Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — “Schedule a Cry with Regretting You’s Allison Williams”

Release Date: October 21, 2025
Host: Danielle Robay
Guest: Allison Williams

Overview

In this episode of Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club, host Danielle Robay sits down for a live conversation with actress and executive producer Allison Williams to discuss the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel Regretting You. With the book’s film debut imminent, Allison opens up about embodying a character wracked by loss and the complexity of mother-daughter relationships. The conversation weaves through adaptation challenges, motherhood, regret, vulnerability, and the joyfully cathartic power of a good cry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Welcoming Allison Williams to Reese’s Book Club (05:01)

• Danielle lauds Allison’s versatility and warmth onscreen, calling her “hilarious and grounded, kind and just so real.”
• Allison jokes about English majors and reading Ulysses:

  "What else is leading you to—why did I read Ulysses if not for this moment? Can someone answer that?" (05:08)

Adaptation & Characterization: Bringing “Morgan” to Life

• Comparing Morgan to Girls Characters (05:33–06:14)

  • Danielle asks if Morgan is more like Marnie, Jessa, Hannah, or Shoshana from Girls.
  • Allison humorously diagnoses Morgan as:

    “A Marnie-Shosh hybrid... I can't tell if that's just their shared DNA or maybe she's Shosh. She's a Shosh rising. I don't know what that means in astrology, but I went for it.” (05:42–06:14)

• Romance or Family Saga? (06:17–07:06)

  • There's debate whether Regretting You is a family saga or romance.
  • Allison explains it is about “three relationships—two romantic and one mother-daughter, which is the heartbeat of the movie.” (06:31)

• Genre Consistency & Adaptation Challenges (07:06–09:27)

  • Adapting from book to film is tough due to books’ ability to be more intimate and immersive.
  • Allison on adaptation:

    “You want to make these characters feel familiar like they do after you've finished reading a book... You're declaring a definitive version of each person, which is intimidating.” (07:11–09:27)

Playing Morgan: Vulnerability, Rage, and Catharsis

• Accessing Rage & On-set “Primal Scream” (10:12–12:28)

  • The script demanded that Allison physically act out anger by beating up a car—a first for her:

    “Exercising, accessing, and then exercising rage in that way feels good... I hurt myself beating up the car. I, like, partially dislocated a rib. True fact.” (10:32–11:52)

  • The pivotal scream was unscripted:

    “That was an improvised scream... I just, like, scream at it at the end. And I was like, oh my God, what did I just do? That was so weird.” (11:57–12:16)

• Embracing and Disagreeing with Morgan (13:01–16:02)

  • Allison admits she both likes and has “big disagreements” with Morgan:

    “There's a question of letters. And I, like, vehemently and on the record disagree with Morgan's handling of the situation.” (15:07–16:02)

• Portraying Emotional Guardedness (13:16–13:31)

  • Danielle notes how Allison, known for her directness, plays a character who “holds so much back.”
  • Allison says she relates to characters “trying to access something but can’t, or are right on the verge of self-discovery... in process.” (13:31)

• Catharsis of Crying at Work (14:58)

  > “There is something... that feels good about a cry when you need one. And if you can time that out with your work schedule, like I have, it's nice.” (14:58)
  

Motherhood, Regret, and Identity

• Motherhood’s Impact on Regret (23:27–24:59)

  • Allison shares how parenthood transformed her view of regret:

    “Once I had a kid, my relationship with regret changed completely... Anything went differently, this kid doesn't exist exactly the way he is. And so I'm like, I can't regret anything. I can't regret literally anything.” (23:27)

• Connecting Real Life to Role (25:08–29:09)

  • Allison reflects on channeling her postpartum depression into Morgan’s early scenes.
  • She draws sharp distinctions between her own motherhood (becoming a parent at 33) and Morgan’s (a teen mother):

  “Doing it at 17 versus 33 is like a completely different experience.” (25:19–26:56)

  • On losing (or finding) oneself in motherhood:

    “For me, it's been about adding it to the list of ways that I identify and see myself... But I also have friends who had that experience of feeling a little bit lost, a little bit at sea, and then they became moms. And they're like, oh, this was it. And then some were like, this wasn’t it.” (27:15–28:10)

Thematic Deep Dive: “Regretting You”

• The Letters — Turning Point (17:37–19:08)
  • The mysterious “letters” are a focal point and source of visible disagreement:

    “Crucially and annoyingly, she (Morgan) doesn’t read them... This is the biggest point of departure I have from her.” (18:29–18:44)

  • Danielle:

    “Would you have done what she does with them? No. I'm so nosy.” (18:52–18:54)

  • Allison:

    “100%, at very least, kept—like, just for later. Life is long. Curiosity is powerful.” (19:04–19:08)

Craft, Career, and Representation

• Connecting Diverse Roles (29:16–31:31)
  • Allison’s career through lines: interrogating the “white woman” identity, from outright villainy (Get Out) to entitled techies (Megan) to complex maternal figures (Regretting You):

    “The white woman, the whitest of white women, is sort of my corner, and they wreak havoc, they do good things, they are loud and proud... examining that from every angle is my pursuit.” (29:32)

  • Danielle observes:

    “You take this, like, perfectionism or, like, American white female and turn it into cultural criticism.” (31:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Being Vulnerable:

  “I also have played a lot of characters who are kind of keeping everyone, including themselves, at arm's distance. So it was really nice to just be able to, like, feel things and be vulnerable.” (11:52)

• Motherhood and Regret:

  “I think my feeling about regret is always commensurate with how happy and content I am in my life at any given moment.” (23:27)

• Adaptation Anxiety:

  “Who knows if my mental image of Morgan... matched what anyone who's read the book already pictured in their mind's eye? That's a lot of responsibility.” (09:08)

• Literary Lightning Round (38:44–40:52):

  • Favorite adaptation: “Sense and Sensibility.” (39:04)
  • Book she wants to adapt: “The Phantom Tollbooth.” (39:08)
  • Book that best captures motherhood: “Emily Oster books. One for the mother hive out there.” (39:14)
  • Last book to make her cry: "A biography for children about David Bowie." (39:21)
  • Favorite Book Club Snack: "Movie theater butter, microwave popcorn—extra." (40:42)

• A Touching Family “Bookmark”:

  Allison shares an unforgettable conversation with her young son about birth, pain, and empathy:
  “He asked me why placenta doesn't get belly buttons... It's just gotten stuck in my head... His concern for the efficacy and advocacy in that moment... is just something I can't stop thinking about. It’s a permanent bookmark.” (36:25)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Allison’s Introduction & Girls Character Comparison | 05:01–06:14| | Adaptation & Genre Talk | 06:17–09:27| | Playing Morgan: Rage and Scream | 10:12–12:28| | Vulnerability a Cry as Catharsis | 13:01–14:58| | Motherhood and Regret | 23:27–24:59| | The Letters Debate | 17:37–19:08| | Connecting Career Themes | 29:16–31:44| | Literary Lightning Round | 38:44–40:52| | Allison’s Personal Bookmark (family story) | 36:25–38:44|

Tone & Language

The episode is candid, witty, and emotionally open—true to both Danielle’s warm hosting style and Allison’s blend of relatability and self-effacing humor. The conversation feels both accessible and intellectually curious, inviting listeners into the book-club intimacy and the behind-the-scenes anxieties and joys of literary adaptation.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode is an engaging deep dive into adaptation, motherhood, regret, and artistic vulnerability. It’s filled with heartfelt candor (and a few hearty laughs). Whether you love Colleen Hoover, are curious about the page-to-screen process, or just want to hear an actor open up about the messiness and beauty of family, there’s something here for you—just don’t forget the tissues.

Selected Memorable Quotes

• Allison Williams, on accessing rage (11:52):
  “There's a reason that rage rooms exist. It's all in there. It's just sitting there, waiting to be unleashed.”

• On disagreeing with your character (15:07):
  “That's interesting. It's interesting to walk someone through... but in this way, I was like, ugh, I wish she made a different choice. But it's my job to understand that choice.”

• On adaptation anxiety (09:08):
  “You're declaring a definitive version of each person, which is intimidating because who knows if my mental image of Morgan... matched what anyone who's read the book already pictured in their mind's eye.”

• On perfectionism and identity (31:44):
  "There's a quote from Marnie that she's saying at her wedding about her culture, which is white Christian woman, I think... it's not our culture, but it is like a type of person we're all just surrounded by."

Closing Note

The episode closes with Allison sharing her “bookmark” moment—a touching conversation with her son—and a playful book-themed lightning round, leaving listeners with thoughtful reflections on motherhood, identity, and the power of great stories.

(Ad reads, outros, and non-content segments have been omitted in this summary.)