Emmy-Nominated Star Julianne Nicholson Plays a Billionaire in 'Paradise'

Summary

All Of It (WNYC) — Emmy-Nominated Star Julianne Nicholson Plays a Billionaire in 'Paradise'

Date: September 12, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Julianne Nicholson (star of "Paradise")
Theme: Exploring Nicholson’s Emmy-nominated portrayal of Sam “Sinatra” Redmond, a billionaire architect of an underground society in the acclaimed thriller series "Paradise", and how the show resonates with current socio-political and cultural anxieties.

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Episode Overview

The episode centers on Alison Stewart’s conversation with Julianne Nicholson about her complex lead role in "Paradise," the Emmy-nominated drama set in a post-climate catastrophe world. The discussion delves into the intricacies of Nicholson’s character, the storytelling approach of creator Dan Fogelman, and the emotional themes fueling the series’ success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Unique Focus on Backstory

• Early Backstory for Character Depth
  • Nicholson highlights the rarity and excitement of dedicating an entire episode to a character’s backstory so early in the series.
  • Julianne Nicholson [03:46]:

    "I had never seen a single episode that delved so deeply into one character's life... it just allows the audience to know Sam a little more deeply and maybe understand the choices she's making, that they're led, you know, she's led by her grief, basically."

Portraying a Billionaire’s Emotional Journey

• Sam’s Early Ambitions and Wealth
  • The show depicts Sam as self-made, not from money, with initial scenes showing her on the cusp of immense wealth.
  • Nicholson notes the subtlety of “shrinking herself” in early scenes for the comfort of male counterparts, even when talking about billions.
  • Julianne Nicholson [05:44]:

    "It's being a woman in that world in particular, which would have been... 20 years ago, and making apologies, trying to, you know, make yourself... shrinking yourself to, I don't know, make the man feel good or something."

Grief as a Defining Motive

• Loss and its Aftermath

  • The loss of Sam’s son reshapes her, shattering her illusion of control and power that money once offered her.
  • Julianne Nicholson [06:41]:

    "The size of that loss is something that just shifts something in her DNA... she thought that she was smart enough, worked hard enough, had enough money that she was gonna... control everything... and this just knocks that idea on its... backside."

• Money and Illusions of Power

  • Nicholson describes her character as believing wealth can fix all problems—until confronted by tragedy.
  • Julianne Nicholson [07:52]:

    "She thinks she's untouchable... with enough money, you can fix anything... and she discovers that that's not the case. The thing that matters the most, she can't hold onto."

Playing a Villain Audiences Love to Hate

• Nicholson reflects on how audiences react to her role as an “antagonist” and finds the feedback both fun and unusual.
  • Julianne Nicholson [08:34]:

    "I can't tell you how many times people come up to me with huge smiles on their face telling me they hate me... so if I can still, you know, find characters unlike any that I've played before, like, that's the joy."

Power Structures Inside Paradise

• Why Sam Isn’t the Public Face
  • Sam prefers operating behind the scenes, believing she can accomplish more without direct attention.
  • Julianne Nicholson [09:41]:

    "With less attention, she can do more... flying under the radar as much as possible is a way to continue sort of pulling the strings as she wants them to go."

Trust, Vulnerability, and Relationships

• Role of Sam’s Psychiatrist
  • Nicholson shares why Sam maintains a deep trust with her psychiatrist Dr. Gabriella Turabi (Sarah Shahi), forged during her most vulnerable moments.
  • Julianne Nicholson [10:11]:

    "As she says in the... scene together, all she can think about is throwing herself off a building... yet she has another daughter that she needs to be okay for or at least be, as she says, be functioning for."

Ethics and Intentions Behind Building Paradise

• Good Intentions, Complicated Realities
  • Initially, Sam believes she’s doing the right thing by constructing Paradise, but acknowledges the project's moral complexity—a theme set to expand in Season 2.
  • Julianne Nicholson [11:00]:

    "I think she starts off with good intentions, and then things go south."

Working With Dan Fogelman and On-Set Dynamics

• Showrunner’s Vision
  • Nicholson praises Fogelman’s knack for balancing heavy themes with humor, making the darkness palatable for broad audiences.
  • Julianne Nicholson [12:01]:

    "He just has this knack for understanding what a large audience... what gets them in... I think his use of humor throughout... keeps people... if you're just being hit over the head again and again and again with the darkness, people have a tendency to tune out..."

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Segments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Event | |-----------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:46 | Julianne Nicholson | "She’s led by her grief, basically... so there’s just a little more humanity there than someone being evil for evil’s sake." | | 05:44 | Julianne Nicholson | "...Shrinking yourself to, I don't know, make the man feel good or something. Luckily, she comes clean immediately." | | 06:41 | Julianne Nicholson | "The size of that loss is something that just shifts something in her DNA..." | | 07:52 | Julianne Nicholson | "She thinks she's untouchable... The thing that matters the most, she can't hold onto." | | 08:34 | Julianne Nicholson | "People come up to me with huge smiles on their face telling me they hate me." | | 09:41 | Julianne Nicholson | "With less attention, she can do more... flying under the radar..." | | 11:00 | Julianne Nicholson | "I think she starts off with good intentions, and then things go south." | | 12:01 | Julianne Nicholson | "He just has this knack for understanding what a large audience... what gets them in... his use of humor throughout…" | | 15:12 | Julianne Nicholson | "I also feel so lucky that I can do both... my family is number one and that I get to also continue acting..." |

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Notable Moments

• Character Scene Excerpt (02:36):
  Excerpt of Sam (Sinatra) handling the community after the president’s death, showing both her steely resolve and ability to command a room with icy, strategic poise.

• Caller Jill Mann Segment (13:16 – 14:48):
  Personal, heartfelt call from actor Cameron Mann’s mother, highlighting Nicholson's mentorship and kindness offscreen, in contrast to her character’s ruthlessness.

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Other Highlights

• Handling Fame and Role Choices (15:12):
  Nicholson shares how she balances her acting career with family life, focusing on grounding herself in routine and cherishing the ability to choose projects purposefully.

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Conclusion

This episode provides a nuanced, behind-the-scenes exploration of "Paradise" through Julianne Nicholson’s lens. Listeners gain insight into her character's emotional core, the societal and personal questions raised by the series, and Nicholson’s thoughtful, grounded approach—both on and off screen. The conversation is a compelling blend of cultural analysis, personal reflection, and industry insight, making it valuable even for those unfamiliar with the show.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

You are listening to all of it. I'm Alison Stewart. A twisty new thriller called paradise is up for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. The series starts as a murder mystery.

[Interviewer]

Who killed the President?

[Alison Stewart]

But then it morphs into so much more. Climate change causes the world to implode and 25000 people now live underground in a Pleasantville like fortified bunker. It is all fake sun, fake rain, fake meat. But the humans who live there are real. Including the mastermind of this underground city, Samantha Redmond. The wealthiest self made woman ever. She dreamed up the whole thing. She is played by my next guest, Emmy award nominated actor Julianne Nicholson. When the President is murdered, his secret Service agent Xavier wants to get to the bottom of it. Even if that means crossing Sam, who goes by the nickname Sinatra. As you can hear from the scene when Sam is telling leaders how the President's death will be handled, she she is not one to be taken lightly.

[Character in Paradise (Sam Sinatra or official)]

In 10 minutes the community will get an alert for an emergency town hall. They will gather here and we will share the shocking news that the President has passed of natural causes quietly in his bed. We will then immediately swear in Henry which will settle everyone because it will remind our community that we have a functional system in place. As for the rest of you, your security will be increased until we find some answers. So if you gentlemen will just pour yourselves a drink or tug on your. Or do whatever it is you need to do to calm yourselves the down so that we can present a united front. Well, that would be super.

[Alison Stewart]

Paradise has already been given a second season. I got a chance to speak to the star, Julianne Nicholson from England. In this conversation, we discussed how the series was colored by the results of the 2024 election. Now, we took calls, but unfortunately this is an encore presentation, so we can't take yours today. I started by asking why it was important for her character's backstory to be front and center early on in the series.

[Julianne Nicholson]

Well, for me, I had never seen a single episode that delved so deeply into one character's life. And so just to be able to. To play that felt very exciting. And also it just allows the audience to know Sam a little more deeply and maybe understand the choices she's making, that they're led, you know, she's led by her grief, basically. So there's just a little bit more humanity there than someone just sort of being evil for evil's sake. I think Dan's very smart that way with his use of backstory and getting to know these people outside of the present day story we're telling.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes. Earlier, she's sitting at the bar. She's a young woman.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

She's just made a deal to sell.

[Interviewer]

Her startup to make her a rich, rich woman. In that moment, what's really important to her?

[Julianne Nicholson]

I think in that moment, everything. You know, the future is bright. I feel like she's bright and worked really hard. I don't think she comes from money. So she's, you know, it's all been of her own volition that she finds herself in this place and, you know, she meets someone who's interesting to her. She's thinking about kids and, you know, maybe a white picket fence and sort of doing the thing that she loves in her work, but also having a family life. And. And then we discover that, that, that goes off the rails.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

It's interesting. When she's at the bar, she meets this guy. We find out it'll be her husband. And she. At first she tells her I'm gonna be worth, I think, $14 billion. And she lies about it because she could be worth. She finds out, well, I'll only be worth $34 billion. And I thought that was an interesting detail in the writing.

[Julianne Nicholson]

I know. I think Dan sort of sprinkles those throughout each of the characters where he just drops these little clues about who they are. I know. I thought that was so interesting too, about sort of, you know, well, it's being a woman in that world in particular, which would have been, you know, 20 years ago, and making apologies, trying to, you know, make yourself. I mean, it's not, I can't say small. 14 billion. Still pretty large sum, but, you know, shrinking yourself to, I don't know, make the man feel good or something. Luckily, she comes clean immediately.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

We see her go on to become a young mother of two kids, and she and her husband, they seem like good partners. Her son falls ill. We learned this in the second. In the second episode. What does her son's illness do to her? What is. She describes herself as being broken?

[Julianne Nicholson]

Yeah, I. I think it's a couple things. One is just. I mean, the size of that loss is something that just shifts something in her DNA. She is not prepared to deal with that grief. And I think it also rocks her to her core and that she thought that she was smart enough, worked hard enough, had enough money that she was gonna. Everything she could control everything. Sor. Quite a type a control freak. And this just knocks that idea on its. On its backside. And so I think that sort of really rattles her as well, to realize her powerlessness in. In the face of bigger things, and she just can't. Can't handle it.

[Alison Stewart]

It's interesting.

[Interviewer]

She just. Initially, she just keeps things, trying to throw money at her son's health.

[Alison Stewart]

We'll get better doctors. Better doctors.

[Interviewer]

And I thought that was an interesting signal. What has money done to her sense of self?

[Julianne Nicholson]

Well, I think she thinks she's untouchable. I mean, it's not exactly immortal, but not far off from that. You know, she thinks that with enough money, you can. You can fix anything, you can have anything, you can do anything you. You want to do. And she discovers that that's not the case. The thing that matters the most, she can't hold onto.

[Interviewer]

We have a question for you. This text came in.

[Alison Stewart]

How do you feel that your acting.

[Interviewer]

Is so, so good that fans found.

[Alison Stewart]

It easy to hate Sinatra?

[Interviewer]

You are phenomenal at playing a sociopathic villain, but you're not one in real life. I'm rooting for you to win all the awards.

[Julianne Nicholson]

Oh, that's so nice. I have to say, it has been. I've never really played a just like a villain bad guy before, and I can't tell you how many times people come up to me with huge smiles on their face telling me they hate me. So it's been a very interesting and unusual and new feedback that I've been getting. But you Know how fun what I, you know, I've been doing this now for close to 30 years, so if I can still, you know, find characters unlike any that I've played before, like, that's. That's the joy. So. Thank you.

[Interviewer]

When she's in paradise in the place, at first it seems like she doesn't want everybody to realize that she's in control. She's kind of going undercover. Why isn't she up front with being in control? She's letting the, quote, president be in control.

[Julianne Nicholson]

I think she learned early on that I don't think she. She doesn't feel like she needs to.

[Caller Jill Mann]

Be.

[Julianne Nicholson]

The face of it. I feel like with less attention, she can do more. So she. I think flying under the radar as much as possible is a way to continue sort of pulling the strings as she wants them to go.

[Interviewer]

She has a psychiatrist to help keep her even. It's the same psychiatrist who helped her through her child dying. Why does she trust this woman so much?

[Julianne Nicholson]

Yes, Dr. Gabriella Turabi, played by the wonderful Sarah Shahi. I think it's because she, as you mentioned, Dr. Tarabi, helps Sinatra when she's at her absolute lowest point. And as she says in the they're seen together, she's basically all she can think about is throwing herself off a building. Like she's. She can't fathom living. And yet she has another daughter that she needs to be okay for or at least be, as she says, be functioning for.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

I'm wondering if you thought to yourself, does Sam Sinatra. Does she really think that creating this underground bunker, does she really think she's doing the right thing?

[Julianne Nicholson]

At first, I think for sure, at first she thinks she's doing the right thing, but I think it's much more complicated than that. And I'm actually so excited that we've been picked up for a second season because I've started speaking with Dan Fogelman, the creator, a little bit, and I think we've only just scratched the surface on what the construction of paradise entailed. And so it'll be interesting to see what it actually took to bring it to life. I think she starts off with good intentions, and then things go south.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

This is a funny text. It says, I was on an email thread several years ago that turned out to have Dan included. I sent him an email telling him we have the same last name. He replies, always good to meet another Fogelman. What a nice guy. So tell me, what do you think? What is Dan Fogelman? What's his skill set as a Showrunner.

[Julianne Nicholson]

And as a writer, first of all, he's such a nice, decent person, really personable. So even with all the successes he's had, he's very easy to talk to. And he's incredibly enthusiastic about his work and the show. And so everybody feels excited to be there. And then I think he just has this knack for understanding what a large audience, what. What gets them in, you know, whether it's going into those backstories. And I think his use of humor throughout the exploration of all this, you know, grief and loss, and with all this extreme, like, it keeps people. If you're just being hit over the head again and again and again with the darkness, I think people have a tendency to tune out. And so he just knows those moments of where to bring the levity and the lightness.

[Interviewer]

People know you from a lot of things. Most recently, mayor of Easttown, you won an Emmy award for that. That performance. And we have a caller who has a question about that.

[Alison Stewart]

This is Jill from Westport, Connecticut. Hi, Jill.

[Caller Jill Mann]

Hi, how are you? Thanks for having me on. I love your show. So, Julianne, Jill Mann. This is Jill Mann.

[Julianne Nicholson]

Cameron. Hi, Jill. Hi.

[Caller Jill Mann]

So my son, Cameron Mann played Ryan Ross, Julianne's son, Lori Ross, son and mayor of Easttown. And there's nothing better than driving down the road and hear Julianne's voice come on the radio. We're such huge fans, and I just want all the listeners to know out there what a huge heart she has, what an amazing mentor. You're such an amazing mentor to Cameron. I mean, it was a beautiful experience and I'm sure very foundational to him as an actor and meant so much. And so I just want everyone to know you're everything that Sinatra is not. And so that really speaks to what an amazing actress you are.

[Julianne Nicholson]

Oh, my God, that is so nice. Jill, you're so sweet. Were you just driving down the road and called? How was it?

[Caller Jill Mann]

I was literally driving down the road I heard you on. And of course, I'm watching everything that you're in always, and so is Cameron. And I thought, oh, my gosh, I have to call and let everyone know that Julianne's just exactly as nice as she sounds.

[Julianne Nicholson]

That is so nice. Well, maybe that will give people pause before they come up and tell me how much they hate me now.

[Interviewer]

Julianne, you know, it's so interesting because I was watching a video of you, and you're at home in London, and you were saying, you know, I haven't really worked by choice necessarily for a While. And that you and your family, you don't have what you call the Hollywood life that you, like, have dinner together and talk about stuff. What does that give you personally, when you do pick roles and when you do choose to work?

[Julianne Nicholson]

I mean, it's always hard because, you know, whenever I get a job, it means leaving home. I mean, I guess that means that for everybody, but normally it's like a, you know, nine to five thing and not a couple of months, but it just, it allows me to just, I don't know, come back to earth and just feel like my, my blood pressure evens out, my shoulders go down. It's just much more relaxed and it's just joyful in a. In a different way. I also feel so lucky that I can do both. You know, I. But it's important my family is number one and that I get to also continue acting and doing the job I love. Now I try to appreciate whichever one I'm in, whether it be home, don't worry about the next job. And when I'm working, know that I'll be home at the end of it. So it's sort of a work in progress, but I feel pretty, pretty lucky.

[Alison Stewart]

The show is called paradise, and that was my conversation with actor Julianne Nicholson. Up next, the dramedy Shrinking. Actor Michael Urie stars as the best friend to a therapist navigating grief, work, and fatherhood after the sudden death of his wife. Yuri joins us to discuss his role in the show's most recent season.

[Julianne Nicholson]

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