Under The Bridge Stars On Honoring Reena Virk's Memory & Working With Lily Gladstone

Summary Under the Bridge explores the true story of Reena Virk's murder, focusing on bullying and peer pressure in society.

Vritika Gupta portrays Virk with innocence and complexity, shedding light on the effects of bullying and being a bystander.

The show features powerful performances from a stellar cast, highlighting the nuances of the teenage characters and their relationships.

Hulu's Under the Bridge has now aired 3 episodes, and the true crime miniseries is fleshing out the circumstances surrounding Reena Virk's murder. Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone lead the stellar ensemble cast as author and investigative journalist Rebecca Godfrey and police officer Cam Bentland respectively, but the guilty teenagers and their victim are at the center of the story.

Vritika Gupta plays Virk herself, imbuing the 14-year-old girl with an innocence that underscores how unfair her fate was while also diving into the frustration and rebellion that got her caught up with the wrong crowd in the first place. Ayana Goodfellow's Dusty, meanwhile, is a friend complicit in her death despite not being Reena's actual killer in Under the Bridge. The show, created by Quinn Shephard and based on Godfrey's book, wisely highlights the nuances of bullying and the effects of being a bystander by focusing on Virk's case.

Related How Old Reena Virk & The Seven Oaks Teens Are In Under The Bridge (& How Their Actors Compare) Based a true murder, Under The Bridge examines teenage gangs and peer pressure in society. This is how old each character is compared to their actors.

Screen Rant interviewed Gupta and Goodfellow about getting into the mindset of Under The Bridge's protagonists and exploring the real-life situations the show is based on. The young actors also shared what they learned from working with veterans such as Archie Panjabi and Lily Gladstone.

The Responsibility Of Bringing Real People To The Screen In Under The Bridge

Screen Rant: Vritika, can you tell me what drew you to the role of Reena? Because you have this responsibility to both share this story and honor her memory.

Vritika Gupta: Yes, a hundred percent. I think it was really important for me because I didn't know prior about this case at all. It was really important for me to showcase how important her story is and really highlight the situation of bullying and how important it is. Her case is just so important, not just in Canada, but throughout the [United] States, and I think it's super important to highlight that.

Ayana, Dusty is such a crucial and morally ambiguous character, in terms of really loving Reena and caring for her. And yet this still happened. Can you talk about stepping into that mindset?

Aiyana Goodfellow: Yes. I think it was a bit tricky for me because I am a very opinionated person, and I hope I try to stick very strongly to my morals and what I believe in. But I think Dusty's experience is a coming of age in many ways, in that she's kind of figuring out who she wants to be and what she wants to stand by. I think that's a journey that so many people go on beyond their teenage years and throughout their whole lives. Many of us have probably made decisions that we regret. We've betrayed people we care about, and I think that Dusty's character really displays the nuance of the people who hurt us, who can also care for us at the same time. That doesn't mean it's justified, but I think that complexity adds a lot to the story.

Vritika, what was your way into Reena outside of just the words on the page? Did you look up at the news articles? Did you read the book? I believe her father also wrote a book. What was your method of stepping into who she was?

Vritika Gupta: I read Rebecca's book, and I really got to understand her viewpoint on Reena and the people around her. I think also reading Manjit's book about Rena was really important for me to understand how he thought about her. Quinn and Samir were so great throughout the whole process. If I had any questions, I could always go to them. Definitely just understanding her mannerisms was super important to me; the way she smiled, and the way she carried herself were all very big aspects of who she was.

Aiyana, did you get to speak with Quinn or go into who Dusty was before these tragic events? What is the connection with and the draw to Josephine and Kelly?

Aiyana Goodfellow: I think that Josephine and Dusty have been in this foster home together for some time, so I think their friendship is really one of convenience and providing each other with a sense of stability and safety that foster children don't necessarily get. I think what makes Dusty's journey so difficult is that she's trying to figure out, "Do I choose this new person that I really care about or do I stick with the people that I've had a longer relationship with who say they can keep me safe?"

Under The Bridge’s Most Memorable Scenes (Thus Far)

Vritika, you were living my dream, having scenes with Archie Panjabi. Can we rate her as an onscreen mom? How was that dynamic?

Vritika Gupta: 100 out of 10; a million; infinity. Oh, my God. She was such an amazing person to work with. She's so talented. We actually had rehearsals before we shot the show, and we would always rehearse that one dinner scene. I think it was just so nice to work with her. My mom and she also got so close; we would always go visit her in her hotel. We would always go out to dinner, and she really did become my second mom. She was just so amazing to work with.

Ayana, you had some scenes with Lily Gladstone. Can we talk about building that almost terrifying dynamic at first, and what you took away as an actor?

Aiyana Goodfellow: Yes. My first scene with Lily was a really intense day for me. I'd just flown eight hours from London to Vancouver, and I was going to move into an apartment by myself for six months. I was just so stressed and scared and nervous, but I got to set with Lily, and we were making "yo momma" jokes. It just immediately became so silly and so fun, even though we were doing such a heavy scene. I really appreciate her humor, her generosity, and of course her talent. It was really fun to build that relationship between them as the show goes along. I think that, even as complicated as their dynamic is, there is an alliance that they have in a way; a certain understanding that they have with Cam being indigenous and Dusty being black. I think there is a certain subtle, unspoken understanding between them of the systems that they exist within.

For each of you, was there a scene or moment from Under The Bridge that was most challenging for you as an actor or that you were proudest of after it was done?

Vritika Gupta: Yeah, for me it would definitely have to be shooting the under the bridge sequence. We did shoot it over [more than] a couple of days. We shot the first part at the beginning of the month, and then we shot the ending at the very end, so I think it didn't even feel very real until on the day. And it was so heavy. I think we were all feeling it - not just the cast, but the crew and everyone. So, that would definitely have to be the most challenging part. But it was nice just having so many good people to surround yourself with so you would always feel safe. Aiyana Goodfellow: For me, I think it was the first scene I had with Lily because it was one of my audition scenes. I was like, "If I can do this, I can get through the next however many months that I'm here." It instilled a level of confidence within me while filming episode 2, and I appreciated Lily and our director Kevin's support.

About Under The Bridge

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Under the Bridge is based on acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Through the eyes of Godfrey (Riley Keough) and a local police officer (Lily Gladstone), the series takes us into the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder — revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.

Check out our other Under The Bridge interviews with:

Lily Gladstone & Riley Keough

Quinn Shephard & Samir Mehta

Chloe Guidry & Javon “Wanna” Walton

The first 3 episodes of Under The Bridge are now available to stream on Hulu, with new episodes airing every Wednesday.

Source: Screen Rant Plus