Landman’s Rebecca Just Delivered One of the Year’s Best Monologues — Kayla Wallace Talks That Epic Deposition Smackdown
If we’re ever in legal trouble, we want Landman‘s Rebecca as our counsel.
In this week’s episode of the Paramount+ series, the oil-company lawyer played by Kayla Wallace delivers a blistering monologue to a room full of male attorneys who’ve severely underestimated her. In just a few minutes’ time, the men go from snickering and demeaning to cowering and surrendering. It is awesome to behold. And just like that, the lawsuit stemming from the plane-vs.-truck accident in the series’ premiere is settled and Tommy is no longer in danger of being personally liable (for that incident, at least).
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Rebecca’s performance in the deposition eases tensions between the landman and the lawyer, who seem to come to a grudging respect for each other — and that respect stands even after they wind up sitting at a table with Angela and Ainsley, who happen to have stopped by the bar.
We loved Rebecca’s sharp, scathing scene so much, we couldn’t wait to talk about it with Wallace. See what she has to say below.
TVLINE | Kayla, you have one of the best speeches I’ve seen in quite some time, during the deposition. Were you channeling anyone? Talk to me about getting those words to come out so slickly and powerfully.
Thank you so much! I had so much fun with that whole scene. I luckily had quite a bit of time with that material, that I got to really break it down and go into each and every single one of these terms so I could really know what I was talking about. And then I could map out where she was using certain tactics to hook them and then to throw it back in their faces. She thinks quick on her feet, and that monologue was a wonderful place where I got to show her power.
TVLINE | And I love how they all just fall in line! You have a room full of men who don’t want her there, and who’ve made that very clear, and then they just fall like dominos as she’s talking. [Editor’s note: Wallace’s co-star Paulina Chavez, who is sitting next to her, shouts, “As they should!”]
[Laughs] Yeah!
TVLINE | How much do you think Rebecca’s opinion of Tommy has changed, from when she first meets him to where we are now?
She is a person who sticks to her guns on what she believes in, but she’s also a person who will work with the situation presented to her for the best outcome for her to win a case. So, I think she kind of learns how she and Tommy need each other and need to work together. And there might still be tension there, but sometimes it might be good tension, where they both can learn from one another. Working with Billy Bob [Thornton, who plays Tommy] was just such an incredible experience, and I’m so happy that we get to have a little bit of banter.
Your turn. What did you think of Rebecca’s big moment and the episode overall? Sound off in the comments!
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