Aimee-Ffion Edwards, who plays Abi on AMC's Loaded, talks about her character's terrible behavior and the key to delivering a really good fake laugh. 

Q: What attracted you to the role of Abi?

A: She’s a genuinely funny character in an honest and compromising way. She’s got quite a few sides to her, and it’s a pleasure when you get to play a character and show the complexities of someone. She’s flawed like any normal person, she makes horrible mistakes and behaves really terribly. [Laughs] But, it was her honesty more than anything. It’s the best and the worst in her.

Q: Did you and Jim Howick (Josh) talk about their playful yet complicated relationship to prepare?

A: We didn’t talk that much about it, but I did my chemistry read with him at my last audition for the role. It just completely made sense as soon as I met him. I’d never met him before, but it was so well-written. I think most people can relate to that “push and pull” aspect of relationships where there’s so much love and joy, but something’s not quite working. We spent most of our time just messing around. [Laughs] He’s such a fun guy.

Q: Abi and Josh have an on-again, off-again relationship. What do you think keeps drawing them back to one another?

A: I think they balance each other out, although I think she secretly likes that she’s the free-spirited one and he’s not as loud as she is. There’s balance there. I think he gives her boundaries and Abi needs boundaries. She likes to push people and push situations as far as she can get away with. They challenge each other, but I think she genuinely loves him and he really makes her laugh.

Q: There's definitely some tension between Leon and Abi. Were you given any backstory about that, or do you have any thoughts of your own?

A: We did talk a little bit about it, but it’s as simple as “three is a crowd.” When you grow up with someone and one of you gets a boyfriend or girlfriend, it’s suddenly like that person doesn’t have time for you and that’s always such a hard thing to navigate. I think the tension is the aftermath of that. Leon and Abi are very similar. They’re both quite pushy and determined and quite loud. To be fair to Leon, he feels quite protective over Josh and is aware that Abi’s hurt him in the past, so there’s an element of that as well.

Q: Episode 4 is full of hilarious bits featuring Abi. Can you share any behind-the-scenes stories?

A: That was my favorite episode! There was so much fun stuff to do in it. I do have to say that although that pool looks amazing on-screen, it was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had to do. It was like diving into a chilly swamp, and it had no filter. The smell – I can’t even describe it – and my hair smelled like that for three weeks after. So, I do remember that very well. [Laughs] On-screen, it looked so cool like it was at an amazing boutique spa or sexy hotel.

Q: What was it like shooting in the rest of that huge house? What was your favorite aspect?

A: I hated jumping in the pool, but it was pretty cool. They made the pool in the basement. Beneath the house is a humongous concrete space and we used to have our lunch down there. When we came back after Christmas, they’d filled this entire hole with water and it was kind of amazing. There are a lot of curves and it turns out I quite like straight walls. [Laughs]

Q: Abi ends up saving Casey during her pitch to Casey's boss and receives a job offer in the process. Why do you suppose she turns it down?

A: I think she likes to have the freedom to do whatever she wants. She doesn’t want to compromise on her work and her ideas. She’s got loads of ideas and she’s really ambitious and confident. Obviously, this is a great opportunity to make loads of money, but she’s keeping her conviction. She wants to be the boss.

Q: How do you manage to fake laugh without getting carried away and actually laughing?

A: [Laughs] You know what? It actually takes quite a lot of physical energy to laugh that strongly. Usually, as an actor, you’re fake laughing and you want it to look like a real laugh and with this, you have to fake a fake laugh. It’s tricky. My biggest issue is when Josh does his weird laugh and I’m cackling in his face. [He] said it was the most terrifying thing that’d ever happened to him. So, every time I looked at him, it made me want to laugh. That was a challenge!

Read an interview with Jonny Sweet, who plays Ewan.

Watch full episodes of Loaded on amc.com and AMC apps for mobile, Fire TV, Xbox One, Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast.

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