Gavin Lewis On How Moody’s First Heartbreak Will Change Him

Moody Richardson is at a very pivotal moment of his life in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere. As one of the youngest (and least listened to) members of the Richardson household, Moody can be shy and is overshadowed by his much fawned over older siblings, Trip and Lexi. When he meets Pearl Warren, he thinks he has found someone that he can share his solitude with, and Gavin Lewis reminds us all what it was like to have your heart broken for the very first time.

While Moody is very smart, he doesn’t have the experience to know how to negotiate matters of the heart. When he finds out that Pearl and Trip have been linked to one another, we hardly recognize Moody–his lips clenched and the anger rising within him. Losing your first crush can be devastating, but Lewis pulls Moody away from becoming a monster.

Awards Daily: Moody is one of the best characters in the show.

Gavin Lewis: Thank you.

AD: And you get to do more to do in the series, because they expand a lot on the book. Tell me how immediate Moody’s crush is on Pearl.

GL: I think it’s pretty fast. As soon as they start talking about poetry, Moody can tell that he has found a kindred spirit in Pearl.

AD: You have this really sad line in the dance scene when you two are together. You’re slow dancing with Pearl and you are clearly trying to get the courage to take it to the next level, and you say, ‘You make everything better.’

GL: Yeah, he’s head over heels.

AD: Is this the first time that he brought home? I was even wondering if Moody spruced up his hiding spot for the first time that Pearl sees it.

GL: I think he may have brought Carl back to his house so his family knew that he had some friends. He probably got made fun of quite a lot because Carl is a bit different. I think that shut him down from bringing friends home after that. Then he found Pearl and he’s proud of this person that’s found. He’s in love with her. He wants to slowly bring her into his family without overdoing it so she doesn’t get too attached—which happens anyway. Pearl is one of the two people that he’s broughy home. She’s definitely the only person that he’s ever brought to the ice cream truck.

AD: Yeah, you could tell it was a big deal for him.

GL: Moody was such a fun character to play since he’s so withdrawn and he’s so different than the last character I got to play.

AD: Speaking of bringing people home, there are numerous scenes at the Richardson house where we see the hierarchy in the family. Does Moody ever feel comfortable there?

GL: I don’t think he’s a big fan (laughs). The family dinners are where Moody is worried that he’s going to do something awkward or he’s going to be picked on by his mom or by his older brother and sister. I don’t think the family meetings are a highlight of Moody’s day.

AD: But we do get to see Moody in Pearl’s house, and you are a lot more comfortable there. Moody and Izzy feel like they are one end of the spectrum and Trip and Lexie are on the other. Moody isn’t at the same level of frustration as his younger sister, but do you think he ever wishes he was part or another family?

GL: I think Moody loves he’s got but he wishes he could connect more to him. Trip does reach out to Moody a few times, but Moody shuts him down from past experiences and jealousy. He wishes his family was more open to the person that he is. That is another reason he connects to Peal and that house. He sees the art and Mia’s art room, and he’s so drawn in. I don’t think he wants to leave as bad as Izzy does.

AD: Of course.

GL: But there is definitely an attraction there.

AD: here is a quiet scene between Izzy and Moody after the fight with Trip where she says, ‘You don’t deserve her because you liked her.’ With how the series ends, how worried is Moody that he’s becoming his parents?

GL: The biggest thought going through his mind is that he’s becoming more like his mom. Because he’s been so nice to her, he does expect something in return…just like his mom. There is the moment where he’s yelling at Pearl, and that’s a big moment. He doesn’t like who he is becoming. What pushed him over the edge is Izzy leaving, and she’s the only person he has a real connection with. That was the last straw.

AD: When you ran down the stairs to catch her, that really broke my heart. It’s one of the best moments of the whole show.

GL: Thank you.

AD: What did you learn from Lynne Shelton? She does a lot of projects that deal with family and the relationships between siblings.

GL: I learned a great deal with her. I am super interested in being a director myself, and I thought how kind she was to everyone is something I’ll take with me. I actually got to shadow her, so on days that I didn’t need to be on set, I would come in and see how she set up shots. She’s incredible at multitasking and she’s very kind to everyone. She was an excellent person to shadow.

AD: After Mia, Pearl, and Izzy leave, is he too ashamed to try to contact her again? Or would he try to find his sister first?

GL: He would definitely try to find his sister. She is essential to the dynamic of their family. I honestly don’t know if he would try to track down Pearl. I don’t think he’d want to bring that back, especially with how he and Trip fought over her. Moody would let her go at this point. Moody likes being a big brother to his sister—that’s where his heart shows. It’s essential to him like at the dance scene. He’s protective of her.

Little Fires Everywhere is streaming now on Hulu.