Michelle Dockery On The Netflix Western That'll Make You Forget Lady Mary For Good

Westerns are tales as old as time but Netflix’s latest take on the genre is anything but dated. Godless, set in 1880s America, centers around the town of Le Belle - made up almost exclusively by women - as outlaws terrorize the surrounding destitute landscape. Michelle Dockery’s multi faceted ranch owner, Alice, operates as the beating heart of the story line that pushes feminist tones to the fore.

Our Josh Newis-Smith caught up with the former Downton Abbey star to talk about the series that is set to become you new Netflix addiction. Yee-Haa cow gurls...

This is what you need to know about Netflix's Godless:

Move over Cow Boys, 'Godless' is ALL about the Cow GURLZ…

Michelle Dockery: “I loved the script, I read the film script originally and then it was broken up into seven parts for Netflix. It’s an authentic Western in many ways but it’s a story that hasn’t been told before. Godless tells the story of a town where all of the men have died and it’s made up primarily of women – which was actually very common at the time. It was this wild, untamed sort of time which I think the story tells so beautifully and running through it are these relationships which develop between the characters who have a sense of longing and loneliness. It’s an authentic western in that there is good and evil, bad guys and gun toting and its surrounded by this beautiful landscape which so often Westerns are. It was so wonderful to be part of and I’m so proud of it.”

Thought 'Game of Thrones' was brutal? Think again...

“Godless is a combination of brutal violence and stunning surroundings – the whole season opens with a very troubling, harrowing scene which really sets the tone for it. All the ingredients on this, from the score to the cinematography, come together to create the most intense viewing experience. Filming it was so brutal too; I've never known such a hard working crew who worked in such difficult conditions, dragging equipment up mountains in New Mexico and fearless cameramen sliding underneath horses as they reared up. It was just incredible to watch.”

Dockers wants MORE strong female character's like these...

“There is of course always more room for strong female role models across the entertainment industry. It's a case of writing real women who are complex, three-dimensional women and telling stories like those in Godless that haven’t been told before. That's what's so different about this Western – it follows a town run by women where people lost their lives much earlier than we do now, so their lives are a hard scrabble. Then at the same time there’s a domestic side to the story which gives you a real idea of what it was like to live in that town at that time which I certainly haven't seen before in a western.”

Michelle’s Accent is aca-amazing...

“We had a lot of dialect coaching on Godless - the same as with other shows I have been on where I have had to do an American accent. It’s great to have someone to just pull you up on certain sounds and my accent here is a much more visceral accent than people think – it’s not a general American accent it’s got a real western feel to it – it’s so different to anything I have done before. But I wouldn’t call myself a method actress so I didn’t keep in the accent all the time.”

The filming process was intense AF...

“The sets were breathtaking and you really feel like you're in New Mexico which is such a special part of the world. The setting only added to the feeling of it all and the intensity of it. Everyday I would walk onto my character; Alice’s ranch and it would take my breath away. We would sometimes have lightening delays because we couldn’t shoot for safety reasons, sometimes they lasted about three hours and we would sit on the porch of Alice's ranch and watch the storm rolling in from miles away. It was incredible. It was a nightmare though as we didn’t have any phone signal (laughs) – but that only added to the feeling that we were actually living in that period. They built the main town from scratch and when I stepped onto that set I just couldn’t believe it.”

It took HOURS to look THIS dirty...

“We were constantly dirty with the wind and the dirt blown in our faces, just like the people of the time had to deal with. Each department was striving for the most authentic look where possible and just when I thought I was dirty enough Tara Day, our head of makeup, would just pour more dirt on me. There was so much work that went into us looking THAT dirty; Tara would put a base on me, then she would get me to squint and then put fake dirt in the lines around my face.”

Talk about a cast! Jack O’Connell, Jeff Daniels and Merritt Wever co-star...

“I loved working with Merritt Wever who plays Mary Agness - she is one of my favourite actresses. I loved her in Nurse Jackie but her performance in this is outstanding and very surprising. I was probably the biggest joker on set, we had a lot of fun and I had a great laugh with Jack - he's such a fearless actor, he's brilliant and his performance is so great.”

Filming 'Godless' was all about Friday night dance sessions and Whatsapp groups…

“I loved filming with the girls. We have a Whatsapp group called ‘The Ladies of Le Belle’ and we message everyday. We hung out loads on set. We would go to this restaurant and this lovely guy called Mark, who managed this restaurant, would open it later for us so that we could have little dance parties on Friday nights. Just working with such a brilliant group of women on that was just amazing.”

'Godless' is available on Netflix on 22nd November