What do you make of that?
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GABY HOFFMANN:Oh God, I didnt know that was happening.
I have no idea.
Gaby Hoffmann as Cassie Anderson in ‘Eric’ For NetflixNetflix
DEADLINE:What was your initial reaction to this role?
HOFFMANN:I was actually a little bit hesitant when I started reading it.
It was kind of an immediate, almost anxious reaction.
We all end up lost, figuratively and literally.
I thought, oh, this isnt just a sad, hard, scary thriller about a dead kid.
This is a call to arms for our children.
HOFFMANN:Once Eric emerged in the script, I was like, okay, Im in.
I dont watch a lot of television actually, since having kids.
I dont watch much of anything.
Its also just visually very compelling.
Of course, it offers a lot of humor.
The whole world of the puppets in the show was thrilling to me.
So I thought it was great.
DEADLINE:Why do you think it was important to haveErictake place in the eighties?
How did that serve the story?
HOFFMANN:By the time the story starts, weve lived through the sixties and the seventies.
Were sowing those oats today still, right?
Its not about brotherly love, its about getting what you’re free to for yourself.
And then of course, there was the AIDS epidemic.
It was quite a rich decade, and New York City had such a pathos.
It was just at the turning point.
DEADLINE:Could you explain where we first meet your character, Cassie?
HOFFMANN:She is in a state of paralysis and denial.
Hes not going to do it.
Shes the only one who can really break that down, and shes terrified, too.
Shes forced to confront this crisis by herself.
HOFFMANN:Yeah, I dont think its just the alcohol.
Its alluded to that hes struggled also as a kid.
So its a dark night of the soul journey.
Its really facing the demons.
I see Vincent as the product of an improperly parented child.
Sure, its behaving as mental illness, but I actually think its the consequence.
Its the totally valid consequence of not having been loved as a child.
DEADLINE:So what was it like on set?
Did you become a Cumberbitch?
HOFFMANN:Whats that?
DEADLINE:Female fans of Benedict Cumberbatch are called Cumberbitches.
HOFFMANN:Oh, that is disgusting.
I had no idea.
I dont exist online.
I dont have social media, and I avoid the internet at all costs.
So I dont know much about whats going on in the world.
DEADLINE:What was Benedict like as a scene partner?
HOFFMANN:It was a lot of fun figuring out those scenes with Benedict.
I mean, we joked a lot doing press.
It was immediately there.
It was very easy to start fighting with each other.
That part was no problem.
I was like, yes, Im definitely screaming at you.
HOFFMANN:Crystal Fairy [from the 2013 filmCrystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus].
She was so much fun.
I watched it with my kids multiple times.
HOFFMANN:Im not sure what to say about that.
Did you have to deal with any creepy bullshit when you were a child actor?
HOFFMANN:Not really, no.
That life was very rich and full and exciting and wonderful.
And when I wasnt on a movie set, I was right back in that life.
I didnt have child actor friends.
We didnt live in LA until I was older.
And so it was really just movie sets.
And then my other life and the movie sets were all great fun with really wonderful people, really.
I didnt even go to a lot of auditions.
