WARNING: This interview may contain slight spoilers for Evil season 3, episode 2, which premiered today.
Evil season 3 has already aired two episodes, and the always spooky mystery thriller is proving to be darker and stranger than ever before now that it's streaming on Paramount+. While last season left fans with one a tantalizing cliffhanger, dangling the romantic chemistry between Kristen (Katja Herbers) and David (Mike Colter) before our eyes, season 3 gives even further into temptation with dreams galore while also making audiences question the path Kristen is on.
Of course, Kristen isn't the only one questioning. Evil is a series about faith and the many ways it's tested, which is why it makes perfect sense for the character with the least doubts to finally get upgraded to full-time cast member: Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin). While she's already proven herself very capable in advising David and going toe to toe with the malevolent Leland (Michael Emerson), fans are about to get a lot more of her as a hopefully bright light in the demonic darkness.
Screen Rant spoke to Martin about how things have changed in her Evil journey since becoming a series regular, the new dynamics she gets to explore onscreen, and her collaborative dynamic with showrunners Robert & Michelle King, with whom she previously worked on The Good Fight.
Screen Rant: Congratulations on being upped to series regular. What has the experience been like for you on set this year? Do you feel more at home?
Andrea Martin: I do feel part of the company. I think the wonderful thing that happened this year was I got to know Katja. Of course, I worked mostly with Mike Colter and Michael Emerson last year, so I never ran into Christine Lahti. I don't think she and I have had any moments together.
But this year, I got to work with Kurt Fuller, so that was wonderful to figure out what Sister Andrea's dynamic is with each one of those people. And it's different with each person, so it broadens the scope of Sister Andrea and maybe made it a little bit more interesting.
Speaking of getting to work with Mike, what is it being an advisor to David? Now that he has been officially ordained, how does that relationship change and grow?
Andrea Martin: I think the pressure is on him not to get off the beaten track. She knows that he's a human being, and he's a great-looking, sexy guy. Who wouldn't want to be with him? [Laughs] But I think that she understands it; I don't think she's intimidated.
She's very worldly, even though she's a nun and lives in that church. I think she understands human nature, but I also believe that her mission has become more intense and she doesn't want to lose him. He's a very unique person in the church. She has power, and she knows that he has powers like her that he just has to cultivate. And she's the person that's going to help him, but he does have more doubts because of Kristen, as you can see the first few [episodes]. That's ever present.
We learned a little more about Andrea last season, in terms of having given up her own worldly emotions to step into her mission.
Andrea Martin: I'm so glad you brought that up. That was such a beautiful scene that I got to do with Mike. He's such a great actor. Everybody's wonderful to work with, and everybody has their own personality, but there's nothing frivolous about him. He's fun, but he's so professional and so disciplined. It's a pleasure working with him, because I know that I'm gonna get something back from the work that he does. It's kind of effortless working with him.
I think that we have good chemistry - at least, I hope that comes across.
It certainly does. One thing I love about Sister Andrea, which is also something that Robert and Michelle King have spoken about, is how she's a force of nature trapped inside this diminutive stature. She's the one with the least doubts, with the ability to strike the fear of God into the heart of Leland. Can you talk about wielding these two extremes in one person?
Andrea Martin: There are days when I feel very confident and like a force, but I don't have the inner faith that she has. That informs everything about her.
You see in one of the episodes this year that she had a vision when she was a very young girl, and that fueled her. I don't think she's had a doubt since she saw St. Bernadette. I wish I was a person that was fearless and could live with that kind of faith, which gives her the ability to speak the truth even when people don't want to listen.
That's the conflict all the time. The church particularly doesn't want to listen; they don't want to listen to women, and they really don't want to listen to her. Yeah.
When it comes to being fearless, sometimes I get scared watching the show. You once mentioned that before joining the cast, even the thought of the show is scary to you. Has that changed at all now that you've been on set? Has your view of Evil - both the show and the concept - changed while being a part of it?
Andrea Martin: When I was offered this part, I watched the first episode. It was Kristin in her bed, and a demon came down from ceiling. She's a great actress, so she was petrified. Then she goes into the kids' room, and I'm like, "I'm turning this right off. I'm gonna have nightmares."
I watched episodes in the morning, because I didn't know what I was going to see, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I leave for Greece tomorrow for three months to shoot a film, and I'm like, "I've gotta sleep!"
But it's different when you're on. My career started in horror films, with Cannibal Girls and Black Christmas. Never did I think it was scary, and then I watched Black Christmas. When you're acting with somebody, you don't have the special effects. You don't have the sound effects; you don't have the green screen; you don't have the tongue coming out and licking. So, I'm not frightened when I'm working.
But I'll tell you, I'm drawn into the doubt that David Acosta has. I find it very, very moving. I also find it moving working with Katja, because Kristen is going through her own ordeal with a husband who's often away, her attraction [to David], and her own doubt. I'm actually drawn with compassion and with emotion, not necessarily scared. Does that make sense?
Now that you get to expand your role, is there any part of Sister Andrea's story or any relationship building that you think will be most surprising or exciting for fans?
Andrea Martin: I don't want to give anything away, but I get to meet the kids; the four girls. I get to have an interaction with them that I think is quite meaningful, and I think the fans will really like it. That's all I'm gonna say.
And I get to work with Kristen in a couple of the episodes. That was lovely; to have a female to work against, because it's so many men around.
You've worked with Robert and Michelle on The Good Fight. What is that collaborative process like with them? Do you have any back-and-forth on your character arcs?
Andrea Martin: They're the greatest people. I know every actor wants to thank the crew and the producer. Honestly, they've given me the opportunity to play this great character. And I love the character I played on The Good Fight - I played with Cush Jumbo, and I got to look fabulous.
Listen, they're totally accessible. You can email them any time and say, "I have a question about this," and they will write you back within 20 seconds and say either, "No, I think that works," or "Yeah, you're absolutely right. Let's change it." You know, I do that la-la-la [singing] when I talk about St. Bernadette. When I was on the chords on the piano, it didn't make sense to me on paper, because I actually play the piano. I said, "I think it'd be better, rather than just seeing the notes, that I sing them." They thought that was a beautiful idea.
They're totally in your corner. Even they do 7 million shows, they never lack for enthusiasm about what they're doing. They are totally open and collaborative - not that I need to collaborate, but sometimes I'll have specific questions like, "I don't really understand what she means when she says that," and they always are clear. They're a dream to work with, and that's why every actor in New York City works with them. They've given so many actors work. My God, the entire Broadway community is on Robert and Michelle's shows. I love them.
David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers) not only have to navigate their fraught new reality, but contend with David’s involvement with ‘the entity’, an espionage unit within the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Ben (Aasif Mandvi) finds his brain breaking from their unsolved cases and turns to his sister for help.
Check out our other interview with Evil star, Christine Lahti.
The first two episodes of Evil season 3 are currently available to stream on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Sunday.
Evil star Andrea Martin talks about how Sister Andrea's storyline has evolved and expanded since being upgraded to series regular in season 3.Tatiana Hullender