Natalie Morales has long been celebrated for her observational wit and impeccable comedic timing, qualities that made her a standout in beloved series like “Parks and Recreation.” However, her latest turn in the hit Netflix limited series “The Beast in Me” offers a profound departure from the sharp-tongued roles that defined her early career. Dropping into a world of high-stakes psychological tension, Morales inhabits a character defined by the kind of deep, private trauma that remains invisible until it is challenged. The series has become a massive global success, occupying the top spot on Netflix for several weeks and establishing itself as a formidable contender for the upcoming awards season.
In “The Beast in Me,” Morales plays Shelly, a woman who has spent four years attempting to rebuild her life following a tragedy that would break most people. While the series follows a celebrated author, played by Claire Danes, whose life is upended by the return of a dangerous family figure, Morales provides the essential counterweight to that chaos. We first encounter Shelly as a woman who has seemingly found a way to remain stable and put together, despite the unimaginable grief of losing a child. “I imagine that at the point where we meet them, it has been four years since the worst thing that could happen to anybody happened to both of these people,” Morales noted when reflecting on the timeline of the characters.
The casting process for Shelly was a surprisingly traditional one for Morales, who secured the role through a self-tape. She noted that while actors are lucky to audition, they are even luckier to land a role of this caliber. For an actor so often associated with the quick-fire rhythm of comedy, the opportunity to dig into a role that felt very much like a play was a welcome challenge. The transition allowed her to explore a different side of her craft, moving away from the “show up and go” nature of comedy into a project that demanded a much more internal, prepared approach.
Perhaps the most daunting aspect of the production was the lack of traditional rehearsal time, a common hurdle in modern television that felt particularly acute given the weight of the material. Morales found herself having to show up extremely prepared, often doing a massive amount of internal rehearsal on her own before stepping onto the set. This was especially true for her first day of shooting, which placed her in a visceral cemetery confrontation with Claire Danes. “In my actor brain, I had to be like, ‘That is not Claire Danes; that is your ex-wife,'” Morales recalled. “I am looking at Claire Danes, and I can see Claire Danes, and I know Claire Danes, and I know her face, and I know how she acts. But I have to convince myself otherwise to stay in the scene.”
Morales credits her background in comedy for helping her find the truthful core of Shelly. She believes that the best comedy is rooted in observation and truth, a philosophy that translates seamlessly into heavy drama. By finding the layers and the occasional moments of dark humor within the tragedy, she was able to make Shelly feel like a fully realized human being rather than a caricature of grief. This grounded approach allowed her to stand toe-to-toe with Danes, creating a relationship between the two women that feels deeply intimate despite their divergence in how they choose to cope.
The relationship between Shelly and Aggie provides a rare look at the shared aftermath of tragedy for ex-partners who are bound by history but are not moving toward a romantic reconciliation. Morales was particularly interested in how these women remain tied to one another, noting that their connection as people who were once incredibly close never really goes away. “I think if you know lesbian relationships, you know they will talk forever. They will be best friends,” Morales explained. “Besides the fact that they lost their child, which will bond them forever, the fact that they are women who were so incredibly close means that connection never really goes away.”
Natalie Morales talked to Awards Focus about the challenges of dramatic transitions, the intensity of her first day on set with Claire Danes, and her executive decision to provide the one spoiler every viewer is desperate for: the absolute safety of the show’s four-legged scene-stealer.
Awards Focus: Natalie, it’s a pleasure to see you. To start, how did you first get involved with the project and land the role of Shelly?
Natalie Morales: I auditioned. I sent a tape in and hoped for the best, and then it happened, which is rare. I am excited about that. As you know, if you are lucky, you get to audition all the time, and if you are even luckier, you get one of those roles. I was very excited to get that.
AF: Was the self-tape you submitted based on the pilot script, or were you working with scenes that showcased Shelly’s major emotional beats later in the series?
Morales: Yes, it was just a few of the scenes.
AF: Shelly has endured unimaginable grief, yet when the audience first meets her, she appears significantly more stable than Aggie. How did you approach portraying that profound, private sense of loss, and did you research how two partners might diverge so sharply in their coping mechanisms?
Morales: There is obviously, as everybody says, no right way to grieve. I imagine that at the point where we meet them, it has been four years since the worst thing that could happen to anybody happened to both of these people. I think what was important in that scene and for the story was to convey in a very short amount of time how these two different parents had really diverged in their lives and in their coping.
AF: It sounds like there was more to that divergence than what made the final edit.
Morales: I actually think there are more scenes in the series where Shelly talks about what happened and how she felt about her son that got cut. There were a lot of really good scenes with Brittany, actually, that I loved and I missed, so you got to see more of that. But in that particular moment when you first meet her, I think the real difference is just that Shelly has gone to therapy a lot and Aggie has not at all. That is the difference. They are in different places, but they still carry this bond that they will have forever for more than a few reasons. It is not just that they lost their son, but that they had a son. I think that Shelly is trying her very best to focus on the fact that they had him. It was a difficult thing to put myself in the place of, and I do not wish that on anyone.
AF: You mentioned there were several deleted scenes that didn’t make the final edit, specifically material with Brittany Snow. Without revealing too much, how did those moments color the backstory you built for Shelly in your mind?
Morales: They were good. I genuinely think they were cut for time because they didn’t twist the story in a different way at all. They are in the final edit, just not in the first episode. She comes in and tries to be a patron of my art, perhaps in a manipulative way, but we don’t know. That is what you see in the show, and I guess her motives are left up to interpretation.
AF: Does that interaction offer a deeper look into Shelly’s life after the tragedy?
Morales: There was a conversation we had where Shelly talks about her experience with what happened with her son, how she got back into art, and what has happened since. It covered everything with Aggie that has happened since that you didn’t get to see, but it was in the script. Because it was in there, it was in my brain.
AF: Audiences largely know you from your brilliant comedic work in series like “Parks and Recreation.” What was the biggest challenge in transitioning into a high-stakes drama like this, and does your observational comedic background help you construct a more layered dramatic performance?
Morales: For me, comedy is best when it is utterly truthful and observational. That carries along in any genre you do. It only makes things better when people are multi-layered and can find humor in moments that are dramatic. The most difficult part, genuinely, was that we did not rehearse anything. There were some really big scenes, including fight scenes and major emotional moments. Because of the nature of the shooting schedule, I would have wanted rehearsal time for that material. We had blocking time and figured it out, but there was nothing before the day we were shooting.
AF: Given the weight of the material, did that lack of prep feel like a significant hurdle?
Morales: It was a challenge because I feel this show is very much like a play in a lot of ways, where you really want to dig in. Since I did not get rehearsal time for that stuff, I had to do a lot of work on my own to feel like I was not walking in blind. I did a lot of internal rehearsal before I got there. Things change when you add another actor or a director, and I do not want to be stiff in the way I have practiced, but I do want to practice something big or emotional.
AF: Is that pace common in television, or was this production unique?
Morales: It is not unique to this project. A lot of TV and movies do not get any kind of rehearsal at all. Most, I would say, do not. You have to show up extremely prepared. With comedy, you can often show up and go unless it is a big set piece. You do not tend to have these big dramatic turns, and comedy is something I can pull off on the day. Sometimes it is actually better not to over-rehearse comedy. That was a big difference and probably the most challenging part for me.
AF: Even with the intense subject matter, Matthew Rhys is famously hilarious. What was the atmosphere like on set, and did the cast’s personalities bring a sense of levity to such a heavy production?
Morales: Unfortunately, I had no scenes with Matthew, which was a real bummer for me because he is truly one of my favorite actors. I was so thrilled to be in a project with him and so utterly dismayed to not have any scenes with him at all. I was really upset about that. I was like, “Can’t he just threaten her a little bit at some point? Wouldn’t that be great?” Every time I have interacted with him outside of filming, whether we were promoting the show or seeing each other in the makeup trailer or passing each other on set, he has been just the best. He is as good an actor as he is a coworker. He is really fun. “The Americans” is one of my favorite shows and he is so good in that. He is good in everything he does. I also loved “Perry Mason,” which costarred one of my very best friends, Chris Chalk. I was thrilled to see both of them in one show together. I think Matthew is incredible.
AF: Returning to the lack of rehearsal—the cemetery confrontation with Aggie in the pilot is one of the most visceral scenes in the series. What was that experience like, particularly given it was your first day on set going head-to-head with Claire Danes?
Morales: That was my first day at work. We did have a table read of the pilot script where the writers, Daniel Pearl and Gabe Rotter, the director, Antonio Campos, and Claire and I all got together. We read through the script and talked about the characters and their history, including how recently they had gotten divorced, just so we would have a solid foundation.
AF: Did those early discussions help fill in the gaps for the history that isn’t explicit in the script?
Morales: That meeting was vital for establishing the background of these characters who have so much history when the audience meets them. You do not necessarily know if they got divorced before or after their son died, who initiated it, or how long they were together before the tragedy. Talking all of that through with Daniel, Gabe, Antonio, and Claire was incredibly helpful. However, we did not “get it up on its feet,” as we say, until the day we shot.
AF: Shooting such an intimate, heavy scene at a cemetery on day one must have been a daunting way to start.
Morales: It was really intense. First of all, I do not like shooting at cemeteries. I feel disrespectful, even though we were very respectful, as most shoots are. I just feel strange walking around on the grass in cemeteries in general. But beyond the location, Claire is one of my heroes. To play opposite her as her ex-wife and have this intimate relationship right off the bat without having met her before was interesting. In my actor brain, I had to tell myself, “That is not Claire Danes; that is your ex-wife.” I had to convince myself otherwise to stay in the scene. Luckily, the tombstone was fake, so I did not feel weird about that part.
AF: Now that the show has reached such a wide audience, what has surprised you most about the feedback you have heard?
Morales: I love how much people love Steve the dog. When we were first screening the pilot, people would ask in the Q&As if the dog dies. I would always tell them that the dog does not die. I think that concern actually prevents some people from watching a show, and I feel the same way. I do not want to watch a show where the cute dog dies. It became my favorite thing to spoil for people. I took it upon myself to tell everyone that Steve is safe.
AF: Did the trajectory of Shelly’s character arc surprise you as the scripts arrived, or did you find yourself suspecting that you might even be the killer?
Morales: It has been really fun to be a part of this show. When I was reading the scripts, I felt it was the best show I had ever read. I just wanted to know what would happen next. We did not know what would occur in each episode because we were receiving them as we went along. It was always exciting to get the next script. I truly had no idea what was going to happen, so I did not expect anything. I did not know if I was going to die or if I was going to be the murderer. I had a feeling it might be Matthew, but I really did not have any specific expectations. I had no idea.
AF: There has been some chatter regarding future seasons for “The Beast in Me.” If the story were to continue, where would you like to see Shelly go, especially in terms of her evolving bond with Aggie?
Morales: I would be delighted to be a part of it in any way. I have no idea how they would do a second season or where it would go, but it would be awesome. If you know lesbian relationships, you know they will talk forever. They will be best friends. Besides the fact that they lost their child, which will bond them forever, the fact that they are women who were so incredibly close means that connection never really goes away.
AF: It is a unique dynamic to explore on screen, especially for a pair of exes who are not necessarily looking to rekindle a romance.
Morales: I found that to be one of the more interesting and truthful parts to explore because they are exes and they were not getting back together. What is that relationship and what does it morph into? They deeply care for each other. I think exploring that could be interesting. At the end of the show, Shelley does have a girlfriend, but I do not know that it means much. I think there is still a bond there with Aggie, but who knows?
AF: Natalie, it’s been a pleasure. Congratulations again on the show’s success and thank you for your time.
Morales: Thanks Ben.