Hilary Swank has and says that revelation might explain some of her actions on set of her new ABC series â .â
âYou donât tell for 12 weeks for a certain reason. But then, like, youâre growing and youâre using the bathroom a lot and youâre eating a lot. Iâm sure thereâs been conversations, and when I get back to the set, people will be like, âOh, it all makes sense now,' during press interviews in New York.
âThere was a moment just last week when my pants didnât fit anymore and I had to like cut ... my pants and then I put a jacket on over it like I had to hide it, right? And the continuity (person) was like, âThat doesnât matchâ (a previous take.) And Iâm like, âOh, you know, itâs OK, itâll work.â And theyâre like, âNo, it doesnât match.â And Iâm like, âOh, I think itâs OK.â I think we can make it work.âČ And sheâs like, âWell, youâre an executive producer, so you can do what you want, but that doesnât work.â I was like, âOh my gosh, I have to be able to tell people soon,'" she said, laughing.
Swank, 48, just finished filming the fifth episode of the series, which debuts Thursday on ABC and says she looks forward to "seeing how much my bodyâs changed. It'll be interesting to see.â
âAlaska Dailyâ is created by and co-executive produced by Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight", âStillwaterâ) who also wrote and directed the first episode. It follows named Eileen who gets lured to Alaska by a former colleague to look into an ongoing case of murdered Indigenous women.
The story is based on a real decades-old problem of missing and murdered native Alaskan women and Swank hopes the show might put a spotlight on these cases.
âAt this moment, itâs happening and nothingâs being done about it. So as we continue down this road, hopefully shining a bright light on this ... we can hopefully down the line start saying, âLook, somethingâs being done now.â"
Swank's character is a seasoned reporter who arrives in Anchorage confident in her abilities, even if the locals are skeptical of this newcomer.
âShe has done it for a long time. She doesnât suffer fools. She calls out B.S. when she sees it. She just speaks her mind," Swank said. "A lot of people call her rude, yet if she were a man, no one would call her rude. ... Probably five years ago there wouldnât be a female character like this on television. So itâs nice to be stepping into these new waters and to have that opportunity to do that," said Swank.
Filming a TV show requires long hours, which makes this expectant mother respectful of those who work while pregnant.
âIâve never been pregnant before and being able to now have a deeper understanding of what women have gone through for so long, the naseousness and the exhaustion, and especially in the first trimester," Swank said.
"We work 15 hour days and a TV series is like a marathon, so some day are six day weeks and we have 30 minute lunches. And look, Iâm not complaining because I love my job, but when you ask, like, âWhat is it like to be pregnant during that?â Itâs definitely a different set of circumstances.â
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
