Premiering April 9th on Peacock is the new series ‘The Miniature Wife‘, which is based on the book of the same name by Manuel Gonzales and was created by Jennifer Ames (‘Goliath’) and Steve Turner (‘Ash vs Evil Dead’).
UuxhvVYoapOzmvWIyQhbu5The series stars Elizabeth Banks (‘Charlie’s Angels’), Matthew Macfadyen (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’), Zoe Lister-Jones (‘Beau Is Afraid’), Sofia Rosinsky (‘The Other Side of the Door’), O-T Fagbenie (‘Black Widow’), and Ronny Chieng (‘M3GAN’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen about their work on ‘The Miniature Wife’, the initial pitch for the series, Macfadyen’s inspiration for his character, acting six inches tall, and working with the practical and visual effects.
Related Article: Elizabeth Banks Talks ‘Cocaine Bear’
Moviefone: To begin with, Elizabeth, can you talk about showrunners Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner initial pitch to you and what intrigued you about the story and your character?
Elizabeth Banks: They pitched me ‘The War of the Roses’, but one of them is six inches tall. I love ‘War of the Roses’, and I immediately got the tone they were going for. I felt like it was unique and an absurdist way to tell a very relatable story about someone who feels diminished in their relationship or small in their career or a little unseen suddenly, and I think we all have those moments and have those people in our lives who make us feel small. This is a character whose mother has made her feel very small and she’s obviously working through that trauma. Her father left, and now her husband is paying attention only to his career and not to her needs. I just felt like a lot of people were going to relate to this couple. The device of shrinking me really helped build everything that we wanted to say about relationships and power dynamics within them in the show. So, I got the notions right away and how the absurdist way we were going to do it was going to enhance the whole endeavor.
MF: Matthew, I understand that you drew inspiration for your character from Bill Nye, Kevin Kline, and Steve Martin. Can you talk about how that inspiration helped you create Less on screen?
Matthew MacFadyen: Well, they’re little bits of ingredients in the cake. I think Steve Martin and Kevin Kline especially were touchstones in the sense that some of the inspiration for the series is those ‘80s and ‘90s romantic comedies that are witty, barbed, and funny, with wonderful dialogue, and that was the flavor of it. Not sentimental, not syrupy, just entertaining. So, that’s why I was thinking of those guys. But Bill Nye, is an institution I’ve discovered from people growing up and I can see why because he’s really kind of charismatic and funny and great. He’s got a wonderful quirky energy, and I thought maybe some of that is in layers.
MF: Elizabeth, when you were shooting the scenes where your character is small, did you have to rely on your imagination a lot and was it helpful when you had giant props available to use in the scene?
EB: I was very isolated on a green screen and having to imagine everything around me and a cat chasing me and a bird and all of it. So, they really helped me by giving me actual props to interact with. Whether it was a pill bottle that I’m trying to break open or toothpaste or lipstick or the giant chocolate bar that I got to eat. They made a giant popcorn kernel for me that was edible. All those things really helped. Then of course, I have the dollhouse. That set was incredible, and everything felt real. So, it was interesting to be able to explore that like a little toy and then have my own toys, you know? It was very helpful, and technically challenging, but very fun.
MF: Finally, Matthew, when you were in scenes with Lindy when she was small, was the biggest challenge for you not having anyone to react to?
MM: Yes, but we’ve been saying that acting is an imaginative exercise. If we had scenes together, we’d run the scenes before we shot them separately. So, we’d always have something in our heads, but it’s an exercise in imagining. So, that was part of the endeavor, I suppose.
What is the plot of ‘The Miniature Wife’?
A married couple (Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen) battle for power within their relationship which is complicated when a technological accident shrinks the wife to 6 inches tall.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Miniature Wife’?
- Elizabeth Banks as Lindy Littlejohn
- Matthew Macfadyen as Les Littlejohn
- Zoe Lister-Jones as Vivienne
- Sofia Rosinsky as Lulu Littlejohn
- O-T Fagbenle as RPW
- Sian Clifford as Terry
- Ronny Chieng as Hilton Smith
- Aasif Mandvi as Martin Mucklow
- Rong Fu as Janet
- Tricia Black as Hel
List of Elizabeth Banks Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘Wet Hot American Summer‘ (2001)
- ‘Scrubs‘ (2001-2010)
- ‘Spider-Man‘ (2002)
- ‘Swept Away‘ (2002)
- ‘Catch Me If You Can‘ (2002)
- ‘Seabiscuit‘ (2003)
- ‘Spider-Man 2‘ (2004)
- ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin‘ (2005)
- ‘Slither‘ (2006)
- ‘Invincible‘ (2006)
- ‘Spider-Man 3‘ (2007)
- ‘Fred Claus‘ (2007)
- ‘W.‘ (2008)
- ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno‘ (2008)
- ‘Role Models‘ (2008)
- ‘The Next Three Days‘ (2010)
- ‘Man on a Ledge‘ (2012)
- ‘The Hunger Games‘ (2012)
- ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting‘ (2012)
- ‘People Like Us‘ (2012)
- ‘Pitch Perfect‘ (2012)
- ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire‘ (2013)
- ‘The Lego Movie‘ (2014)
- ‘Walk of Shame‘ (2014)
- ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1‘ (2014)
- ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp‘ (2015)
- ‘Pitch Perfect 2‘ (2015)
- ‘Magic Mike XXL‘ (2015)
- ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2‘ (2015)
- ‘Power Rangers‘ (2017)
- ‘Pitch Perfect 3‘ (2017)
- ‘Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later‘ (2017)
- ‘The Happytime Murders‘ (2018)
- ‘Press Your Luck‘ (2019-2025)
- ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part‘ (2019)
- ‘Brightburn‘ (2019)
- ‘Charlie’s Angels‘ (2019)
- ‘Mrs. America‘ (2020)
- ‘Call Jane‘ (2022)
- ‘The Beanie Bubble‘ (2023)
- ‘Migration‘ (2023)
- ‘The Better Sister‘ (2025)
- ‘The Miniature Wife‘ (2026)
