Sep 05, 2026 2:00pm IST
Scoot McNairy on ‘Furious’ and Inclusive Storytelling: ‘I Am An Advocate for Everyone Who’s Sidelined, Want to See Their Perspective’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Hulu’s breakout crime thriller series, “Furious,” currently streaming on JioHotstar, is about a female FBI Agent (Emmy Rossum) tracking a female serial killer (Lola Petticrew) who’s on an avenging spree against men who wronged her. “Furious” is an excellent portrayal of female rage, while its myriad male characters embody different ways in which men are allies, spectators or antagonists in a woman’s story. One such character is Detective Danny Kelly, played by Scoot McNairy.
In an exclusive chat with Variety India, McNairy talks about his character, Danny’s deeply complex bond with Emmy Rossum’s troubled FBI agent Alice Black, the comedic timing of co-star Steve Way and the lessons he has learned from working across some of Hollywood’s most amazing sets. Excerpts:
Related Stories
In your filmography, you’ve often played characters struggling with personal demons. How different is your approach when you’re playing a real personality, like Woody Guthrie in “A Complete Unknown” versus Detective Danny Kelly in “Furious”?
On what it felt like playing a real person, obviously, there were a lot of boundaries and parameters. Woody couldn't speak, couldn't really move. So, to me, in that particular role, that was sort of a challenge to figure out. Danny is a much more complex character, but he’s also put into a more complicated environment. He's incredibly empathetic, and that's why he got into law enforcement. That's the reason he stayed there for 25 years and what propels him to continue to show up.
Danny is clearly loyal to Alice. But would you say Danny is loyal to a fault? If Alice went off the rails, would he have still supported her like Alden covered for Catherine?
I think Alice and Danny's relationship is incredibly difficult for many to understand. It's complicated, but it's also deeply rooted. When you're in a relationship where you put your life on the line for each other for so long, it develops a richness and history, and it creates a bond deeper than a sibling or spousal bond. I think that's the point of their relationship.
A moving scene from the season is when Danny stands guard so Alice (Emmy Rossum) can feel safe taking a shower she has been denying herself for days because that’s where her partner would abuse her. After starring in both “Nightbitch” and “Furious,” how has your understanding of men becoming allies changed?
Well, first off, the shower scene is Liz Meriwether’s brilliance and genius writing. She teed that scene up with the scene before, when Alice is dancing drunk at her sister's wedding. So without that scene, you don't have the shower scene. What's important is the way Liz wrote it. Danny realizes there's something that he doesn't know about his best friend. I think that's when he realizes for the first time there's a fracture in the relationship he doesn’t understand, and he wants to know why. At that point, the caretaker in him kicks in, saying, “I need to be there for what my friend needs. And right now she needs comfort, security, a shower and hygiene.” That's what he provides for Alice, because that's the kind of person he is.
Speaking of “Nightbitch” and being an advocate for women, I'm an advocate for anybody who's been repressed or sidelined because, in a way, I've seen a lot of people's points of view or stories. I want to tell those stories again. But from a woman's perspective, from a gay man's perspective, a gay woman's perspective, a person of color’s perspective. We all see the world differently, and I’d want to see everybody's perspective on the same subject.
Popular on Variety
Steve Way, who plays Alden, talked about how the humor brought into the interrogation scene between Alden, Danny and Agent Choi was a collaborative effort. Can you take us through building that dynamic?
Steve Way has crushed this role! He's so good in it. When I was working with him, there were days that he really moved me at work. The comedy—Liz has written a lot of it—but Steve improvises a lot of comedy, and some of it made it into the show. The guy's a genius with comedic timing, and he deserves every accolade coming his way, because he did more for that role than what was on the page.
You've been on some amazing sets like “Argo,” “Batman vs. Superman,” “Narcos: Mexico,” “True Detective” and more. What’s a learning that has changed your approach to acting, either in terms of the emotional or technical aspects of the craft?
What I've learned over the years is that you must be really easy to work with and never stop loving it. Because it really is a blessing to do what we do, and you can forget that at times. So there has to be a constant effort to remind ourselves how blessed we are to be able to make a living telling stories. It's an awesome way to live your life. And so that's it. Be easy to work with and love what you do.
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.