Mystery crime dramas are one of my favorite genres of movies or shows and towards the middle of January. Hulu dipped their hand in this currently burgeoning field that has recently given us such classic mystery crime dramas as the Daniel Craig, Edward Norton and Janelle Monáe led Netflix film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. With, Death and Other Details. A 10-part mini-series that focuses on Rufus Cotesworth and Imogene Scott being aboard a luxury cruise liner where a mysterious locked-room murder takes place and Rufus, who was once regarded as, “the world’s greatest detective”. Is pitted with trying to solve this murder mystery about his assistant who was murdered. While Imogene, who’s mother died 20 years earlier and Rufus was put on the case to solve when she was younger, but unceremoniously quit. Is now somewhat relaquently trying to help Rufus solve the case that links back to her mother’s murder by, Victor Sams. Who is also linked to this current case as well. Just when you think you know who murdered who and who Sams is, the show keeps you on your toes each week and sometimes even second and third guessing yourself on who is really who. One of the main characters in the show, who plays a huge part in it all outside of Rufus and Imogene is, Leila. Who is Anna Collier’s paranoid wife and a former clickbait journalist that’s suffering to identify who she is after a traumatic car accident. Leila is played by actress, Pardis Saremi. Who I recently got a chance to briefly talk with about the show, what it was like playing the character, her chemistry with Chicago’s very own Lauren Patten, who plays Anna on the show and some other things we can expect from her. Among a few topics during our brief chat.
Nello for TheHipHopDemocrat.com: Hey Pardis, my name is Nello Rubio with TheHipHopDemocrat.com. How are you doing today?
Pardis Saremi: I am good and doing ok, though I’m actually just still getting over having COVID recently.
Nello: Oh, hopefully you are doing a little better. I was actually ready to talk to you about the new show, Death and Other Details, you are apart of. The show itself is like a mystery drama type thriller in the vein of the Knives Out movies. That is constantly having the audience trying to solve and figure out who the murderer is of this murder that happened. When you first heard about or got offered to do this. Was it something that interested you right away?
Pardis Saremi: Absolutely, I love a murder mystery. I think it’s so fun. The funny thing is that when I auditioned. Obviously I didn’t know who did it or the entire storyline they gave us so little. But when I booked it and went into the writers room to meet everybody. That was the first time Heidi (Cole McAdams) and Mike (Weiss)(who are the creators of the show) sort of laid out the entire storyline and the character arcs and everything. It was so mind blowing. That is when I really got on board because they wrote such an intricate story. It was so impressive and I think honestly took me week’s to wrap my head around. But I was so excited to get on regardless. Just getting to do this sort of genre stuff is just so fun.
Nello: I’m a big fan of it too, myself. I think part of it is me being a writer myself and seeing how a lot of the writers are able to bring stuff out through the actors and the cast with you guys like that. What is your thoughts on that?
Pardis Saremi: Yeah, they just wrote such incredible characters that they made the job just really easy for us. As well as just so much fun.
Nello: Playing off that a little bit. Your character is a journalist that goes to school for journalism. Then not really wanting to do so becomes a clickbait journalist. So what where your thoughts when you seen that and read that part of the script?
Pardis Saremi: I mean I think that’s all part of Leila’s journey. Her biggest thing is feeling like she’s not taken seriously and it’s ultimately what tears up her marriage. She feels like she loses that support that she had from Anna. When Anna was really the only person in the world who took her seriously. That is kind of reflected in her career too and that she just wanted to be a journalist, but she sort of got placed into or fell into being a clickbait journalist. I don’t think it’s something she is proud of, but kind of just accepted about the world and the way that it views her.
Nello: Yeah, think the funny and kind of ironic thing about it as I’ve watched it and been watching it. Is how it mirrors unfortunately the direction that journalism has gone over the past 10-15 year’s or so. Where a lot of people when you go into journalism, like even myself. You go into it wanting to tell these stories and get all these facts straight, but sometimes there is only jobs like that. That you don’t want to take where it’s clickbait things like that.
Pardis Saremi: Yeah, I think that says something about the state of the world. I thinkn people have very short attention spans and if things aren’t entertaining. I don’t know that people gravite towards those things unfortunately. But yeah that is very much reflected in her career and I think just in being a woman that field. Is just another layer added to everything that is already going on in that environment.
Nello: Your character playing Anna’s wife. What was the chemistry and dynamic of that with you and Lauren on set?
Pardis Saremi: Yeah, definitely. I love Lauren. We met before filming. She was in LA. We met up, hung out and just hit it off immediately. We were so fortune too. She’s just so wonderful. I honestly don’t know anybody that wouldn’t get along with her. We just hit it off though and she is just so lovely. I just love her so much.
Nello: Yeah the funny thing that I learned not to long ago. Is that Lauren is actually from Chicago and we are based here in Chicago too.
Pardis Saremi: Oh yeah Lauren is from Chicago. She is a Chicago theater kid.
Nello: Besides Lauren, of the other cast you were able to work with. How was the chemistry with the other parts of the cast you were able to work with?
Pardis Saremi: I think we all got along just great. We were all just honestly. It felt like a group of friends getting together to shoot something. We all hit it off really quickly. There’s just something about being away from home all together and you just connect really quickly. Whenever we weren’t filming. The rest of us were just sort of hanging out. It was such a fun time. It was great and we are all still close and keep in touch.
Nello: It did seem as I watched and have continued to watch. How a lot of you in the cast do really connect with each other and you can tell it on screen. Would you be open if they decided to do another season or something similar to it?
Pardis Saremi: Absolutely I would love to do another season. I love the entire team. Not just the cast. I mean absolutely the cast is just great cause those are my friends now and Violet (Beane) (who plays Imogene) lives right down the street from me. But even getting to work with Heidi and Mike and the writers again. Would be such a dream. I really loved working with them.
Nello: This is your first really big TV show that you’ve done. I know that you have done one or two movies besides that. Do you like doing TV or movies more or you just really like doing both?
Pardis Saremi: I love doing both. My preference in terms of filming. Probably movies cause I feel you can just kind of dive in for a shorter amount of time. It’s much more intense and you kind of knock it out in a shorter period of time. Where as with TV it’s a longer story and it just takes a bit longer. I think the way I work, I prefer working in intense short spurts. Rather than stretched out. So just based off the shooting schedule I would say a movie.
Nello: Besides working on, Death and Other Details, is there any other shows or movies you were working on or going to be working on soon?
Pardis Saremi: Yeah, actually before I left for Vancouver to film the show. I ended up booking a movie called, A Hell of a Summer. We filmed that out in Toronto. Just the month before I left and it was all last second, but it was so much fun and so different. It was like a campy kind of horror comedy. Much more tailored to like a young Gen-Z audience and I had so much fun with that. That just came out at TIFF this last year. So we will see what comes of that, but such a different filming experience. So fun regardless.
Nello: I know this Tuesday’s upcoming new episode is going to be the third to last episode of this season’s current 10 episode format. I know from watching it and I’m sure everyone else watching it too. It’s kind of kept everyone guessing on what’s going on and what will eventually happen in the end. How has it been for you and some of the rest of the cast and writer’s seeing it all unfold as the audience has watched along?
Pardis Saremi: It has been a lot of watching along. Really the only medium I have has been through social media. But I have had a lot of people reach out and express their love for the character. Which is so nice. People are much more encouraging than you would expect them to be on social media. But people are really loving it and a lot of hilarious guesses. Some really good ones and some not even really close. It’s so fun and I think that has been the most fun part. Just reading all the theories and having even some family and friends even texting me with theories. That has been the best part. Hands down.
Nello: Besides, A Hell of a Summer, which you already mentioned is there any other movies and/or projects you were working on or going to be. That the audience and readers can look forward to and is there social media or any other ways they can reach out to you?
Pardis Saremi: No other projects currently and just Instagram. I am only on Instagram @paradeees. Fingers crossed about Season 2.