• Interviews

Sarah Paulson: Defending Marcia Clark

Ryan Murphy’s new anthology series American Crime Story has become must see TV with its take on the best-known celebrity trial ever. As a singularly unifying moment, the “OJ trial” stands alongside 9/11 and the Kennedy assassination as one of the defining “I remember where I was” moments in American popular culture. As Nina Jacobson, executive producer of The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story puts it: “The Bronco chase brought the country together. The trial ripped it apart”. Murphy – and screenwriter Larry Karaszewski – perfectly recaptures the tone of the trial, which heralded the age of reality TV. The series captures the over-the-top personalities of both the accused and the “dream team” that defended him – as well as the prosecuting team including assistant district attorney Marcia Clark who, as lead prosecutor, was to become front and center of the media frenzy. Sarah Paulson is one of Murphy’s serial collaborators and principal muses. Here she creates a three dimensional character who becomes, in many respects, the emotional center of the narrative. Here’s what Paulson told us about restoring dignity to a woman whose humanity had been stripped by the white-hot media glare.