The ‘Pirate Lady’ of ‘Pluribus’ on What It’s Like Playing the Whole World in One Character

If you’ve watched the first two episodes of Pluribus, you know Apple TV has another sci-fi sensation on its hands. The latest series from Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The X-Files) imagines that the entire world has suddenly become joined in a single hive mind, with only a few exceptions, including Carol (Rhea Seehorn). Though (almost) the entire world would very much like Carol to become part of “the Joining,†she’s extremely reluctant—even when “the Others†rustle up a very special chaperone to attend to her various needs.

That person is Zosia, played by Karolina Wydra, who’s selected for the job because she resembles a female version of the swashbuckling hero of Carol’s romantasy books. Her good looks are distracting, but Zosia is also frequently the target of Carol’s rage. Except she’s not, because Zosia contains multitudes. A conversation with Zosia is a conversation with the entire world, something that Wydra approached very carefully as an actor.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Wydra explained the mindset she brought to her performance. Bringing things down to scale was important.

“It’s too big to imagine playing the whole world,†she said. “We would have conversations of who they are, and then I would tackle what was needed for each scene. I also did a lot of meditation in order to go in that state where you feel at one with the world, [and] did a lot of body work to feel content and at peace so that Zosia wasn’t affected by whatever Carol was throwing at her.â€

Zosia’s emotional capabilities have obviously been fundamentally altered. “Zosia believes the Joining needs to be experienced because it’s so good and blissful. Whenever Carol is struggling, Zosia has to have that in mind, so that, in due time, Carol will also experience this, hopefully. So it was really challenging at times to watch somebody have their emotional journey and not be able to go on it. I just had to trust that what I’m doing is not too robotic, and find that sweet spot that ‘the Others’ live in.â€

Wyrda told THR she didn’t delve too deeply into who Zosia was prior to the Joining, preferring to focus on the character’s current state of being. And while she understands that Seehorn’s character is the “hero†of Pluribus, she doesn’t necessarily think that makes villains out of Zosia and the Others.

“If you ask Zosia, there’s a belief she lives by, and it’s that they have a biological imperative to spread the virus,†Wyrda explained. “Somebody might think that’s manipulative or villainous, but they really believe what they’re experiencing is worth experiencing. With Carol, Zosia already knows what it’s like to be her, but Carol doesn’t know what it’s like to be them. So the idea of Carol being a hero is based on her belief that fighting for individuality is more important. They both have two great points of view, and the perspective of who is the hero depends on how you are looking at it.â€

Pluribus drops new episodes Fridays on Apple TV.

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