As Mythic Quest Season 2 moves into its midseason, the backstory of the Apple TV+ original series' most eccentric character, C.W. Longbottom, is finally revealed in full. As the young, aspiring science fiction writer arrives in Los Angeles in the 70s, C.W. forms a collaborative relationship with up-and-coming writers A.E. Goldsmith and Peter Cromwell. Goldsmith is portrayed by Teen Wolf's Shelley Henning and her character plays a vital role in C.W.'s evolution from a daydreamer to the arrogant head writer of the MMORPG Mythic Quest.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Hennig spoke about working to imbue more of herself and creative decisions into the creation of A.E. Goldsmith, finding empathy in the male-dominated time of the 1970s and playing off her scene partners Josh Brener and Michael Cassidy.

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How did the opportunity to portray A.E. Goldsmith come about?

Shelley Hennig: It came in the form of an email from my rep! The breakdown I got for A.E. was Velma from Scooby-Doo meets Virginia Slim -- I'm going to assume it was [episode writer] Craig Mazin who wrote that breakdown -- and the minute I read that, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. That told me everything, for some reason, and I just did that!

To that point, was there a specific line or bit of direction that helped inform your performance?

It was more about the dynamic between her and Carl and Peter. It was about her place in that tripod and it was about the collaboration between the three of them and it reminded me of acting school. I was 18 when I was at the conservatory and you really rely on your peers and I remember trying to find out what song was going to be in the background of our Shakespeare final -- was it going to be Britney Spears' "Toxic" or "...Baby One More Time" -- we took that so seriously and spent hours arguing and explaining why we thought it should be this or that.

For some reason, the attention A.E. paid to her writing took me personally to that place and that's where I was coming from and where I brought my personal passion for acting. I'm kind of a geek about acting so I brought that in with A.E. as a science fiction writer, which I knew nothing about! [Laughs.] It was fun to dive into that world, truly, and I feel like I'm part of the club now.

With this episode being a period piece, how was it leaning into the Mad Men possibilities of the setting to find your performance?

Hennig: They built special sets for this episode, which were so lush and that makes it easy right off the top. Also, the costume and hair and makeup department... I've never been so in awe; that really helped. I wore glasses in my audition, I had these vintage frames that [episode director and series co-creator] Rob McElhenney asked me about on set if I wanted to wear them as A.E. That's what's so cool about Rob: He didn't want to really change much of what he saw from how I styled myself in the audition. Obviously, I'm working with real artists in costuming, hair and makeup and they elevated everything and I felt so transformed. Truly, I've never had so much fun playing a character.

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How was it playing off Josh Brener and Michael Cassidy as your scene partners as the episode traces A.E. through time?

Hennig: All I had to do was look at them and I knew exactly where I should be. I'm not just saying this: They are unreal performers and it did feel like a tripod. We all just geeked out together and it all just worked out. Rob knows what he's doing and he put us there and it worked out. We played, things changed and moved, things were added and taken away and we were along for the ride. Josh has a two-page monologue and I personally couldn't wait for that day and Michael and I watched him in awe. To me, it looked like he was doing a freaking dance and I was mesmerized. I'm really inspired by both of them and I love the dynamic between the three and it was really heartbreaking.

What were some things you wanted to hold to for A.E. as we see her through the passage of time?

Hennig: What's interesting is that the last scene [where] we see the three of them together is actually the first thing that we shot and that was nerve-wracking, to start at the end. Rob really worked with us on it and something that Rob saw from me, that he wanted to capitalize on or explore, was I kept twitching my nose because the glasses would fall because they really are these kinds of heavy glasses. [Laughs.] He loved that for A.E. and he pointed that out and asked me to do it again and that was enough information for me to know it was safe to go with playing A.E. as one part classy and the other part that just melts when things get exciting and she can geek out. That's something I can relate to personally and Rob and I talked about that and he encouraged me to go further with that. I think that some of the physicality that happens happens because of that conversation we had.

I'm excited about that and, when in doubt, I had that in my back pocket; that and empathy. Empathy was big for me with this character, to be able to be in that dynamic. You were talking earlier about it being a period piece and here's a woman in the '70s trying to become a science fiction writer and there weren't too many of them. It's brought up in one of the scenes, the way women are treated, and you could play it as being nasty back but that's not A.E. She actually feels sorry for Carl that he even went there. That was something I was excited to play and Rob pointed that out. He didn't initially see it that way because he wanted A.E. to fight for herself, but we both thought that she was always willing to put her own ego aside and you have to be a really empathetic person to be able to do that. That was something I haven't played that much before so that was really, really fun and challenging.

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I've talked to several of the series' writers and producers and they always seem open to the cast's suggestions. Aside from that sense of empathy and the nose twitch, were there any other things you forged in your performance while working with Rob?

Hennig: We did the drunk scene second, it's day two, and only the second scene I've been as A.E. after doing the last scene as A.E. and now I'm doing a drunk scene. There was still more to discover and I'm doing the scene after we go out to the bar after our first day working together. Shelley, when she's drunk, can be really physical and reach out to people and let them know that she's with you when you're vibing. [Laughs.] That was coming out and I remember Rob pulled me aside between setups and was like, "I have an idea. I think A.E. is someone that lets people come to her." First of all, I was embarrassed that I didn't think of that and wasn't playing that and I thanked him and that really set the tone for me with A.E. and helped me get even more grounded in that space. That was a really important note that Rob gifted me.

Even though this is a one-and-done appearance as A.E., what are you really proud of being able to be a part of Mythic Quest?

Hennig: I was happy to be a part of it. I was so invested in the storyline -- I'm sweating right now and that's really a testament to how I feel about the show as a whole. It's so cool to be part of C.W.'s backstory. F. Murray Abraham is such a brilliant actor and to be a part of something that he brings to life is just humbling and I'm overwhelmed!

Mythic Quest stars Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Imani Hakim, Jessie Ennis and F. Murray Abraham, with Naomi Ekperigin, Caitlin McGee, Humphrey Ker, Chris Naoki Lee and Jonathan Wiggs. New episodes air Fridays on Apple TV+.

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