Actors Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell share that they hope to make an impact by telling the stories of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon

What did you know about Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon before you started working on this series?

Michelle Williams: I hadn’t been familiar with Gwen’s work. I only knew about Bob’s, but that too not in-depth. They had an artistic connection, which I always thought was like a chord between them. It’s a really deep bond, almost like the male/female versions of the same soul.

Sam Rockwell: She was an amazing dancer. She really helped him with his career and life. It was a meeting of two great minds. They really needed each other, almost like twins. I am glad we are going to tell that story.

What preparations went behind taking these roles and stepping into Bob and Gwen’s shoes?

Williams: We were not able to learn all the dances and songs before shooting. So, we were learning them simultaneously during the shoots. It almost felt like taking acting, singing and dancing lessons at school.

Rockwell: You think you can dance but then you have to do it with some professional dancers who have been dancing since they were six. Learning ballet training, modern dance, and fosse style of dancing along with the vocabulary which is a whole style on its own was challenging.

A lot of prosthetic make up was used to tell the story. What do you think about this?

Rockwell: A lot has gone into the makeup, hair and the way they talk. People joked about how they often saw me and Michelle with our earphones in. We listened to interviews of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse, trying to mimic their voices to some degree. We were also bridging the gap between present and future. There was an interesting episode where we had to use a fake beard because we had shaved for the young Fosse and Gwen.

Williams: I always kept my nails short. But after noticing her well kept long nails in some pictures, I had to put on fake nails. That changed the way I moved my hands. It was time-consuming because we had to jump into the future for about 30 years.

What do you hope to convey to the audience through Bob and Gwen’s story?

Rockwell: There are people who are already very excited for the musical theatre. But, I hope to move those people by their story who do not know anything about them.

Williams: I am really excited for people to get to experience who Gwen was and see how much love she gave while looking back at her legacy. They should discover what a compassionate, unparalleled dancer and hard worker she was.

(The series will premiere on July 29 on Star World.)