Janet Montgomery Brings the Magic Touch to Salem

31 May, 2015

The Trending Report talks with Salem star Janet Montgomery who gives us insight into Mary Sibley’s family woes, love and plot twists that are sure to keep the audience under her spell.

On the complexities of Mary and why, through it all, there’s still an element of sympathy the audience feels for her:

JM: Mary has a heart. But also, there are things that are unredeemable that she’s done and that she’s doing.  She’s very complicated. I think a lot of us can say that about ourselves.  We’re neither good nor bad. We’re somewhere in the grey area.

What I’m really trying to do with this character is every time she does something that I think, “Wow, how are people going to sympathize with this?” I manage to find a way in which people can understand why she’s doing it. You know, we’re all just survivors at the end of the day.

On the return of Stephen Lang:

JM: Stephen Lang is an absolute joy to work with. We have so much fun when we work together! His character is different this year and I think people will be excited to see the dynamic between him and Mary slightly change.

On playing Mary Sibley:

JM: The biggest challenge for me when I first took Mary on was that I’d never played a character that commanded so much fear around her.  She could go from zero to 100 in her temper and in her emotions.  So everything had to be very accessible, on the surface and ready to bubble over.  My work has grown as I’ve grown while playing this character.  Although now I would say that she (Mary Sibley) could be the fall of Janet Montgomery because I’ve become more and more severe as the season goes on and I’m not like that to be around. I’m exploding at everyone then I’m like, “Sorry. It’s just I’m playing this character.”

Will Mary and John reunite?

JM: There’s a very emotional scene in episode 9 involving John. Everyone is waiting for Mary and John to reunite. It doesn’t happen in episode 9 but there’s a big moment where they talk about everything.

But she’s definitely not ready for John to reappear in her life.  It’s going to be like a ghost coming back and I think she’s already been through this with him.  She’s just starting to get strong on her own and she’s doing things by herself.  The longer John goes and the more he sort of watches her from the distance, I think the harder it’s going to be for him to kill her.

Mary’s relationship with Tituba:

JM: I think there is room for Mary to forgive Tituba.  I think the difficult situation with Mary and Tituba is obviously Tituba has been lying to her for so long.  What she’s done is sort of unforgivable.  But at the same time, and this is what I love about the writing on the show, Tituba has her own reasons and she thought she was doing the right thing.

People like to see them at odds with each other.  The relationship works that way.  So you never really know where each one stands with the other.  You don’t know if Mary’s just going to kill Tituba at any moment or if she’s actually forgiven her.

Is Sebastian in love with Mary?

JM: Sebastian is a great character because he’s a very dangerous young man. I think he is in love with Mary. I think he believes in his heart that he’s in love with Mary but he’s also very much in love with his mother.  So there’s a dynamic there.  I love the character. I love the possibilities if Mary chooses to be with someone like Sebastian, it would almost be like Bonnie & Clyde.

Will there be a love triangle with Mary, Sebastian and Dr. Wainwright?

JM: I think there’s a good possibility there could be.  But there’s also John Alden.  Not only is there a triangle, what would you call that, a square?  Someone wrote something that I think is pretty accurate about the show and that’s that everyone either wants to make love to you or kill you.

That’s very true with Mary at the moment.  People either want to make love to her or kill her. So definitely Sebastian’s very taken with her. Dr. Wainwright is obviously taken with her and John wants to kill her at the moment.  So who knows what’s going to happen.

In tonight’s episode, Mary discovers that her son is missing — as well as the chilling truth about him. Meanwhile, Anne crosses a major milestone; Cotton’s quest to expose the truth about the witches brings consequences; and Tituba makes a shocking revelation.

Hold on tight because this episode will take you on a ride. Watch the trailer now!

https://youtu.be/MIVRFoSmBr4

B.Owusu

Image WGN America

Mentioned In This Post: @SalemWGNA,