Gugu Mbatha-Raw & Oliver Jackson-Cohen dive deep on ‘Surface’

Releasing July 29th on Apple TV+ ‘Surface’ tells the story of Sophie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a woman who suffers a traumatic brain injury after an accident.

Suffering from extreme memory loss, Sophie works to piece back her life after questioning everything she’s been told about her life. The series also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Bly Manor) who plays Sophie’s loving husband James or so she believes.

The stars of the series sat down to chat with Dave Morales about the psychological thriller. Gugu Mbatha-Raw tells Morales how the mystery behind the show and its ever-twisting plot drew her to the part.

Surface: Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Questioning Reality

“That was honestly part of what drew me into the show is that you really are kept guessing. Every character, you have one opinion of them and then something happened and it shifts. It keeps you on your toes so trust no one” joked Mbatha-Raw.

Coming from shows like The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is no stranger when it comes to keeping show secrets. So he did his best when summarizing the show’s plot to Morales.

“It’s a psychological thriller about a woman who has had a traumatic brain injury that’s caused memory loss from an accident. So we meet her while she’s trying to piece back together her life,” said Jackson-Cohen.

He added, “Her life appears to be this idyllic life with this devoted husband, this incredible house and they have all this money. And you realize towards the end of the pilot that everything that actually everything she’s been told about her life prior is a lie. Then chaos ensues for several hours.”

Surface: Oliver Jackson-Cohen

What We Take Away

Working on the show and diving deep into her character’s psyche left an impression on Mbatha-Raw as she told Morales. “The experience is going to stick with me, collaborating with all these incredible actors obviously, Stephan, Oliver, Veronic West (show Runner), and Sam Miller (show director). And the incredible experience we had filming in Vancouver and San Francisco.”

“In terms of the character and the story, there’s so much to Sophie, there are so many layers to this story. We are all multifaceted people and I think that that is something that is going to stick with me in terms of relationships, trust, and what we present versus who we are,” remarked Mbatha-Raw.

She added, “I love the idea and one of the themes, if you could start again, would you make all the same choices or would you make other choices? Are we inherently, fatally who we are or does it depend on what we are told about ourselves? How much autonomy do we really have? So there is so much to get your teeth into with this one.”

‘Surface’ starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Oliver Jackson-Cohen is out on Apple TV+ July 29th. 

For all of your movie news be sure to follow BackstageOL on Twitter.