Perkins talks to ET about joining the Starz series as a new investor who shakes things up in the new episodes.
After an acclaimed debut on HBO Max, Minx returns with season 2 -- this time on Starz -- starting Friday, July 21. In addition to a new network, executive producer Ellen Rapoport's 1970s, Los Angeles-set workplace comedy has also added longtime actress Elizabeth Perkins to the cast, helping to make the all-new episodes "better than ever" as it continues to tell the story about the successful launch of the first-ever erotic magazine for female readers.
Famous for Big, Miracle on 34th Street and her Emmy-nominated turn as Celia Hodes on Weeds, Perkins follows a recent run of prestige TV shows, including Barry, Sharp Objects and Truth Be Told, with back-to-back, buzzworthy roles on Minx as well as the latest installment of the Apple TV+ murder mystery The Afterparty.
When it comes to Minx in particular, the role of "Constance Papadopoulos was also something I've never played before and I just loved her arc," Perkins tells ET's Will Marfuggi, explaining that the Starz series as a whole "was so different and so compelling."
On the second season, the 62-year-old star appears as an affluent, bored and very fashionable shipping magnate who takes an interest in Minx, becoming an investor in the magazine much to the delight of editor Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond) and the chagrin of Bottom Dollar owner and publisher Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson).
A former titan in the industry, Perkins says that when audiences first meet Constance, she's "at a point in her life where she's just lolling around her villa with naked men and some dogs."
"She's asked to come in and basically give money to keep Minx running," the actress continues, revealing that "at first, she's like, 'Oh, this will be a great chance to hang out with some other naked men.' But then, the entrepreneur in her is awakened and she starts doing what she does best, which is to take [the magazine] global and basically take over."
And not long after joining the team, Joyce and Doug have very different reactions to her power and influence over the publication and the rest of the staff, including Tina (Idara Victor), Bambi (Jessica Lowe), Richie (Oscar Montoya), and Joyce's sister, Shelly (Lennon Parham).
Perhaps a little desperate for friends, Constance is also intrigued by the staff and the work environment at Minx. "For her, it's like, 'Wow, all these people are being creative and they're different and they're interesting and they're hip and they're cutting edge,'" Perkins says, while also hinting that things don't happen overnight and to "become a real part of the bullpen is gonna be a leap for her."
And just like the rest of the staff, Constance soon finds herself surrounded by nudity at various points in season 2, with one notable episode seeing her covered in naked models as she poses for a photo shoot.
When it came to being on set with all the nude extras, Perkins wasn't fazed by it. "Oh, it didn't bother me at all," she says, noting matter-of-factly that, at one point, "it was just a naked guy laying on top of you." Not only that, but "everybody was so respectful on the set. There was never this awkwardness of, 'Oh, there's a naked woman. There's a naked man,'" she recalls.
If anything made Perkins uncomfortable, it was some of the costumes designed to make the esthetic and style of the '70s, when the series takes place. "It's all polyester," she says of the fashions she wore in the episodes. "You know, that was the era of scratchy polyester."
But thanks to Minx as well as Daisy Jones & The Six, "a lot of it is coming back at the moment… so some of it I would actually wear out today," Perkins says, "especially with Constance 'cause she has the early Hermes bag. She was on top of it."
And speaking of costumes, Perkins recalls holding onto one notable outfit she was seen wearing in the 1988 hit film, Big, which starred Tom Hanks as a boy who is physically transformed into an adult. While reflecting on "so many" fond memories from making the movie, she says, "I actually still have the dress that I wear when I jump on the trampoline."
"I tried to put it on a couple years ago and it was a disaster. I was much smaller and younger back then," Perkins says before looking back on filming that scene with Hanks and director Penny Marshall. "That particular scene of us jumping on the trampoline we did probably from one o'clock in the morning to about seven o'clock in the morning."
And then, with an hour left to go, "Penny Marshall -- 'cause, you know, she had to get nine million shots of everything -- said, 'I'm gonna get a shot of you guys outside jumping on the trampoline but we need to push the trampoline right up against the window and you guys need to jump on the very edge of the trampoline or we're not gonna see you,'" Perkins continues.
"So, we were jumping after jumping for six or seven hours next to this floor-to-ceiling window on the 10th floor of a building and I thought, 'I'm gonna die. That's it. That's all there is to it,'" she quips.
Luckily for everyone involved, the scene was filmed without a hitch, becoming one of the many iconic memorable moments from the film. "But what a joy to be involved in a classic film like that. I can't believe it's been 35 years — it just went by in such a flash," Perkins says.
Minx season 2 will premiere Friday, July 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Starz and will be available to stream on the Starz app starting at midnight. Season 1 is currently streaming on the Starz app.
This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, which began on July 13, 2023.
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