Interview: Quincy Tyler Bernstine Finds Her Next Act in Hulu's Furious

Last summer, as Bubba Weiler’s play Well, I’ll Let You Go was enjoying its sold-out debut run at the Irondale Center in Brooklyn, star Quincy Tyler Bernstine faced a dilemma. She had to leave what she calls an “actor’s dream” of a production—one where she got to “sit on stage and do these incredible two-hand [scenes] with the best actors in New York”—to film her first major series-regular television role.

But Elizabeth Merriweather’s Hulu series Furious, a loose contemporary riff on the 1987 thriller Black Widow, wasn’t something Bernstine could imagine turning down.

“I didn’t even need to read the pilot,” she says. “I read the [audition] sides, and I saw her in my mind’s eye, just from those three scenes. She is so complex. There are so many layers to her. There was something in me that was like, ‘I have to play this role.'”

That role is Nora Washington, head of the FBI’s Squad C-20, which oversees investigations into crimes against minors, including human trafficking, pornography, and related offenses. Alongside former NYPD homicide detective-turned-FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum), Nora is hunting Catherine Grace (Lola Petticrew), a vigilante serial killer who targets the wealthy men who once trapped her in a sex-trafficking ring and murdered her best friend.

It’s a particularly grim occupation, both in the world of the series and in real life. That reality eventually leads to Nora being benched over the way she chooses to dull the pain that comes with spending her days watching child sexual abuse material in a windowless basement office.

“In my preparation for this role, I spent a lot of time talking with people who actually do this job for a living, and that was invaluable,” Bernstine explains. “What they all talked about is this vicarious trauma that they’re experiencing having to solve these cases. They have to go through these traumas with these people, because it’s like a 24-hour-a-day job. It doesn’t turn off.”

That knowledge deeply informed her portrayal. “It’s no wonder that Nora doesn’t sleep and has no appetite,” she continues. “She doesn’t take care of herself. She’s eating dry cereal in front of the computer. When I did speak to all these people, they all talked about how it was very important to take care of yourself in order to get through it. Nora doesn’t have any of those tools in her toolbox.”

At the same time, working on Furious was “a dream come true.”

“The only other thing I can compare this to is when I did three seasons of Power as a recurring [character]. I was there somewhat regularly, but [Furious] was nothing like I’d ever experienced. I’m not even being hyperbolic; it was just a joy to go to work every day. I feel like every single person was an artist. I don’t always experience that on a set. It felt like we were all working towards making this incredible piece of art, and in my opinion, we did.”

And while shooting the series meant leaving Well, I’ll Let You Go, the play wasn’t left too far behind. Bernstine’s main adversary in Furious is played by her stage co-star Danny McCarthy, while another character is played by Well, I’ll Let You Go cast member Constance Schulman.

“They got those jobs because of the play. Liz [Merriweather], Emmy, Lola, and Scoot [McNairy] came and saw my last performance, and Liz was like, ‘I’m going to cast all these people.’ I was thrilled when Liz told me that Danny was going to play Ed [Nora’s boss]. [That character] is a frigging asshole, but Danny is the sweetest person in the world, and I love working with him. And then Connie [as another character’s dying mother], our paths crossed very briefly, but I was so happy. They’re excellent.”

Between Furious and Well, I’ll Let You Go, Bernstine is suddenly receiving the kind of attention that has long been overdue for an actor who has been one of New York theater’s best assets for years. She sees Nora as an extension of her theater background—”she’s very theatrical”—but she’s still figuring out how she feels about becoming a public figure. In fact, she didn’t even attend this year’s Outer Critics Circle Awards, where she received the award for Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play.

She had a good excuse: the ceremony conflicted with a Well, I’ll Let You Go matinee. And Bernstine, who estimates she has missed only about six performances over the course of her career—when her mother underwent surgery and after her father died—wasn’t about to break that streak.

“I cherish my Outer Critics Circle Award. I have it in my living room. But I’m not good with attention. I don’t read reviews. I appreciate all the support and I’m grateful, but I really try to not think about that stuff.”

After all, she’s a theater person, through and through. “I just focus on what I have to do when I step onstage. Ultimately, the work is all that matters.”