David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer are making the personal, professional.
The longtime Hollywood couple worked together for the first time on “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” a new Apple TV series that stars Elle Fanning as a young, single mother turning to OnlyFans to combat mounting childcare costs.
Pfeiffer plays Margo’s mother, Shyanne, a former Hooters waitress itching for a new reputation with her religious boyfriend (Greg Kinnear). Kelley, the creator of shows like “Big Little Lies” and “Ally McBeal,” had his wife of 32 years in mind for the part when he first dove into the 2024 novel by Rufi Thorpe.
“I had read the book and could only see her as Shyanne,” Kelley tells USA TODAY. “Fortunately, it didn’t take a lot of convincing because I gave the book to her and she responded to the character of Shyanne as well.”
Hollywood couple David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer worked together on ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’
When Pfeiffer read the book on her husband’s suggestion, it was “love at first sight,” she says. The actress grew up in Orange County, not far from where the book is set in Fullerton, California.
“I know this woman. It’s just really exciting, I think it’s the first time I played something so familiar from my background, my upbringing,” Pfeiffer tells USA TODAY. “I love playing complex characters. She’s bold and she’s flamboyant and she’s crass at times, but also, incredibly, has a lot of pride and is fragile underneath it all. And I love playing characters who are flawed.”
Kelley, talking separately with producer Eva Anderson, said Pfeiffer’s performance was a “home run for all of us.”
“We were all thrilled with the way she brought Shyanne to life,” Kelley says. “That’s just not an easy role to play. She comes out of the gate in many scenes with some anger, she could easily be dismissed as an antagonist, but you never felt for a second that she wasn’t coming from a place of love at the same time. You can write that on the page, but when it comes to acting it and portraying it, you’re really relying on the skillset of the actor.”
Anderson quips she was impressed that Pfeiffer never “pulled the wife card” and was “a consummate professional” on set. Kelley said Pfeiffer’s skill spared them some professional (and perhaps marital) friction.
“You can see how good she was in it, so I didn’t have a lot of notes,” Kelley says. “I always knew she was good at what she did. I’ve seen her work and she’s pretty good at this. But I have to say, this was the first time that I ever watched her on screen interpreting material that I had done or we had done. So I now could see what she did with the words as opposed to just looking at her in the movie and seeing the role for itself. Now I’m seeing an interpretation of the material and the little things that she did as Shyanne and with Shyanne. I was pretty impressed.”
Sitting in a separate interview with co-star Fanning, Pfeiffer grows emotional when she hears about the flowers Kelley gave her performance, turning to put a hand on Fanning’s shoulder: “He never talks like that!”
“He’s always been incredibly supportive, but he has been more flattering than typical,” Pfeiffer says. “I was very nervous because, I mean, he writes so beautifully – his characters always, from ‘Boston Legal’ to ‘Ally McBeal,’ especially women. And I’ve watched his shows over the years and been so envious. And I’ll turn to him every now and then and go ‘I just hope these actors know how lucky they are to say these words.’ … Of all the people on the planet, I did not want to disappoint him.”
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