Maid stars Margaret Qualley as single mom Alex, who is trying to rebuild her life after escaping an abusive relationship. While the ensemble cast is very impressive—including Nick Robinson and Anika Noni Rose—there’s one co-star that’s most compelling: Qualley’s actress mother, Andie MacDowell.
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And, from what Qualley told E! News in an exclusive interview, it’s not by chance that the mother-daughter duo ended up on Maid together. “It was my idea, actually,” she said. “I pitched the idea to Margot Robbie, because she’s one of the producers on this, and she loved it.”
According to Qualley, within days of the pitch, MacDowell received the offer for the role. The only outcome Qualley didn’t take into consideration? That her mom might say no.
“That was the one thing I hadn’t checked,” she continued. “But I was lucky enough that she wanted to do it, and then she was stuck with me for almost nine months. So, thank you, mom!”
In the series, MacDowell plays Alex’s eccentric artist mother, who is described as “undiagnosed bipolar” by the main character. On seeing her mom transform into this flakey maternal figure, Qualley shared, “It was wild. I mean, she’s one of the most talented actresses out there, so, she was incredibly convincing.”
And Qualley got a taste of motherhood herself, as she also acted opposite young actress Rylea Nevaeh Whittet, who plays Alex’s daughter. In regard to playing a single mom, Qualley called the opportunity “daunting and scary,” while also “thrilling.”
“The relationship with Rylea, who’s the young girl that plays Maddy, was incredibly important to me,” she added, “and something that will be with me forever.”
Qualley wasn’t the only Maid star to act opposite a young performer, which her co-star Rose reminded us in a separate interview. As Rose explained, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t a lot of mingling on set.
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As a result, the performers Rose spent most of her time with was Qualley, a dog and a baby. Although Rose was a fan of the infant actor, calling him “Mr. Hollywood” and “delicious,” she was not impressed with her furry co-star.
“And the dog on the other hand, weighed about 30 pounds and should not have been a lap dog,” she quipped. “That dog was heavy!”
Ultimately, Rose had a good time filming Maid, declaring that she “connected well” with Qualley.
Maid is inspired by Stephanie Land‘s New York Times best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, and stars Tracy Vilar, Billy Burke, Raymond Ablack, BJ Harrison, Xavier de Guzman, Aimee Carrero and Toby Levins.
Maid is available for streaming on Netflix
