Sarah Rafferty Reveals the 1 Big Difference Between My Life With the Walter Boys & Suits: ‘That’s Not What the Network Always Wants’
Sarah Rafferty has worked on two of the best TV shows aired to date, and now she’s getting real about what happened behind the scenes. The My Life With the Walter Boys star wants Hollywood to phase out outdated mom tropes.
At the Flow Space Women’s Health Summit LA, the Suits star recalled a time on the set of the hit Netflix young adult series where she had conversations about her character Katherine and her role as a mother figure. “I’m pretty hyper vigilant about making sure that we get away from any kind of tropes that undermine women,” she told SHE Media CEO Samantha Skey. “There was one moment I remember when we were on set in Season one. The director just wanted to get on with the day, and she was being really quick, she responded with “mom’s the scary one, and dad’s a fun one.” I was like “Let’s not, let’s not do that.”
She elaborated that the conversation was productive and led to her character being three-dimensional. “I think we’ve had really great conversations on set about how to represent the moms that are spinning all the plates. Coming from Suits, a lot of the TV that we consume, it can be really highly curated.” She emphasized how no one in real life actually wears those fancy suits to work at a law firm.
The actress also admired how careful they were with the conversations and wanted the public to perceive her character as someone who is relatable and real. “What I think is important now for me to bring to this character is that she’s a mom, she’s a vet, she’s got all these adopted and biological kids, and it’s messy, and she gets it wrong sometimes,” she said. “There’s opportunities in getting it wrong for repair. Now, it’s not always like that. That’s not necessarily what the network always wants. But if I could just find moments of realness, not do the mom’s dirty, that’s what motivates me.”
Netflix confirmed a second season for the hit series, and Rafferty can’t wait to get back to work, saying that she enjoys talking about “intergenerational relationships” because it’s “great for our brains.” And I get to work with these actors who are just starting out, who are in their early 20s,” she And it is delightful and fun.
