Betsy Brandt Depicts Despair as Claire in Motion

What would it be like to be married to someone who heads out on a hike and never comes home? That’s the haunting premise of the psychological thriller, Claire in Motion, in theaters and on-demand this month. And it’s Betsy Brandt, who played the inimitable Marie Schrader in AMC’s Breaking Bad and currently plays Heather Hughes in CBS’ Life in Pieces, who brings incredible emotion and humanity to the lead role. As Claire Hunger, a math professor unwilling to give up the search for her husband, also a professor who has no shortage of troubling secrets, Brandt finds out that some secrets can be revealed and some will forever remain hidden. Parade sat down with Brandt to find out what it took to tap into the role and much more.

You do an incredible job depicting Claire’s despair. Did you do a ton of research after you were cast?

I did some, but I just really try and be true to whatever character I’m playing. I also think Claire’s different than I am. She’s a math professor. She likes concrete answers and who doesn’t when someone you love is missing. Whether I’m doing a comedy or drama I try to put myself in my character’s shoes and let it be honest and believable.

The film is also about not knowing the ones we love.

Everything Claire thought was sure doesn’t turn out to be that way and the film goes a step further: Claire has to realize that she doesn’t know everything she thought she knew about her life and then take responsibility for her role in that. The longer her husband’s gone and she’s there with her own thoughts, she has to take responsibility. Not everybody does that but she does and that’s what gets her to a new place.

Were there any challenges to playing Claire?

I chose the role because I wanted something wildly different from the sitcom pilot I shot and the script really spoke to me. Still, I had been working a lot and I have two kids so I begged them to keep the shoot under a month. I said ‘work me crazy hours’ so long as my part could be done in under four weeks. The film is set in a small college town in Ohio and, after four weeks shooting there, I felt like the chasm between me and Claire was very small. When I saw the film, it all came together and I was thankful for the experience. It paid off but it was hard. I felt like I was on edge the entire time!

What was it like to shoot in a small town?

I went to the University of Illinois, which is a huge fantastic university that’s basically in the middle of a corn field. You’d get people in this town who would never live there except that the university is there. We shot this film in Athens, Ohio, which is a sweet, quirky college town, too. It’s an anomaly to live somewhere like that and it’s really specific to college towns, especially in the Midwest.

How do you pick your roles?

I don’t do it alone. The first thing I always do is think about what I need as an actor and what moves me. My team will advise me—they’re the ones who do the vetting and decide if a project is worth the time and effort. They were so impressed with Lisa Robinson and Annie Howell who wrote and directed the movie and, once I got on the phone with them, I knew I wanted to do it. It’s no secret, but most often you’re not working with women, especially in films. It was just a privilege working with them. They’re so good.

What else does 2017 have in store for you?

Hopefully Quest, this great little movie I worked on with Lou Diamond Phillips, will come out. Then I have something that I think will end up on TV called Fanatic. I shot that in Canada last summer. I go back to Life in Pieces and I finish in March and we’re looking at other films and plays. After that, I’m considering taking a little time off. I’d like to be home with my 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son for a bit. I say that and then something fantastic will come along that I’ll want to work on!