures. It seems like you are all having a lot of fun together, yet it must also be a lot of work. Tell us a little bit about the work you had to put in to prepare for Season 2.

Erica Ash: My process is a little different than, perhaps, other actors. For me, it’s really organic. I read the script and then it just comes to me. I just make space for it. I was just talking to a friend about this the other day. I literally just make space for her to show up. I just let her do what she does. The accent just comes back. The writing has a lot to do with it. I’m thankful that we have such brilliant writers on the show. It makes the work of trying to find it, figuring it all out, a lot easier.

AE: I’ve seen a couple of episodes of Real Husbands of Hollywood, and it strikes me that your character of Bridgette Hart is so different from M-Chuck. They’re both comedic roles, but I laugh at or with them in completely different ways. What would you say is some of M-Chuck’s most salient characteristics? What are some of the things you tap into when you prepare for her?

EA: M-Chuck rides the fine line between the drama and the comedy. Which is something that I love. The main difference between Bridgette and M-Chuck are the dimensions. Bridgette is such a character and you bring her in when you need a little flavor in the stew. I love the fact that M-Chuck has more layers to her. Her comedy is more subtle. It’s not as over the top and in your face. When I go back and look at past episodes-some if it I missed. And I did it! [laughs]. I look at how she can be so slick and cynical. She does a lot with her face. I also think that M-Chuck’s got-her anger’s a thru-line for her. Whether overt or covert, she’s a very angry character. But she’s also very sensitive. That’s something that you have to look closer to see, but she’s angry because she’s sensitive. Because she cares.

AE: I think that is evident in the episode that aired a couple of weeks ago when M-Chuck visits a plantation with her mother and Missy. She’s very offended by the re-enactments. She expressed her dismay with anger, but you can see that it stemmed from the pain of knowing that history. I also like that episode because we get to see M-Chuck get a little action.

EA: Yeah, she does. As well she should!

AE: That was nice to see. But I also heard through the grapevine that M-Chuck is going to get a steady girlfriend near the end of the season.

EA: Well, I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say is this: that wasn’t the last bit of action that you will see M-Chuck have.

AE: Great! That’s awesome. I know that Survivor’s Remorse has already been picked up for Season 3. I think it was picked up after only two episodes, if I’m not mistaken. My first thought when I heard the news was, “Wow, Starz is not playing around!”

EA: Yeah. [laughs] You know what I like about Starz? Our network knows what’s good, and they know what they want, and they don’t feel the need to play any games or pull any punches, you know? If they like it, they like it. And they’ll go for it. If they don’t, you know, better luck next time. Our show was picked up after the second episode last season as well so they’ve got us spoiled. When we get to Season 3, if we don’t hear something by episode two, we’re all going to be chomping at the bit, you know? [laughs] But I love that they are so honest about letting us know what’s going on.

AE: It’s great for viewers as well. It’s great to know that it’s okay to get invested in these characters. It’s okay to start falling in love with this show because it’s not going to be pulled out from under me. I know that after this season there will be another. So, as a viewer I’m already wondering M-Chuck will go from here. For instance, if M-Chuck starts dating someone special in Season 2, how will that relationship grow in season 3? And how will M-Chuck grow and change as a result of that relationship.

EA: Exactly! I absolutely 100% agree with that. M-Chuck definitely has some more dramatic storylines coming up. M-Chuck begins to tap into the fact that there is a reason behind her anger. She tunes into that a little bit. You get to see another side of her.

Survivor’s Remorse airs on Starz on Saturday nights at 9:30 pm EST.

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