The American Horror Story star says working with Naomi on All’s Fair and Closing Night transformed their relationship into a close off-screen friendship.
Sarah Paulson has revealed she and Naomi Watts have developed such a close “sisterly” friendship she now compares them to “two puppies in a box”.
The 51-year-old actress grew close to Naomi, 57, after they worked together on Hulu legal drama All’s Fair and new film Closing Night, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday (12.09.26).
The pair play estranged sisters in the feature directorial debut of Sarah’s former American Horror Story co-star Cody Fern.
Speaking at the People, Entertainment Weekly and Shutterstock studio at TIFF, Sarah said: “(Naomi and I) had very little to do together (in) season one, but on the (press) tour we kind of had this magical fun. I would describe us as like two puppies in a box.”
Sarah and Naomi appeared together in the first season of All’s Fair, which launched last year and follows a group of female divorce lawyers who leave their previous firm to establish their own practice.
The ensemble also features Kim Kardashian, Teyana Taylor, Niecy Nash-Betts and Glenn Close.
Discussing her relationship with Naomi, Sarah added: “We really have this sort of sisterly element, we’re always kind of poking at each other and giggling. I find her really, really, really thrilling to act opposite because she’s so available and she’s open and she has a lot of surprising things.”
Sarah admitted her impression of the Mulholland Drive and The Impossible star had changed after they became friends.
She said: “I think prior to knowing (Naomi) and working with her, I kind of thought she was sort of this studious – not that she isn’t studious, it’s just I saw her as this kind of serious person.”
Sarah added: “The truth is, although she has a multitude of depths, she is so silly and fun and flibberty-gibbitty and all these things that are so amazingly perfect for the part she’s playing in this movie that it was like this beautiful, beautiful alchemy that when (director Cody Fern) was like ‘Naomi’, I was like, ‘Yes, let’s go get her if we can’.”
Closing Night stars Sarah as Sandra Vale, a celebrated actress who invites her estranged family to New York for the opening night of her Broadway play.
Naomi plays her sister April, with Dianne Wiest playing their mother and Odessa A’zion and Toby Wallace, also appearing.
The film was written by Cody and Devon Bostick and marks Cody’s first feature as a director.
Sarah also said Naomi was sufficiently taken with the screenplay to overcome the practical difficulties involved in joining the production.
She added: “I just couldn’t have been more thrilled when she wrote to me saying, ‘I read the script and it’s so beautiful and I want to talk to Cody, and I don’t know how I’m going to work it out with my kids and the travel’, but she did because she loved the script.”
“As a woman of a certain age, there are three women’s parts in this movie that are so pregnant with possibility in terms of how you play them and just an absolute smorgasbord of opportunity in terms of emotional depth and humor. So it’s just you’d be an idiot to not want to do it. Where else are you finding that material? Nowhere.”
Sarah Paulson reveals ‘two puppies’ bond with Naomi Watts
