NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Annette Bening channels a complicated crime boss in Apple TV\u2019s Lucky<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n\n
The decorated actress tells PEOPLE what intrigued her about the character of Priscilla Masterson and working alongside costar Anya Taylor-Joy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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\u201c\u201dIt feels new to me to play a woman of my age, 68, who\u2019s in this dilemma,\u201d she says<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Annette Bening<\/a> has never embodied a character quite like Priscilla Masterson before.<\/p>\nThe Lucky<\/em> star, who plays crime boss Priscilla in the new Apple TV thriller, tells PEOPLE that her latest gig feels fresh for good reason \u2014 even after four decades of performances that have earned her Oscar nominations, Golden Globes and Emmys.<\/p>\n\u201cIt feels new to me to play a woman of my age, 68, who\u2019s in this dilemma, who still feels under the thumb of this guy who she has felt under the thumb of her entire life almost,\u201d Bening says of her character\u2019s dynamic with fellow criminal Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner). \u201cShe\u2019s made so many bad choices and she\u2019s also been … Bad things have happened to her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nAnnette Bening in \u2018Lucky\u2019Credit: Apple TV<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\nLucky<\/em> is based on author Marissa Stapley\u2019s bestseller of the same name and follows Anya Taylor-Joy<\/a>\u2018s titular character as her \u201cmulti-million-dollar heist goes sideways,\u201d leaving her to fight off both the FBI and a \u201cruthless crime boss,\u201d per a synopsis from Apple TV. It also stars Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Clifton Collins Jr. and Drew Starkey<\/a>, who plays Priscilla\u2019s son and Lucky\u2019s love interest, Cary.<\/p>\nAs Bening puts it, Priscilla \u2014 who wants a piece of the on-the-run Lucky just as much as the authorities do \u2014 \u201cborders on sociopathic.\u201d It\u2019s all \u201cvery interesting\u201d to show on screen, she says. \u201cI hope you see there\u2019s [other] parts of her. She loves her son. She wants the best for him, but then, she\u2019s also someone who\u2019s willing to do really horrible things to him and use him in a way,\u201d she explains. \u201cI found all of those contradictions really interesting and fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite her hard shell, and her desire to make Lucky pay for how she\u2019s been wronged, Priscilla is ultimately \u201cterrified,\u201d Bening adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like she wants everything from Lucky, but she also really admires her and kind of feels intimidated by her,\u201d she says of their characters\u2019 dynamic. \u201cI guess the more intimidated she feels, the more she tries to lash out and get what she needs. In some ways, she feels like Lucky has something that she always wanted that she never actually had \u2014 that she\u2019s successful in a way that Priscilla envies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Anya](\"https:\/\/hermes.media.static.aol.com\/media\/2026\/07\/16\/b267d408-9fca-3611-b96b-4cd9f11c4df9\/e1fad76d-ad60-4fa6-aefd-cc94b0c24dbf.jpg\"\/)
<\/div>\nAnya Taylor-Joy in Apple TV\u2019s \u2018Lucky\u2019Credit: Jessica Brooks\/Apple TV<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
After wrapping her role as ranch owner Beulah Jackson in season 1 of <\/a>Dutton Ranch<\/em><\/a>, Lucky<\/em> left Bening \u201creally intrigued\u201d when she first learned of the story.<\/p>\n\u201cIt sounded like it was going to have a very stylish bent,\u201d she says. \u201cSo much of it, when you\u2019re in a story, it\u2019s like, what\u2019s around you? How is it going to be fashioned around you? I knew it was Anya Taylor-Joy, and she\u2019s so incredible. I mean, what a presence on screen, and Aunjanue Ellis and Tim Olyphant. I mean, it\u2019s all about the people really… It just sounded kind of intriguing, and it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor-Joy, 30, tells PEOPLE that working alongside Bening allowed her to pick up some \u201clittle actor things\u201d from her, too. \u201cAnytime we did a scene together, I was always just reminded, oh yeah, Annette Bening, the GOAT,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Annette Bening channels a complicated crime boss in Apple TV\u2019s Lucky<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The decorated actress tells PEOPLE what intrigued her about the character of Priscilla Masterson and working alongside costar Anya Taylor-Joy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n \u201c\u201dIt feels new to me to play a woman of my age, 68, who\u2019s in this dilemma,\u201d she says<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Annette Bening<\/a> has never embodied a character quite like Priscilla Masterson before.<\/p>\n The Lucky<\/em> star, who plays crime boss Priscilla in the new Apple TV thriller, tells PEOPLE that her latest gig feels fresh for good reason \u2014 even after four decades of performances that have earned her Oscar nominations, Golden Globes and Emmys.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels new to me to play a woman of my age, 68, who\u2019s in this dilemma, who still feels under the thumb of this guy who she has felt under the thumb of her entire life almost,\u201d Bening says of her character\u2019s dynamic with fellow criminal Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner). \u201cShe\u2019s made so many bad choices and she\u2019s also been … Bad things have happened to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Annette Bening in \u2018Lucky\u2019Credit: Apple TV<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Lucky<\/em> is based on author Marissa Stapley\u2019s bestseller of the same name and follows Anya Taylor-Joy<\/a>\u2018s titular character as her \u201cmulti-million-dollar heist goes sideways,\u201d leaving her to fight off both the FBI and a \u201cruthless crime boss,\u201d per a synopsis from Apple TV. It also stars Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Clifton Collins Jr. and Drew Starkey<\/a>, who plays Priscilla\u2019s son and Lucky\u2019s love interest, Cary.<\/p>\n As Bening puts it, Priscilla \u2014 who wants a piece of the on-the-run Lucky just as much as the authorities do \u2014 \u201cborders on sociopathic.\u201d It\u2019s all \u201cvery interesting\u201d to show on screen, she says. \u201cI hope you see there\u2019s [other] parts of her. She loves her son. She wants the best for him, but then, she\u2019s also someone who\u2019s willing to do really horrible things to him and use him in a way,\u201d she explains. \u201cI found all of those contradictions really interesting and fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite her hard shell, and her desire to make Lucky pay for how she\u2019s been wronged, Priscilla is ultimately \u201cterrified,\u201d Bening adds.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like she wants everything from Lucky, but she also really admires her and kind of feels intimidated by her,\u201d she says of their characters\u2019 dynamic. \u201cI guess the more intimidated she feels, the more she tries to lash out and get what she needs. In some ways, she feels like Lucky has something that she always wanted that she never actually had \u2014 that she\u2019s successful in a way that Priscilla envies.\u201d<\/p>\n Anya Taylor-Joy in Apple TV\u2019s \u2018Lucky\u2019Credit: Jessica Brooks\/Apple TV<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n After wrapping her role as ranch owner Beulah Jackson in season 1 of <\/a>Dutton Ranch<\/em><\/a>, Lucky<\/em> left Bening \u201creally intrigued\u201d when she first learned of the story.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounded like it was going to have a very stylish bent,\u201d she says. \u201cSo much of it, when you\u2019re in a story, it\u2019s like, what\u2019s around you? How is it going to be fashioned around you? I knew it was Anya Taylor-Joy, and she\u2019s so incredible. I mean, what a presence on screen, and Aunjanue Ellis and Tim Olyphant. I mean, it\u2019s all about the people really… It just sounded kind of intriguing, and it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor-Joy, 30, tells PEOPLE that working alongside Bening allowed her to pick up some \u201clittle actor things\u201d from her, too. \u201cAnytime we did a scene together, I was always just reminded, oh yeah, Annette Bening, the GOAT,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>