Emmy Rossum is no stranger to playing complex and challenging roles, but her latest one might raise some eyebrows. The 36-year-old actress stars as Candy, the mother of Tom Holland’s character Danny Sullivan, in the new Apple TV+ miniseries The Crowded Room. The catch? Rossum is only 10 years older than Holland in real life.
But Rossum is not bothered by the age gap, and she has a good reason for it. “It makes sense when I read the script,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “Candy’s a super young mom, she’s almost a child in her own right when she becomes pregnant at age 16. You watch as I age from 25 to 35, which is actually younger than I am now.”
The Crowded Room is a psychological thriller based on a true story of a man who is arrested after a shooting in New York City in 1979 and interrogated by a detective who helps him understand his own mental health and past trauma. Holland plays Danny Sullivan, an antisocial teen who is suspected of being involved in the incident. Rossum plays his mother Candy, who has a close and complicated relationship with her son.
Rossum said she was drawn to the script by the bond between mother and son and the themes of love, empathy and mental health. “I fell in love with the relationship between mother and son and the closeness and everything that they’re grieving in later episodes,” she said. “I was so taken with the series and really just loved all my scenes, especially with young Danny [played by Zachary Golinger]. Our relationship was so beautiful and so I knew everything that we had that I had lost in the scenes with Tom. [It] was really fun.”
Holland, who also serves as an executive producer on the show, described it as a story that will take viewers on twists and turns and lead to a miraculous conclusion. “It’s a story about heartbreak. It’s a story about love. It’s a story about betrayal. And, most of all, it’s a story about a young kid’s determination to survive,” he told EW.
The show also delves into mental health and psychological trauma, which Rossum said spoke to her as a mother herself. She revealed that she found out she was pregnant with her son while filming the show and said it brought up a lot of emotions and reflections on her own upbringing and expectations. “Finding out during our last couple episodes that I was pregnant with my son, who was born eight weeks ago, it brings up a lot about our imperfections as people, the unrealistic expectations that we place on ourselves, and how we are really just a product of our own upbringings,” she said. “I think the show has a lot to say about love and empathy and understanding of those who are different than we are.”
The Crowded Room is an anthology series that will explore the true and inspirational stories of those who have struggled and learned to successfully live with mental illness, according to Apple TV+. The show also stars Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Lior Raz, Jason Isaacs, Christopher Abbott and Thomas Sadoski.
The Crowded Room premieres on June 9 on Apple TV+.
Relevant articles:
– Emmy Rossum defends playing Tom Holland’s mom while being just 10 years older than him, Entertainment Weekly, June 05, 2023
– Emmy Rossum On Playing Tom Holland’s Mom In ‘The Crowded Room’ While Only Being 10 Years Older, Deadline, June 05, 2023
– Emmy Rossum Opens Up About Playing Tom Holland’s Mom Despite Questionable Age Gap, Yahoo, June 06, 2023
– Emmy Rossum Plays Tom Holland’s Mom Despite 10 Year Age Gap, MSN, June 06, 2023