Posted in: Hulu, TV | Tagged: Murdaugh: Death in the Family

Murdaugh: Berchtold & Harrison on Addressing "Mind-Blowing" Tragedy

Murdaugh: Death in the Family stars Johnny Berchtold and Will Harrison discussed adapting the tragic story, the showrunners, and more.

It's easy to get intimidated when it comes to joining an all-star ensemble like Hulu's Murdaugh: Death in the Family, but thanks to the leadership of creators Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr and leads Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, and Gerald McRaney; Johnny Berchtold (Reacher) and Will Harrison (Daisy Jones & The Six), who play sons Paul and Buster Murdaugh, respectively, were able to shoulder their share of the burden as part of a family's tragic fall from grace. The true crime drama follows one of South Carolina's most influential families and a series of unfortunate events that unraveled from a boat crash accident that claimed the life of a young woman, ultimately leading to murder and subsequent trial. Berchtold and Harrison spoke to Bleeding Cool about getting into the headspace of Alex (Clarke) and Maggie's (Arquette) sons, Fuller and Carr's guidance, and their more seasoned cast members' leadership.

Murdaugh: Death in the Family Stars Johnny Berchtold and Will Harrison as Playing Paul and Buster Murdaugh

BC: What intrigued you about playing Paul and Buster Murdaugh?

Berchtold: The story is so wild and expansive. There's so much I can imagine that is going through these characters' heads, and so with our versions, it was about finding the nuance in these figures a lot of people have strong opinions about and trying to understand where a lot of those things come from.

Harrison: Yeah, the story is mind-blowing. Every time something happens, you think that's going to be the most insane thing that happens, and then it goes one step further, so having the opportunity to exist within that story as an actor is exciting. There's also an immense sense of responsibility that comes with it, being inspired by actual events. It's a strange thing to juggle that excitement and weight, but it was for me a no-brainer of a project to participate in, also because of the people involved.

What did you like about working with Erin and Michael as creatives?

Berchtold: They're legends. I remember meeting them for the first time, already familiar with their work. I knew this story was in good hands because I was familiar with the case and story. I saw who was going to be making it, and I was like, "Okay, so it's coming from a real place of care and respect."

Harrison: Totally.

Berchtold: They're the coolest people and care so much, not to mention, knowledgeable too.

Harrison: Yeah, they had brought an insane amount of research for us to dig through. I remember when I hopped on the phone with Michael when I was first auditioning, because some of the later episodes weren't available for me to read. He took me through, and the care with which he spoke about the project, characters, arcs, and the attention he spoke about, put me at ease and made me feel like I was going to be in good hands.

Berchtold: They were extremely collaborative, where they would ask us to, like, "Well, what do you think?" I was like, "I don't know." You don't always get that.

You're surrounded by so many legends like Jason [Clarke], Patricia [Arquette], and Gerald [McRaney]. Is there anything that you picked up from them as actors that helped build that Murdaugh family dynamic?

Berchtold: Everything? [laughs]

Harrison: Yeah. They're such pros. It was a total master class on set every day.

Berchtold: Yeah. They did this. Something that I noticed and was so amazing to me was how giving they were. When it wasn't on their coverage, when the camera wasn't pointing at them, but it was pointing at us, they would not only do what they were doing on camera, they would go above and beyond to make sure we had the tools to be able to give the performance that we wanted to in a collaborative sense. It was incredible, and I'm going to take that with me forever. It was so inspiring.

The first three episodes of Murdaugh: Death in the Family, which also stars Brittany Snow, J. Smith-Cameron, Tyner Rushing, Kathleen Wilhoite, and Tommy Dewey, are available on Hulu with new episodes streaming Wednesdays through November 19th.

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