Marianne Jean-Baptiste on the "bloody hard" performances at the heart of Soundtrack

Netflix’s new musical drama, Soundtrack, isn’t a musical in the traditional sense, but its emotional peaks and valleys are highlighted by show-stopping sequences set to song, its characters lip syncing along to tracks from Sia and Dolly Parton, to name a few. As described by creator Joshua Safron (also known for his work on Gossip Girl and Smash), Soundtrack is like This Is Us by way of Paul Thomas Anderson, a nod to Pennies From Heaven set in present day Los Angeles. Among the series’ eclectic cast is Oscar nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who’s having a busy December between this series and the premiere of Peter Strickland’s In Fabric. We spoke with Jean-Baptiste while she was making the press rounds for In Fabric and took a few minutes to ask her about the work that went into filming Soundtrack’s music video-esque sequences and to learn how her own musical background prepared her for lip syncing on set.