Michelle Pfeiffer drew on personal grief to play Stacy on The Madison: 'tapped into something'
Michelle Pfeiffer says The Madison draws on her own life — the surprise is which parts.
At a Nov. 5 screening at The Ross House in Los Angeles, Michelle Pfeiffer talked about why her turn as grieving matriarch Stacy Clyburn in The Madison hit so hard. Speaking about the Paramount+ drama, she said the performance came from a very real place, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s account of the event.
“I’ve lost a few people. And, for some reason, I just tapped into something.”
On the show, Pfeiffer plays Stacy, a Manhattan “city mouse” whose life caves in after her husband Preston — played by Kurt Russell — dies in a plane crash with his brother. The series made noise for reuniting Pfeiffer and Russell, but its staying power came from how unflinching Stacy’s grief is as the family ’s center of gravity shifts from New York back to Montana’s Madison River Valley.
Pfeiffer also said Taylor Sheridan first approached her without a script. That leap of faith didn’t slow things down: the series took off on Paramount+, and more episodes are on the way.
Season 2, then what
Season 2 moves past the initial shock of Preston’s death. With the Clyburns back in Montana, the focus turns to rebuilding — and to the family rifts, loyalties and land ties that come with it. For Stacy, the question shifts from “How do I survive this?” to “What does life look like now?”
- Filming on Season 2 has wrapped.
- The season is set for six episodes.
- Paramount+ has already renewed the show for a third season.
- The streamer hasn’t announced a Season 2 premiere date.