One Ozark Scene Was A Little Too Real For Julia Garner
Who says acting isn't hard? Between learning a new dialect, working with weaponry, or participating in some wild stunts, there's some aspects of the job that would stress out or frighten anyone. Especially on a show like "Ozark," which has no problem dipping into the darker side of life. While there is plenty of murder, mayhem, and general lawlessness taking place in any given episode of the Netflix hit, one scene in particular was especially frightening to Julia Garner, the undeniable star behind the character Ruth Langmore.
A wild woman in her own right, Ruth spends most of "Ozark" plotting, scheming, and being one of the most enjoyable characters to watch in a show that's stacked with talent (including leads like Laura Linney and Jason Bateman). Garner sells herself as a rough-and-tumble, take-no-prisoners woman easily, but it turns out she didn't quite have the stomach for all of Ruth's dark deeds.
And I'm like, I'm never going to charge my phone again.
At a turning point in season 1, Ruth sets up an electrical trap meant to kill Jason Bateman's Marty Byrde, and she tests it out on a mouse to make sure it's powerful enough to kill. While the scene of Ruth lifting the mouse and dropping it in the trap lasts maybe a second or two, Garner couldn't quite work up the courage to hold the mouse due to her mice phobia. In an interview with The Cut, she joked about how hard it was to shoot the scene, saying:
"I can't even watch 'Ratatouille'! It's a cartoon rat, but it's gross. It cooks. That's disgusting ... They kept saying: It's not a big deal. It's like a phone charger, like spaghetti. And I'm like, I'm never going to charge my phone again."
Despite her fear, she gave it her all and attempted to shoot the scene, but she eventually had to back out. The hand you see on the show lifting up the wriggling mouse is a hand double, but you have to give it to Garner for trying. I mean, I'm pretty afraid of spiders and there isn't enough money on earth to convince me to pick one up with my bare hands. Although, it is amusing to think that behind the stone-cold Ruth is a woman who can't pick up a mouse. Actors, they're just like us! And by "just like us," I mean afraid.