{"id":386963,"date":"2026-04-19T07:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T07:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386963\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T07:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T07:56:16","slug":"beef-carey-mulligan-and-oscar-isaac-on-what-drew-them-to-their-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386963\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Beef’ Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac on What Drew Them to Their Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT:\u00a0The following story contains plot details from Season 2 of \u201cBeef<\/a>,\u201d now streaming on Netflix<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix\u2019s \u201cBeef<\/a>\u201d is back for a second season, and the anthology series is wild, revolving around two couples, Josh (Oscar Isaac<\/a>) and Lindsay (Carey Mulligan<\/a>) and Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny). One of the most intense scenes comes in Episode 5 when Lindsay\u2019s beloved dog, Burberry, has gone missing after Ashley snuck into their house and accidentally left the back door open. After hours of searching, Lindsay comes upon a coyote attacking Burberry and, without a second thought, kills the coyote with her bare hands.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat was basically what made me want to do it,\u201d Mulligan says.<\/p>\n

\n\tCreator Lee Sung Jin had not yet fleshed out all eight episodes of \u201cBeef\u201d when Mulligan sat down with him over Zoom, but there was one thing he knew for certain. Mulligan says, \u201cHe was like, \u2018but I know exactly what happens in Episode 5.\u2019 He pitched the whole episode around losing the dog and ending with that coyote.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShooting it was kind of crazy,\u201d she adds. \u201cBut I was very motivated by the idea of that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis season of \u201cBeef\u201d takes place at an upscale Montecito country club. Isaac plays the club\u2019s general manager, and Lindsay, is an interior decorator there. Gen Z couple Ashley and Austin work at the club, but are at the lower end of the pay scale.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cBeef\u201d kicks off when Austin and Ashley witness Josh and Lindsay in a heated, violent argument, and capture it on video, suddenly finding themselves with some leverage to blackmail the older couple. Things quickly spiral into a web of lies, power dynamics and desperation. The conflict between Josh and Lindsay escalates, and the coyote scene marks a turning point for Lindsay and her marriage.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn that whole time, she had never really figured out anything that she cared about or was particularly good at,\u201d Mulligan says of Lindsay. \u201cI think that was a big part of what I found interesting about her \u2014 that with all she had built her life on with this marriage, she didn\u2019t really have an identity that she could hold on to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\n\tKilling the coyote might be an unhinged moment, but Mulligan says: \u201cIt\u2019s the realization that the marriage is completely over, and that the only thing in the world that she feels has reciprocal love and understanding for her is this dog. So killing that coyote in defense of the dog is this enormous act of love, but also realizing that you only have that an animal \u2014 that you don\u2019t have with people in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the next episode, Lindsay has changed. \u201cShe cares less about what people think,\u201d Mulligan says. \u201cMuch of the first half of the show, she\u2019s being so consumed by how she\u2019s perceived. After she kills the coyote, she\u2019s like, \u2018Fuck it. I\u2019ve just got to win somehow. I\u2019ve got to find my path to survival. So I thought it was quite liberating thing for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore shooting, Isaac sat down with Lee to figure out who Josh is, and where he is in his career and marriage. \u201cWe started constructing the character together based on an initial idea of circumstances that happened in the show, and that was it was an incredible thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe exploration process with Lee was valuable to both Mulligan and Isaac in working out their respective backstories and understanding who their characters were and what drove them.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen it came to Josh, who appears to be bad with money and desperate to hold on to his youth. Isaac says: \u201cHe got this vibe. I\u2019m the young, cool, hip guy \u2014 everything\u2019s fine. And then what he does at home, and the tension between those things was really fun to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh\u2019s attempts to achieve that young vibe is reflected at home. He\u2019s got a mancave filled with memorabilia, and even owns a Moog synth that once belonged to his favorite band, Hot Chip. In Episode 2, he plays it \u2014 and he\u2019s not great at it. A few episodes later, he\u2019s up on stage, jamming with the band.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\n\tWho Josh wants to be is also reflected in his hair \u2014\u00a0yes, that\u2019s a mini-mullet he\u2019s rocking. Issac worked with his hair stylist Tim Nolan who suggested that style. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect thing that again, speaks to somebody that\u2019s trying to hold on to a particular image of youth,\u201d Isaac says. \u201cAnd one that shows a sense of relaxation and of energy \u2014 even though he\u2019s just being strangled the entire time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh starts stealing money from the club in order to maintain his lifestyle, and hold onto his image. \u201cHe cares more about identity and he wants enough money,\u201d Isaac says. \u201cHe\u2019s never going to be able to be a member of this club, but this is the closest he can get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh, who\u2019s surrounded by extreme wealth, feels a sense of entitlement \u2014\u00a0and he\u2019s also been stealing money from his late mother\u2019s bank account, \u201cSo he is already smudging the line there out of desperation,\u201d Isaac says.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe feels he has the right to, like all the rich people, to get his own,\u201d Isaac says. \u201cWhatever that means.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT:\u00a0The following story contains plot details from Season 2 of \u201cBeef,\u201d now streaming on Netflix Netflix\u2019s \u201cBeef\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[5589,170927,156,111,139,69,13272,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-386963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-beef","9":"tag-carey-mulligan","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-oscar-isaac","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}