Sarah Pidgeon stars as Young Clare in Tiny Beautiful Things, which is based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed. The highly anticipated series is now streaming, exclusively on Hulu.
Tiny Beautiful Things follows Clare, a floundering writer who becomes a revered advice columnist while her own life is falling apart. When we first meet Clare, her marriage to her husband Danny is barely limping along; her teenage daughter, Rae, is pushing her away; and her once-promising writing career is non-existent. So when an old writing pal asks her to take over as the advice columnist Dear Sugar, she thinks she has no business giving anyone advice. After reluctantly taking on the mantle of Sugar however, Clare’s life unfurls in a complex fabric of memory, exploring her most pivotal moments from childhood through present day, and excavating the beauty, struggle, and humor in her unhealed wounds. Through Sugar, Clare forms a salve for her readers – and for herself – to show us that we are not beyond rescue, that our stories can ultimately save us. And, perhaps, bring us back home.
“I find in my twenties, every decision I make is so precious and it feels all or nothing. There’s just this constant worry of like, ‘What if I made the wrong choice,’ or ‘What would it be like if I had done this instead of that?’ And I think it gave me this great perspective that I needed while I’m navigating this chapter of my life of just there is not this right or — I mean, I guess depending on the decision, but for the most part, these things that I’m grappling with, there is no right or wrong, it’s just different and like, to have reverence for that sort of other spiritual life that you could have been living, I suppose,” she explained to me, reflecting on what the story taught her. “I think it sort of takes away this yearning of trying to change the past and I feel like it’s taken a little bit of pressure off of myself.”
I had the opportunity to speak with the actress about the satisfaction of knowing where her character can end up, how the show gave her perspective that she needed in her own life, and the beauty of grief.
Watch our discussion below:
