Teddy Sears
Teddy Sears played some of the messiest scenes in Masters and Johnson’s first studies. As their colleague Dr. Austin Langham, he participated in the study, but fell in love with his partner, Jane Martin (Helene Yorke).
CraveOnline: Where does season two pick up for Austin?
Teddy Sears: Season two, he is, God, how do I put this, sort of back to his old tricks from season one. But we very quickly learn of an event in his life, or an event at the hospital that changes his trajectory for what I believe to be the run of the second season. I’ve only seen the first couple scripts. You would think that Austin would’ve learned something from how season one ended when he finds out about fathering the child with the girl from the study, and it doesn’t really affect him at all. I think he’s able to compartmentalize family in one box and chasing nurses at the hospital in another.
Is he still participating in the study?
Teddy Sears: Well, the study has left the hospital because Bill’s been summarily fired. We open with there being no study, but Bill very actively trying to get the study back off the ground. So we don’t see any study stuff right off the bat.
Is he still pursuing Jane?
Teddy Sears: Oh yeah, but Jane in real life now has a Broadway show so we’re not going to see too much of her because she’s on the east coast. There are other people who have caught his eye. He’s moved on.
Is Austin based on a real person from Masters and Johnson’s study?
Teddy Sears: Austin is based on a real person, but the story that Austin is telling is not the story of the guy this character is based on. It’s sort of an amalgam of fact and fiction, but it’s going to be mostly fiction at this point because there’s just so much more to mine with this character Austin that Michelle and Sarah [Timberman] have come up with, versus the guy that this guy’s based on. He eventually left the hospital with his family. I think they decided, “Let’s base Langham on a real guy, but let’s have some creative license with where we go.”
Let’s get him into more trouble than Austin really got into?
Teddy Sears: Let’s get into more trouble, exactly, yeah. The Masters and Johnson story needs to be told and it’s sort of fun to have Austin’s stuff bump up against what they’re doing.
Annaleigh Ashford
Annaleigh Ashford played a very important figure in Masters and Johnson’s research. She plays Betty, a prostitute who volunteers to help out, or I should say agrees to help out. She still charges her usual fee.
CraveOnline: When you got this role, did you know it was going to be recurring?
Annaleigh Ashford: Oh my gosh, no. I had no idea. She was just very representational of the hookers of St. Louis in that first pilot, but I just can’t believe I’m here. It’s amazing. It’s amazing how much her character has grown and how her journey has taken me here.
Is Betty going to continue to be important in the second season?
Annaleigh Ashford: You know, I think that she’s going to continue to be important in telling the other side of their sexual study. So I have no idea what’s happening next but I can’t wait to find out. I’m kind of in the dark which is great. I like to be surprised.
How were the prostitutes of the era different from the general women of the era?
Annaleigh Ashford: They were the lowest of the social stratosphere. They kind of always have been from day one, especially in a time like the ‘50s when sex was so private, so quiet. One of the most interesting things about Betty is in that one area, she has power over a man and she has power over an educated man. She knows more than him about that one specific conversation. It’s amazing to see a woman have power over a man.
And that’s before anyone had thought of a hooker with a heart of gold, isn’t it?
Annaleigh Ashford: I mean, how about that? Sweet Charity hadn’t come out yet, right?
