Shailene Woodley Shares Her Thoughts on ‘Paradise’ and Why the Show is a Career Highlight
Shailene Woodley has embraced her role as Annie in the second season of Paradise, yet she has yet to visit Graceland, the Memphis estate of Elvis Presley that her character knows well.
Reflecting on her swift induction into the series, Woodley shared, “I Zoomed with Dan, and I was on a plane, I think, two or three days later, and we were filming within eight or nine days. So it was a very quick sort of turnaround. There wasn’t a lot of time for preparation or a lot of time to think, which I think actually just allowed for a lot of intuition and instinct to drive Annie and to drive the connections that Annie had.”
Woodley recalled her first scene with Thomas Doherty, who plays the character Link, describing it as “a very intimate moment with one another.” She noted, “Thomas and I didn’t really know each other at all at that point, but because of the set that Dan creates and Sterling creates, everybody is so kind and comfortable. It really just allows… They gave us space to breathe and to exist, and that’s so rare.”
Discussing her chemistry with series star Sterling K. Brown, she added, “What I love about the dynamic between Xavier and Annie is it’s like a love story but without intimacy. I think that’s a very rare thing to see, especially between males and females onscreen. We really got to kind of lean into what does love mean if we’re taking out the labels and the roles that we usually identify love to be or have to be.”
Brown, whom Woodley describes as “the ultimate leader and the ultimate cheerleader,” makes a notable impression on set. “He walks onto a set, and everyone has a smile on their face because he takes the time to look people in the eyes. To come into the second season of a very successful show, he immediately sort of makes everyone feel at home and welcome. And he’s remarkable,” she said.
Woodley reflects on her experience in Paradise as a highlight of her career. “I feel so lucky to be a part of this show. The writing is so extraordinary. Dan and his writers, it’s some of the best writing that I’ve ever been able to kind of breathe life into. Our job is really to just kind of submit to what’s on the page and be present.”
As anticipation builds for the third and final season, the cast remains tight-lipped about the show’s trademark surprises. Julianne Nicholson, who portrays the Machiavellian billionaire Sinatra, spoke on Zoom about the potential for her character’s return, stating, “I mean, anything’s possible in a Dan Fogelman world. I’ll say that, but I am sitting in my home in the south of England right now, so we’ll see.”
Doherty promised that the series will escalate even further, noting, “It’s going to be bigger. I didn’t actually know that it was capable to make it bigger, but it’s going to be bigger.”
Enuka Okuma, who plays Xavier’s wife Teri, added a sense of intrigue regarding the upcoming season: “We can rest assured that it’ll not be what you expect because that’s what Dan does, right? It’ll be bigger and larger, and nothing that you know is coming is coming.”
A panel video featuring the discussion will be available on Monday.
