In Apple TV+’s new series, The Crowded Room, star and producer Tom Holland plays Danny Sullivan, a confused young man who is arrested and facing a number of charges that he insists he didn’t commit. The show is adapted and executive produced by filmmaker Akiva Goldsman, inspired by a novel from author Daniel Keyes. Before it started streaming, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Sasha Lane (American Honey, Loki) about co-starring with Holland, transforming New York City, and more.

Set in the 1970s, The Crowded Room is a psychological drama that Lane tells us has “so many twists and turns and mysteries.” It also boasts an ensemble cast that features Holland, Amanda Seyfriend, and Emmy Rossum, and according to Lane, each of them gives a layered, emotional performance. The story is revealed through a series of interviews Danny does with an investigator, Rya Goodwin (Seyfried), while incarcerated. During their discussions, Goodwin, Sullivan and the audience begin to realize that not all is as it seems.
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Lane plays Ariana, a young woman who crosses paths with Danny, and the role wasn’t an easy one to portray. During their interview, which you can watch or read below, the actress tells Weintraub that while off-set, Lane had to destress because she couldn’t “afford to bring that energy to her or to anyone else.” They also discuss transforming a street of New York City into a ‘70s vision, filming a oner, and reflects on sharing scenes with Holland, which she tells us was “a very beautiful thing to be able to witness.” She also talks about joining the cast of the long-overdue sequel, Twisters, and working with director Lee Isaac Chung.

COLLIDER: So I’ve seen the entire series, and I want to say congrats. I’m not going to do any spoilers today, but before I get into it, I always like throwing a curveball at the beginning. For people that have actually never seen anything you’ve done before, what is the first thing you’d like them to watch and why?

SASHA LANE: I did this short, Born in the Maelstrom, that just has a little special place in my heart, and I have no words. It’s just a voiceover, but I don’t know, I think it’s maybe a nice little peek into my type of performance, like what I love to do with performance, which is facial expressions and body language, and all of that. That’s how I choose to communicate versus actual speaking. So maybe that would be something that I’d prefer them to watch first.

What was it about this project that said, “Oh, I need to do this?”

LANE: There’s just so many layers to it. There’s so many twists and turns and mysteries. I’m obsessed with that kind of content, psychological thrillers. There’s also so many layers to each character, to each decision they make, how they choose to say something, how they respond to something, and for me, I felt like I could put a lot of care and passion behind Ariana, and I really couldn’t see myself watching this and not being in it. I had to do it.

Image via Apple TV+

No, completely. This is not a spoiler, but there’s a club scene and there’s a cool oner with you going in, and can you talk a little bit about filming that scene and recreating that time period?

LANE: That was the funnest part in terms of the music being different and learning the kind of choreography of it because it was such a specific kind of movement and setting, and it was also one of the harder scenes. I think we filmed it over a couple of days, and it was really intense, but freeing, and I don’t know, it felt like one of those moments when you’re like, “Oh, we’re making an art piece kind of.” It’s nice.

One of the things about the series that I was really impressed with, is the beginning where it’s in New York City and outside Radio City, and basically taking over New York City and recreating it for the time period. I was stunned by it because that’s like movie-level production, but on TV. Can you sort of talk about those sequences and recreating that time period?

LANE: I had nothing to do with recreating that. So props to the props people and the costume department, and all of that. That is truly incredible, but it’s also kind of funny because you know how fashion kind of repeats itself over time, and we go back, and we bring things forward. So it’s like, sometimes I couldn’t tell, it’s like, “Are you part of the crew or are you part of the cast members, or are you just a girl on the street with some great bell-bottoms or something?” I don’t know. So it was kind of fun, it was also chaotic, so it was just like, “Whoa, what a world!” But honestly, they did an incredible job of pulling that off.

It’s movie quality. I just couldn’t believe the scale and scope of recreating all that in New York City. I mean, that’s not easy.

LANE: No, not at all. So kudos to those guys.

When you think about the shoot, obviously there are going to be days that are tougher than others. Was there a day you had circled in terms of, “Oh, this is gonna be a really challenging day?”

LANE: Yeah. There was a scene where it’s a conversation with Ariana and Danny in a diner, and I guess the contents of it was one of those things where it’s so important to the story and it’s so important to their characters, but it’s also so emotional, or it kind of hit me personally. It’s just one of those things where you just want to do it justice, and you just kind of keep amping yourself up for it, and you have your one shot, you know? So yeah, definitely that.

You and Tom are great together. Tom obviously gave it his all. I mean, he really just… his all. What was it actually like working with someone who’s truly just giving everything of himself to the role?

LANE: I think it’s a very beautiful thing to be able to witness. So many people are gonna be able to watch it and see the outcome of what he did, but to see it in real-time happening, the care and the passion that he put into it, the research, the questioning, the pondering back and forth. I think it’s so special to be able to watch someone create something, and to be in their craft and to be in the zone, and I think he did a truly wonderful job.

Image via Apple TV+

I love learning about the behind-the-scenes, the making of things, so is there anything that you think soon-to-be fans of the series would be surprised to learn about the actual making of the show?

LANE: I don’t know, but I think in general the making of something is so different and so much crazier than the actual product itself. It’s like, you know what it takes to recreate a Rockefeller scene in the ‘70s, a simple walk down the street, the diner, switching that up. Like that already is just… So many people worked so hard to be able to bring that world to now. Everyone, I think, just did such a wonderful job. And the paintings, you know, having someone make these, this artwork that is Danny’s artwork. It’s just every thought-out thing is just… I have mad respect for everyone who worked on that.

I’m actually pretty excited for the Twisters just because Lee [Isaac Chung] is directing it, which is unusual, I never thought Lee would do it. So what was it about the script or story, or was it Lee that said, “Oh, I want to do this?”

LANE: A big part of it was Lee, and just kind of his thoughts on it and what he wanted to do with that. And then also, I’m a huge fan of Twister, so to then be a part of this sequel is, like, easy. Like, bet, let’s do it, you know? I really like my character, so, yeah, I’m excited.

Image via The Des Moines Register

When you’re playing a role like Ariana, how hard is it for you when you leave set to let go for the day and go back to who you are, and how much do you keep some of Ariana around during a shoot so she’s always close?

LANE: I think someone like Ariana, I think I’ve gotten better at stepping out of my character sooner than I used to. I also think my circumstances now, with my daughter and everything, I can’t really afford to bring that energy to her or to anyone else, you know? But I still need to respect myself and say, “You need a come-down period. You need to naturally destress yourself of this character and just kind of shut her out.” And so, you know, I’m a big fan of using music to get into character, and so that’s what I choose to do, but it, I feel, would be dangerous to keep her around me when I’m just by myself or with my family and friends. So I try to recognize that that’s a character and I don’t need to put her baggage on me every second of the day.

The Crowded Room premieres on Apple TV+ on June 9. You can watch Collider’s interview with Amanda Seyfried below.