Beforeis a new Apple TV+ psychologicalthrillerthat sees beloved comedic actor Billy Crystal taking on a whole new kind of role. The idea for the series—one in which a child psychiatrist is visited by a troubled child who seems to have an inexplicable connection to his past—originated with Crystal and was developed with the help of Eric Roth (Killers of the Flower Moon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dune), and showrunner and writer Sarah Thorp (The Bounty Hunter). Told across 10 episodes,Beforeis an exploration of grief, trauma, and even the supernatural.
Crystal’s character inBeforeis child psychiatrist Eli, who is deeply affected by the death of his wife Lynn which takes place months before the show’s story begins. Still, Lynn is a key player in the series and is portrayed by Judith Light.Beforemarks the first collaboration between Crystal and Light, who is known for her work on series likeTransparent, Ugly Betty, andWho’s The Boss?(And who would have returned for theWho’s The Boss?sequelthat almost made it to Amazon Freevee.)
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Screen Rantspoke with Judith Light about her work playing Lynn inBefore. Light discussed working with thealmostSaturday Night Livepremiere performer Billy Crystal, the unique tone of the series, and how it resonated with her. Check out the interview, below, and get ready to watchBeforewhen it premieres October 25 on Apple TV+.
Judith Light On What Drew Her To Before & Finally Working With Billy Crystal
Screen Rant: Where I’d love to start is [that] the whole thing is so interesting, and your role specifically does not seem easy. What most attracted you to the project?
Judith Light: That’s such an interesting comment, that it didn’t seem easy. Working with Billy Crystal is easy. To love him and be connected to him and have that kind of relating was easy. What attracted me to it was that love and that connection of a long-term relationship. And also there’s that middle part—because you don’t see me, really, until the third episode or the fifth episode where they have de-aged us and we’re younger—[where] what happens is something that happens to most people but we just don’t talk enough about it in our society, which is [that] you meet somebody and you say, “Oh my goodness, I know you. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
That’s a lot of the connection and the basis and the foundation for this story, and really for Eli Adler, Billy, as a psychiatrist, going through this relationship with this young boy, trying to heal him and remembering who his wife was and still is to him. So, there were things to me that were very compelling about that story and that kind of thing that happens to all of us where we know we know somebody, but it’s defined more as a soul connection and that’s what this is. Those were some of the things that attracted me beside Apple Plus, thank you very much, Eric Roth, Sarah Thorp, Joe Sousa, a great writing team, and, like I said, my Billy.
On Billy, you two do work together so fantastically in this series. Had you wanted to work with him before—
Judith Light: Yes.
–and would this have been anything like what you had in mind?
Judith Light: No. I’d known him for many, many years, but here’s the thing. I always wanted to work with him, but I always knew [that] sometime I would work with him. When I went over to his house in LA and I sat there with Billy and Sarah Thorp, our creator and showrunner, we started talking about synchronicities and soul connections and that experience of knowing somebody at some level. We started talking about those experiences and I knew that this show would be a way to actually open dialogue about that so that people would actually feel free and comfortable talking about it. “If there’s maybe the possibility of life after, is there life before? What does that mean? How do we define that? How do we discuss that, and how do we talk about things that we know in our lives?”
We’ve had people that have passed and have died, and yet somehow we still have them connected to us in our dreams. Are they connected to us? Do we see signs? I know people who see signs of very specific things that a person said to them before they passed over and said, “Look for this. It will be me.” Now, I don’t know if that’s all true, but I’m open to the possibility that it is, and I wanted to have more discussion about it. So, I thought this would be a great way to do it, just like we’re talking today.
Back to what I said at the top about this not being easy, there is so much history between Lynn and Eli, and you have to convey that just through a look in a lot of instances. On an acting level, how is it have to convey something so big in such a small moment?
Judith Light: Oh, that’s such a good question. I don’t know. I know that when you have an experience of what it is… not what you think it is, but [when] there’s an experience and it is being conveyed through the look, it comes from the heart and the gut. It doesn’t come from the head. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but that’s the way that I would describe it. And because Billy and I are friends, and we’re connected—and thank you for saying that we work well together—you’re able to see and feel the chemistry that those feelings were just present. And so, when you hold those feelings, it can come across. That’s what I would say.
About Before
Before stars Billy Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe) who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens, sparking haunting memories and unearthing unsettling secrets about the past. The ensemble cast also includes Rosie Perez, Maria Dizzia and Ava Lalezarzadeh.
Before
Cast
Before: After losing his wife, child psychiatrist Dr. Eli Adler becomes entangled with a disturbed young boy linked to his past. The series unravels the complex intersections of grief and memory as Dr. Adler searches for answers, revealing deeper connections between his present and the boy’s mysterious background.
