Martha Plimpton reveals how she brought Sheriff Vela Thorn to life in 'The Lowdown'
The Sheriff makes her first appearance in episode 4
There's a new sheriff in town on "The Lowdown."
Literally.
Episode four of the FX series introduced Vela Thorn, the no-nonsense Sheriff in Woodrell County, played by Martha Plimpton.
"She's obviously worked her way up and she's very good at, you know, schmoozing and glad handling and, you know, charming her way. But she's also, you know, a woman in law enforcement. She knows how to be tough and knows how to take care of business," Plimpton told On The Red Carpet.
"The one thing I was sure we were gonna do was get me a nice, good, long, fresh manicure. And when I put on those tight Wrangler jeans and that big belt buckle, I'd say, you know, Vela was born."
As we'll find out, Sheriff Thorn and some important people in her circle play a part in the mystery dominating this season.
A quick recap on that mystery: Lee Raybon, played by Ethan Hawke, has teamed up with public defender Ginger Lafferty, played by Betty Gilpin, to try and locate her client Mekko, who has gone MIA from prison. There are some questionable cops who also want to know Mekko's whereabouts.
Lee and Ginger found out that Mekko escaped and went to see his wife and son, revealing that someone made him "sit with a dead kid" for hours. Who's the dead kid? What did Mekko have to do with it? Why is a cop following Lee? And what does Sheriff Thorn have to do with this whole mess? That's still unfolding, but Plimpton gave On The Red Carpet a little tease.
"She's worked her way into a situation that is a little dicey," she continued. "I can tell you that Sheriff Vela's life takes a very, very dark turn."
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Plimpton has been a fan of Sterlin Harjo's work for awhile, so when the call came to join "The Lowdown," she jumped at the chance, despite her busy schedule (she was working on other projects at the time).
"He's just a very relaxed and confident guy, you know. And he's a very talented storyteller. And he writes about, you know, the world and people that he knows," she said. "It makes it just a pleasure (to work with his scripts)."
"I got the call about this while I was working in Europe and so I didn't have an enormous amount of time," she recalled. "I couldn't do anything to change my hair or anything like that. We kind of just had to work with what I had. The one thing I was sure we were gonna do was get me a nice, good, long, fresh manicure. And when I put on those tight Wrangler jeans and that big belt buckle, I'd say, you know, Vela was born."
As for teaming up on screen with her longtime pal Hawke?
"It's really fun. It's wonderful working with Ethan. I mean, I love him to death. I've known him since we were 15 or 16 and we've worked together many times over the years, but never on a show like this, never on TV," she said.
Watch Plimpton on "The Lowdown," streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Hulu and this ABC station.
