Connie Britton On Playing Bad Girl Faye Resnick on ‘The People V. O.J. Simpson’: ‘I Never Judge A Character’

Connie Britton just finished up her final scenes as Faye Resnick on FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson, and it’s safe to say it was a side of the Nashville star fans aren’t used to seeing. In a new interview with Vulture, Connie said she spent lot of time studying Resnick on video and in photos to prepare for the role of the late Nicole Brown Simpson’s friend, and she even read the Beverly Hills socialite’s scathing tell-all book to help herself get into character.

“Obviously, there were things that are more recent, but I wanted to stay as close to that period as I could, because I think as we all evolve, sure, she’s a different person now. I really want to have that version of Faye in my mind, and I read the book that she wrote about Nicole. It was a very incendiary book that caused all this trouble, which was awesome. I felt so decadent that I had the excuse to read that book.”

While these days Resnick is often seen on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (she’s best friends with one of the Bravo reality show’s stars, Kyle Richards), Connie Britton made sure not to confuse the RHOBH Faye with the mid-’90s version. In 1994, Resnick made headlines for her salacious tell-all book that detailed her friendship with Nicole Brown Simpson. In Nicole Brown Simpson: the Private Diary of a Life Interrupted, Faye detailed her friend’s domestic abuse, but she also dished on their dual penchant for clubbing, breast implants, and giving “Brentwood Hellos.”

While Connie Britton admitted that she’s known for playing “good girl” characters, she says she doesn’t always see it that way. Connie took on the role of the Brentwood bad girl with open arms and was careful not to judge the woman who caused so much turmoil during O.J. Simpson’s murder trial.

“[Faye’s] a very interesting person. To me I never judge a character, ever, in the same way that I don’t think of some of the characters that I’ve been playing more recently as good women or characters. So I didn’t think of Faye as not being that. But I do see her as different, and I see her coming from a different point of view and a different life experience.”

Connie Britton also revealed that she would never question somebody’s past. Britton noted that Resnick has talked publicly about her difficult childhood, and she says that’s why she is so vocal about the domestic abuse aspects of the case.

“With Faye, I’m never gonna question whether what somebody says is true or not true, but she does talk about having a very difficult childhood, suffering abuse, things like that, and that was part of the reason why she was very impassioned about the domestic-abuse aspect of what happened to Nicole. I think that is something that is very real, and people deal with that life experience and that perspective differently, and it alters them and impacts.”

In an interview with Variety, Connie Britton revealed that she was on the fence about meeting Resnick in person. Britton said that while she ultimately would have liked to meet her, there was a time constraint and it never happened.

“It would have been great, because I probably would been able to see even more of her mannerisms and maybe she could have told me more stories…But at the same time, I was trying to play the Faye of 20 years ago. She’s had so many incarnations, and I just had the feeling who she was 20 years ago might not be the same as who she is now, and it might actually get in the way.”

Resnick has not publicly spoken about Connie Britton’s portrayal of her, but in a statement to People, she said the thought of reliving her friend’s death felt “catastrophic.” She added that she hopes Ryan Murphy’s FX miniseries shines a light on domestic abuse.

Sadly, Connie Britton’s work as Faye is done. While The People v. O.J. Simpson has several more episodes to go, Resnick’s part in the 1995 murder trial was pretty much done after she wrote her book and appeared on Larry King’s talk show to talk about it.

Check out Connie Britton talking to Larry King about their roles on The People v. O.J. Simpson in the video below.

[Photo By Rick Diamond/Getty Images]