Acting opposite a duck is for the birds—take it from Merritt Wever.
According to the actress, waterfowl can be unpredictable. This is something she discovered firsthand when costarring with a duck in an episode of Apple TV+’s new series. Roar.Merritt is Elise. She plays a lady who has been dating a duck named Larry.
Merritt said that she doesn’t know whether the animal will start to squawk, or if it is going away. It felt like I had a partner in the scene, which is always helpful for actors.
It is also helpful to: Justin Kirk, the actor who voices the duck, was standing just out of the camera’s view, giving Merritt and actual human being to play off of. This was her method of portraying the complex story in which the duck is manipulative and abusive.
Although the beginning of the episode has a “romantic comedy sheen,” Merritt said she didn’t want to lose the “seriousness” of the story, adding, “It was important to me that it be treated with respect and care and the responsibility that I think the actual situation warrants.”