In the new thriller “The Beast in Me,” a memoirist confronts a shady property developer suspected of killing his first wife, and it’s unclear which of the two poses a greater threat. While Netflix describes it as a “cat and mouse” game, Claire Danes sees it as a more balanced battle between a snake and a mongoose.
Danes explains her attraction to the idea of a writer being genuinely dangerous and predatory. Her character, Aggie Wiggs, is grieving the loss of her young son, divorced, and living alone in a house she can’t afford. She becomes fascinated with her new neighbor, Nile Jarvis—though the character names in the gripping eight-part series might be a bit hard to swallow. Nile is undoubtedly monstrous and possibly a murderer, but he may have met his match in Aggie, who Danes describes as “a real fighter with not much to lose.”
When they first clash, Aggie is riding the fading success of her bestselling memoir and running low on funds. Her marriage fell apart after their son’s accidental death, and her actions toward the young man she blames led to a restraining order. Danes grew fond of Aggie, admiring her mind, intellectual honesty, boldness, and deep emotions, even as she grapples with unacknowledged pain.
Aggie is stuck with writer’s block on her new book, which explores the unlikely friendship between Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. Over lunch with Nile, she tentatively suggests the story could offer hope, but he dismisses it, insisting people prefer gossip and chaos. He’s not entirely wrong, but what we want and need often differ—and befriending a sociopath who might bring out your worst instincts rarely ends well.
Their dynamic is engaging and fresh because there’s no romantic tension; Aggie is a lesbian, though Nile, being a wealthy sociopath, assumes she’s interested in him. Danes notes that they’re excited by and challenge each other, wrestling for power while genuinely enjoying each other’s company. She describes them as adversaries and soulmates without any sexual element, a dynamic she found unique and hadn’t encountered before.
When asked if she was nervous about playing a lesbian character, given ongoing debates about straight actors taking queer roles, Danes responded thoughtfully, admitting she hadn’t been but perhaps should have considered it. It’s unclear if she’s being entirely sincere, but she found it intriguing not to have to appear “sexy” to a male character for the first time in her career. Reflecting on her youth, she recalled learning to adopt a more feminine demeanor and consciously changing her walk to be more appealing. In this role, she felt she could let that go, reconnecting with her 11-year-old self before societal expectations shaped her presentation, which she found liberating.There were similarities between her character and Carrie Mathison, the CIA agent Danes portrayed for eight seasons on Homeland, the role that remains her most famous. “Aggie was definitely a dangerous person with little to lose, deeply isolated and incredibly intelligent. Carrie probably used her feminine charms a bit more,” she notes with a laugh, adding, “But she was still wearing a pantsuit.”
When asked if a show like Homeland could exist today in America’s tense political climate under Trump, with networks cautious and politics moving rapidly, Danes responds, “I hope so. I’m not sure any other show was as dedicated to reflecting the political moment as it unfolded as Homeland was, and that was truly thrilling.” She recalls attending what she dubbed “spy camp” with intelligence experts before each new season’s writing began. “We’d get a forecast. It was a great privilege, though sometimes a bit too much information. I miss that process—there was something special about being able to digest current political events and reflect on them through fiction. I don’t have that outlet anymore.”
However, Danes doesn’t believe creating a Homeland-style show is impossible now. “A funny metaphor comes to mind: if you want to wear a ballgown, just wear a damn ballgown. It’s a bit like that. If you decide to make such a show, you’ll make it. I don’t think Homeland was made because the climate permitted it; Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa made it because they wanted to.” On the current U.S. political situation, she cautiously shares, “It’s scary. It feels very unstable, and I’m saddened by how fearful we are of each other and the widespread distrust.”
Danes, who also produced The Beast in Me, brought in Homeland producer Howard Gordon to help get the project moving after it stalled for a couple of years. She received the script during the pandemic from Jodie Foster, who was initially set to direct. “This is the first time I’ve produced a project from the start, and it was wonderful—I loved that,” she says, laughing as she adds, “That’s one perk of getting older. I’ve made friends along the way and can call on them to collaborate.”
Danes, now 46, isn’t old but has been working for decades. Raised in Manhattan by artistic parents, she discovered her passion for acting as a child. Her family moved to California when she landed the lead role of Angela Chase in the teen drama My So-Called Life at age 14. Her on-screen crush was played by Jared Leto, then 21, an age gap that would be seen as highly inappropriate today. When asked if it felt awkward at the time, she replies, “A little, but it was okay. Everything was awkward back then. I had barely kissed a boy and was making out with this Adonis, and I didn’t even understand the stage directions. For instance, it said to kiss his face, and I had no idea what that meant or that there were other areas to explore.” She describes it as strange, “navigating these themes in real life. A couple of months later, what I was exploring as Angela would become personally relevant to me.” She reflects that teenage years are “so Kafka-esque—a wild ride, and I was having a parallel one as a fictional character.”
But she emphasizes that it never felt exploitative or harmful, crediting the show’s creators, including the writers, for handling it responsibly.Writer Winnie Holzman said, “They were genuinely kind and caring adults, so it was a very stable, sensible environment. That was fortunate, as not every setting is like that.” But when asked if it’s a good thing that today we likely wouldn’t cast a 21-year-old man opposite a 14-year-old love interest, she responded, “I really don’t know. Would we? I honestly don’t have a clear moral position on that. Perhaps because it was my own experience, and I felt secure.” She added that having intimacy coordinators on set as a standard practice now is excellent. “Why didn’t we have that before? I’m very much in favor of it. But it’s amusing to be working with an intimacy coordinator for the first time at 45.” She smiled. “It feels a bit overdue.”
Young love… Claire Danes with Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet in 1996.
Danes appears to have navigated decades in the industry without major harm. “I think it was beneficial that I took a break and went to college,” she remarked. At the peak of her film fame, after starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet (she was 17 during filming, he was 21), she spent two years at Yale studying psychology.
“My parents were always very involved when I was on set as a child,” she shared, “and ensured I was safe, my needs were taken care of, I had a good tutor, and enough rest, that sort of thing.” Others watched out for her too. Jodie Foster directed her when she was a teen in the 1995 family comedy-drama Home for the Holidays. What did she learn from the esteemed Foster? “She offered a lot of advice, but she always encouraged me to stand up for myself and to also relax.”
Above all, Danes simply adores the work—everything else that accompanies being a successful actor, like attention and awards, is, she says, “just background noise,” even though what she calls “the ups and downs of success” often lead to more opportunities. “I hope that people are engaging with what I’m trying to create, and I also hope I get another chance to make something else.” She laughed. “That’s really it.”
The Beast in Me will be on Netflix starting November 13.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Claire Danes experiences based on the themes of intimacy espionage training and teenage fame
General Beginner Questions
1 What is this quote I had hardly kissed a boy yet I was kissing Adonis from
This is a famous quote from actress Claire Danes reflecting on her experience filming the 1996 movie Romeo Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio when she was only 16 years old
2 What does she mean by that quote
She means that as a teenager with very little reallife romantic experience she was suddenly thrown into an intense professional situation that involved filming intimate scenes with a globally recognized heartthrob
3 Which movie and role is she talking about
She is referring to her role as Juliet in Baz Luhrmanns 1996 modern adaptation William Shakespeares Romeo Juliet
4 Who is Adonis in this context
Adonis is a reference to her costar Leonardo DiCaprio who was widely considered the ultimate teenage heartthrob at the time symbolizing perfect male beauty
Questions About Intimacy on Set
5 Was it awkward filming the romantic scenes
Yes Danes has described it as incredibly awkward She was a novice and performing such intimate moments under the gaze of a full film crew was a challenging and surreal experience for a teenager
6 How did she prepare for the intimate scenes
The films director Baz Luhrmann created a very specific and professional environment He used choreography almost like a dance to block out the scenes which helped make the process more technical and less personally intimate
7 Did she and Leonardo DiCaprio get along
Yes by all accounts they developed a strong friendly and professional rapport They bonded over the shared surreal experience of massive fame at a young age
Questions About Espionage Training
8 What does espionage training have to do with Claire Danes
This refers to the extensive preparation she underwent for her role as CIA officer Carrie Mathison on the TV series Homeland To play a convincing spy she had to learn realworld intelligence techniques
9 What kind of spy training did she actually do
She met with real CIA operatives and intelligence
