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Taylor Sheridan‘s The Madison portrays a family in mourning with all the messiness, questions, tears, and anger that come in the aftermath of losing someone you love. As Paige McIntosh neé Clyburn, newcomer Elle Chapman delivers a layered performance as a daughter who must learn to navigate life with her now-broken mother, Stacy Clyburn (Michelle Pfeiffer) and without her beloved father, Preston Clyburn (Kurt Russell). Paige leans on her husband, Russell McIntosh, brought to life by Suits star Patrick J. Adams, who abandons his Wall Street job to accompany the family to Montana in their time of need. Along for the ride is their niece, Bridgett (Amiah Miller).
While the series is heavy with the characters’ grief, Paige’s and Russell’s dynamic brings some much-needed lightness to the proceedings. Chapman and Adams worked to establish how these two very different people could have ended up together. “We decided that they were at a Soho House type place,” said Adams thoughtfully. “And his friends maybe dared him to talk to her.” Chapman believes Paige would have found his nervousness to be “adorable.” She also thinks that Russell “might be” the last good man left in New York City.
As a husband, son-in-law and brother-in-law, Russell takes on the difficult task of supporting his new family during this most devastating time. “This shattering event in the Clyburns’ lives provides him an opportunity to really show up for the people that he loves,” said Adams. “He makes a mess of it, but he’s still really wants to help.” Adams notes that “it’s scary to show up for people when you have no idea how to do anything,” but Russell does so anyways. “I thought that that was a pretty unique and special thing about him.”
The trio spoke to Decider during a press junket to talk about the series, praise their on-set matriarch, and more.
DECIDER: Patrick and Elle, we know Russell and Paige have been married for 2 years, but I’m fascinated to know how they met. Do you think they had a meet cute?
PATRICK J. ADAMS: [Laughs] We were just talking about that. We decided that they met at a Soho House type place.
ELLE CHAPMAN: Somewhere swanky that has a private membership. PA: And his friends maybe dared him to talk to her because he would have never usually approached someone who looks like Paige. They’re like, “go on, do it!” And Russell was like, “I’m gonna fail bomb.”
EC: And she finds it adorable.
PA: Maybe secretly adorable [laughs]. Suddenly, he has a date with her, and he has no idea what to do. I think he constantly feels like she is a little out of his league.
Russell steps up for Paige and the Clyburns without any hesitation or complaining. Is he the last good man left in New York City?
EC: He might be [Laughs]
Patrick, how did this family earn his loyalty, besides the obvious?
PA: Russell is a man looking for a family, but also looking for a community. This shattering event in the Clyburns’ lives provides him an opportunity to really show up for the people that he loves, even though he doesn’t quite know how to do that. He makes a mess of it, but he still really wants to help. There is no doubt in his mind that he is going on this trip with these people to this place to be with them in their time of need.
That was what drew me to the character, because otherwise he was just a bit useless [laughs]. It’s scary to show up for people when you have no idea how to do anything. It would be a lot easier for him to say: “Let me know what you need. I’ll stay home and hold down the fort and go to my job.” But he’s like, “no, I’m going to be here for—not just her— all of them.” I thought that that was a unique and special thing about him.
Amiah, Bridgett, and Macy are left with their Uncle Russell and Aunt Paige quite a bit. How did you and your on-screen sister Alaina Pollack build that bond with Patrick and Elle?
AMIAH MILLER: Oh my gosh, it was the easiest thing ever. They are all truly so special. Alaina is also the best. She truly has become my little sister. I’ve always wanted one, and now I have one.
PA: A lot of Mario Kart.
EC: A lot of dinner parties.
AM: We did play a lot of Mario Kart [laughs]. We hung out a lot on the weekends. I feel like we had great chemistry as an on-set family, and you can really see that on-screen.
Elle, over the course of 3 episodes, Elle is punched by a stranger and by her sister and is stung on her nether regions by a buttload of hornets! Which scene was the hardest to film?
EC: That New York punch scene! I flew to New York to shoot that. I was very nervous because this is my first TV show. There have been a lot of firsts for me [laughs]. I went from shooting in these sweeping mountains where it was quiet to being in the crazy bustle of NYC with all these people walking by. I remember it was very early in the day, and I had to do a stunt. I was so nervous that I did slip on the ground and fall. So, when you see me fall in the show, that’s a real fall and they just kept the cameras rolling.
Of course, as soon as the cameras cut, a medic immediately ran over to check me over. I was fine. I just tweaked my wrist, but I immediately was like, “did we get it?” They said, “yeah, we did it. It looks awesome.” [Laughs] That scene was difficult mentally and physically in the end, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Last question. Obviously, Michelle Pfeffier is such a force in this series. What makes her such a dream #1 on the call sheet?
PA: She’s just so present for everybody. She’s such a pro. She’s been through the script a million times. She knows everything. She knows what she’s shooting tomorrow and the next day. She’s asking questions ahead of time, but then she just shows up and pivots into the moment. We talk about doing that a lot in our business, but it’s really hard to do, especially when you have as much to do in the show as Michelle does. It’s a real lesson for us.
AM: Michelle truly just radiates light and brings a depth to Stacy that anchors the whole show. Yeah. She’s so special.
EC: She’s so kind.
PA: Yeah, she wants everybody to succeed.
The first 3 episodes of The Madison are now streaming on Paramount+
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Photo: Emerson Miller/Paramount+
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