Michelle Pfeiffer joined The Madison without reading a single script — because Taylor Sheridan hadn’t written anything yet.
“I committed to it without even having read anything,” Pfeiffer, 67, told Entertainment Tonight on Monday, March 9. “It was really just him explaining the scope of the character and kind of the outline of where it was going.”
Pfeiffer, who plays Stacy in the upcoming Paramount+ show, wasn’t sure about joining the project at first. “I said, ‘Well, I’d really love to read something.’ And he said, ‘No, I really like to cast it first and then I write,’” she claimed. “I said, ‘Well, I’d really like to read something and then I commit.'”
She continued: “We went back and forth over a couple of weeks like that, and then I realized I wasn’t going to win this argument and I was either going to have to commit or give it up.”
According to the official synopsis, The Madison follows the Clyburn family from New York City, who “relocate to the Madison River valley of southwest Montana for emotional recovery following a tragedy that shattered the family.”
In addition to Pfeiffer, the show stars Kurt Russell, Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, Matthew Fox, Beau Garrett, Amiah Miller, Ben Schnetzer and Kevin Zegers. Rebecca Spence, Alaina Pollack and Danielle Vasinova make up the rest of the cast.
Sheridan, 55, reflected on bringing The Madison to life at the show’s premiere in New York City on Monday, telling the crowd, “I can’t stand these things. So for me to be at one means I’m really proud of the project, which I am.”
The prolific producer noted that his new project “demanded a lot of everyone” on set.
“I don’t make anything. I write things down and then I bring together a cast and a crew and I ask them to go make it,” he shared. “And trucking cameras across rivers and up mountains. So I have a chance here to do what I don’t get to do often, which is call them out and thank them personally for their sacrifice and their commitment.”
Sheridan also introduced the stars of the show, saying, “It’s pretty arrogant for a bunch of people to stand up here and congratulate themselves before you’ve seen the thing that they’re congratulating themselves for. But we think it’s worth it. We’ll take the risk.”
The Madison premieres on Paramount+ Saturday, March 14.
