Starring alongside great actors like Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough in a riveting Hulu drama is a career highlight for any up-and-coming star. Gladstone has been riding a wave of success generated by her award-winning turn in Killers of the Flower Moon. Keough stood out in Daisy Jones & the Six and currently stars in Sasquatch Sunset. However, for young actors Vritika Gupta and Aiyana Goodfellow, Gladstone and Keough comprise just one of many unforgettable moments that went into creating the new miniseries Under the Bridge.
The other is the deeply moving subject. Based on bestselling author Rebecca Godfrey’s true-crime book, the 1997 British Columbia-set drama tracks the true story of 14-year-old Reena Virk (played by Gupta), who never returned home after attending her friends’ party. Virk was found dead eight days later—after she was surrounded and beaten by a group of teenagers under a bridge. Touching on issues of bullying, race, belonging, and family ties, the series brings viewers into the calculating world of the young girls accused of Virk’s murder.
Chloe Guidry, Javon “Wanna” Walton (Euphoria), Izzy G., Ezra Faroque Khan, and Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) also star with creator Quinn Shephard and executive producer Samir Mehta at the helm behind the camera. In excerpts from an exclusive MovieWeb interview, Vritika Gupta and Aiyana Goodfellow dive deep and open up about the gripping production, working with Lily Gladstone, and the importance of bringing Reena Virk’s story front and center. Read on.
Diving Into Heartbreaking Material in Under the Bridge
Under the Bridge (2024)
4.5/5
- Release Date
- April 17, 2024
- Cast
- Riley Keough , Izzy G , Chloe Guidry , Ezra Faroque Khan , Archie Panjabi , Vritika Gupta , Javon Walton , Aiyana Goodfellow , Lily Gladstone , Anoop Desai
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
Under the Bridge is told through the eyes of local police officer Cam (Gladstone) and Rebecca (Keough), a writer who returns to town and gets swept up in the unfortunate events. When Rebecca decides to write about Reena’s disappearance and, ultimately, her death, Cam is taken aback. The former childhood friends share a haunting past trauma, and everything about the recent upheavals with the young girls seems to stir that up. Of the powerful story, Vritika Gupta shared:
“When I found out the story about Reena, it was very eye-opening to me. I hadn’t heard about that case before… I was really excited to portray Reena because I really wanted the audience to hear the story… know it and really listen to it. As the show goes on, you experience more of the family dynamic between Reena and her family. That was also a very emotional experience for all of us.”
So was shooting a sequence under the bridge, which depicts what happened with Reena, who was surrounded and then confronted by her “friends,” foster teens Josephine (Chloe Guidry), Kelly (Izzy G), and Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow). The filmmakers handle these scenes with care, and while nothing overly graphic is seen, the haunting mood is set. “That was also just a very powerful moment,” Gupta added. “We were surrounded by such great people that really supported us throughout that. It was definitely a very intense scene to film.”
Under the Bridge and Speaking Up About Bullying
Creator Quinn Shephard and executive producer/showrunner Samir Mehta do an exceptional job pacing out this complex tale. Leaping back and forth through time, the puzzle pieces surrounding Reena’s death come together. Throughout the drama, we see first-hand the most extreme aftermath of bullying. When asked if she had ever experienced bullying, Aiyana Goodfellow was candid:
“I haven’t experienced it personally, I guess. But as you were saying the question, my immediate response was like, ‘No, I think teachers are often the bullies towards their students,’ which is a dynamic that I don’t think we acknowledge enough in society. I think that this series does a great job of exploring those intergenerational relationships people can feel and are often neglected and unheard and abandoned, and how we might respond to that. And how we might become like the adults who are kind of part of us in the first place.”
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When asked what helped her move through those kinds of challenging situations in her own life, she added: “Well, a lot of my experiences are things that I write about. I am an author. And particularly, I would say with my second book, Innocence & Corruption, which is about the oppression of children, I explored the school system and the family system, and some of those dynamics. And I guess expressing it creatively was cathartic.”
Aiyana Goodfellow on Working With Lily Gladstone
In Under the Bridge, the character of Dusty is caught in the middle between Josephine and Kelly’s wrath. She shares a connection with Reena but buckles under the pressure and becomes an unlikely bystander to a horrible act. Everything heats up when Lily Gladstone’s Cam begins asking questions. Goodfellow, who shared deeply moving scenes with Gladstone, shared more about the experience.
“I learned so much from it. I haven’t had the opportunity to live with a character as long as I lived with Dusty, and she has not left me at all… Working with Lily, of course, was just wonderful. She’s a very sweet and funny person. The first day that we worked together, I was really nervous because I’d flown eight hours from London to Vancouver where we were filming, and I was just crying the whole flight and really stressed.” Of course, the nerves of filming a major series and leaving home are understandable.
“I was going to be living in Vancouver by myself for a few months and it was just a big deal. And I got to set, and she [Lily] was so grounding, such a great scene partner… we managed to make light within a heavy scene or between takes during a heavy scene. I really appreciated her sweetness and kindness.”
Their Biggest Hope for Audiences of Under the Bridge
One of the main intentions of any drama is to entertain and provoke thought. By bringing the story of Reena Virk to life, both these young actresses hope deeper conversations around bullying, connection, and communication can transpire.
“I just really want the audience to have these purposeful conversations, not just among themselves, but with their family, with their friends,” Gupta said. “I really want them to understand how important it is to surround yourself with people that care about you and want what’s best for you. And you should never judge someone by how they look or how they act because you haven’t even stepped foot in their shoes and haven’t even lived a second in their life.”
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Goodfellow shared: “I think one of the most significant things for me is the fact that a lot of these characters seem very lost and… in the young cast, don’t really know who they are. They haven’t developed that sense of self, and they make decisions based on fear or trying to create or protect an image that exists to kind of shield them from maybe the trauma and the violence they’ve experienced from the world.”
“I hope that young people are able to see that and take it almost as a warning,” she added. “I hope that people can develop a sense of self… without performing a personality to make other people happy or to make society happy. I hope that we can risk loving and caring for ourselves and each other.” Under the Bridge is streaming on Hulu.
