EXCLUSIVE | 'Avocado Toast the Series' actor-creator Perrie Voss says working on show was a 'pivotal experience'
Spoilers for 'Avocado Toast the Series'
For Perrie Voss, who has written and plays the character of Elle on Amazon Prime's 'Avocado Toast the series', working on the show was the "single most rewarding, challenging, growing, and pivotal experience of my life." It is an experience and bond she promises us will last her a lifetime. The thoughtful series chronicles the coming-of-age phase of different characters through its run.
In an exclusive chat with MEA WorldWide, Voss discusses writing and playing out her character Elle, who has spent a long time believing that her parents have the perfect knowledge only to find her mum snogging a younger man in a back alley. Soon she discovers that her mother Patricia (played by Brenda Robins) is actually in a relationship with this young man and is keen on divorcing her father Roger (Andrew Moodie) too. And from there, she makes it her agenda to topple her mother, both in her love life and professional life by planning a corporate takeover.
"I think we can be doubly hard on ourselves and our family. There’s such a personal attachment to anyone you’re related to, and especially within the mother-daughter relationship," she tells us. "Daughters can often be looking to their moms for guidance, whether purposefully or subliminally and I think there’s a fear that we need our mothers to what we need them to be or it will reflect poorly on us or that’s what we’ll turn into. Which I think can create a harsher judgment."
At one point in the series, Elle sabotages her mother's relationship with Hunter (Scott Cavalheiro) by getting them to break up. This meddling leads to a momentary control over things, but soon enough for Elle, who finds out that people can make their own decisions, is quite upset when Patricia and Hunter make up. A lot of Elle's anger towards the dissolving of her parent's marriage is the fact that things are not going to be the same. In a constantly changing world, Elle hopes to hold on to things. And her parents' relationship is one that she banks upon.
From the minute she makes the discovery of her mother's affair, Elle takes her father's side. Their relationship is deep and true despite him being her stepfather. "For Elle, her dad is someone she’s always looked up to... He was there for her more so than her mother was because her mom was working constantly. Both parents had jobs, but Roger came in as a stepfather and showed up for her in more ways than her own blood-parents did," the creator says. "They have a soul-bond which makes her feel the most connected to him. And even though she spends a long time upset over the changes in her life, Elle comes to realize that some things are beyond her control."
For Voss, writing the series has been a thoroughly pleasant experience. "We wanted to create flawed, beautiful three-dimensional characters. For me, initially, I was telling the story from Elle’s and Molly’s perspective only but when we were in script edits, being able to add in dimensionality to all of the parents' stories helped make everything feel connected." Each character on the series -- from Patricia to Meredith (Mag Ruffman) to Molly and Jake (Kristian Bruun) -- has an experience that goes beyond them. "It was amazing to reflect on the idea that no matter what age we are at we’re always growing and discovering parts of ourselves. It was really rewarding and really helped me to muse outside of my own perspective and then share that with our audience. It was a gift."
With the series ending on a cliffhanger, Voss promises a Season 2 in due time. "Drafts of Season 2 begin in June!" All episodes of 'Avocado Toast the series' are currently airing on Amazon Prime Video.