Judith Light Details Shelly’s Journey At the Water Cooler

Judith Light pops by the Water Cooler to talk about Shelly Pfefferman’s emotional journey in the incredible third season of Transparent.

Shelly Pfefferman tries to make a name for herself in the third season of Transparent. The show, helmed by 2-time Emmy winner Jill Soloway, continually explores finding your own identity. Judith Light interprets Shelly on a path of re-discovery through Season 3. Light joins the Water Cooler Podcast to briefly chat about her previous stage experience as well as filming Transparent Season 3’s climatic Shelly moment.

Confronting the past

“You’re seeing the Shelly that was squelched and sexually abused and assaulted. She shut herself down, and this was finding her voice again.”

Light also discusses the specific song choice of using “Hand in My Pocket.”

“It was Shelly’s coming out in a way and saying that ‘Everything’s going to be fine, fine, fine.’ That thrust and the theme of it where Shelly was going and living. Shelly wasn’t going to pick something that was from her past. She was going to pick something that was more of the kid’s playing and doing. That was where we landed and we talked a lot about where Shelly was coming from emotionally. The level of courage it would take for her to come out and put herself out there in that way.”

The Love Between Shelly and Maura

When talking about background, Judith Light mentions that she is as far away from the character of Shelly as you can get. We wanted to know how she prepared to play a character so drastically different from her, and she started talking about Shelly’s relationship with Maura.

“It’s not the gender you fall in love with, it’s the soul. It’s the person you fall in love with. And Shelly loves Maura deeply. If Maura is going to be Maura then she’s going to love Maura. That’s just the way it is. I thought that was truly remarkable.”

Judith Light is very open with us about her relationships on set and her advocacy with the LGBTQ community. It’s a deeply moving and honest discussion.

All three seasons of Transparent are now streaming on Amazon.