Sarah Paulson ‘Honored’ To Play Marcia Clark In ‘The People V O.J. Simpson’
Sarah Paulson is receiving critical praise from viewers and critics on The People v. O.J. Simpson week after week for her portrayal of hard-hitting prosecutor Marcia Clark. Ryan Murphy and his writers did their fair share of delving into O.J. Simpson’s psyche, but the most fascinating part of the series is seeing what makes Marcia Clark tick.
During the 1995 trial, Clark got the brunt of criticism for her looks inside the courtroom and outside of it. The show more than suggests that she was underestimated due to her gender despite being a top notch lawyer. For Paulson, it was the opportunity of a lifetime, and as it turns out, it was an honor.
Paulson opened up about the role to E! Online. During a panel at PaleyFest for American Horror Story: Hotel, Paulson touched upon playing the heavily scrutinized and iconic woman.
“I feel it’s an incredible honor that Marcia’s watching at all and that she’s said such lovely things to me and about me publicly makes me feel very proud.”
The life-changing lesson Sarah Paulson learned from O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark https://t.co/1thGBWNDe7 pic.twitter.com/yCMUzZltGK
— People Magazine (@people) March 21, 2016
Paulson continued, “I can’t tell you how much love I have for that woman and how much admiration and just true respect for her. I feel very, very honored to have played her, I’m happy to know she’s in the world and exists and she is who she is and that’s really extraordinary.”
As the Inquisitr reported, before Paulson stepped into the shoes of the attorney, she was nervous about taking on the role. Paulson didn’t put her fears lightly, as she said taking on the role “scared the s–t” out of her.
“I thought ‘Oof, if I don’t do this right or well or if I f*** this up there is going to be no place to hide.”
Paulson continued to explain the anxiety she felt about embodying such a well-known person whose image divided the nation.
“At the same time, the very thing that scared the sh– out of me also made me think that if I don’t do this, you are the greatest p—y that ever lived, and if you don’t do it you can’t call yourself an actress, because the scarier it is the more you should jump right in.”
What finally brought Marcia Clark around to reliving the “nightmare” on the FX series: https://t.co/H6gjQlJNbz pic.twitter.com/K4VUv4EEnC
— E! News (@ENews) March 18, 2016
As the actress stated, Marcia Clark has had nothing but kind things to say about the portrayal, which she really doesn’t take to heart because she’s said that she sees a disconnect between the character Marcia and who she is in her life. While the trial was going on, Clark said she couldn’t watch herself on TV, and while she finds it interesting to watch Paulson capture her essence, the whole ordeal was physically painful for her.
Speaking of the 1995 trial being brought into the public eye again, Clark told Vulture that it’s still painful to a certain extent, but she does have hopes for the miniseries.
“It is extremely painful to live through this again. But I understand the series is going to explore the racial aspect of the case, which is very important. I just hope that in addition to that, it reminds us there were two victims here. Everybody seemed to forget throughout the trial that there were two innocent people who lost their lives. And whatever you think of Simpson’s guilt, it’s a tragedy because no one has been brought to justice for it.”
[Image via FX]
