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By Daryl Austin
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Mary-Louise Parker is returning to the world of audio storytelling. The Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe-winning actress best known for roles in The West Wing, The Client, R.I.P.D., Angels in America, Red, and as the lead in Showtime's 20-time Emmy nominated Weeds, is back to flexing her voice acting chops in another Audible Original.
She's narrated many projects for Audible before, including John Grisham's The Judge's List, the acclaimed veterans' PTSD project Strong Ending: A Journey from Combat to Comedy, and her own memoir, Dear Mr. You. "If Audible calls, I just want to do whatever it is," she told Newsweek in an exclusive interview.
The latest project Parker's all in on is Murder in Bermuda, a high stakes Audible thriller that marks the sixth title the company has done in collaboration with bestselling author James Patterson. In addition to Patterson, the 6-part audio series is co-written by Aaron Tracy and Thaddeus McCants.
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The story is about Beth Heller, a silver-tongued American attorney tasked by an organized crime family with protecting their legal and financial interests from within the tropical tax haven island of Bermuda. Complicating matters is that the crooks she represents happen to also be her own family. Feeling trapped by family loyalty and the comfortable lifestyle they've made sure she's grown accustomed to, the story finds Heller at a crossroads. "When you meet her, she's pretty much given up on herself," says Parker. "She's kind of a prisoner of this life of leisure — a life a lot of other people might think that they'd like, but one that feels like a sort of vapid existence that's very unfulfilling."
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In short order, Heller is blackmailed into working on a high-profile murder case, which she does alongside a local attorney and Bermudian investigator. As bodies start stacking up, the trio also become engrossed in a sex scandal and arson investigation, and find themselves at odds with corrupt government leaders, local thugs, and members of Heller's own family.
While there is plenty of violence, dark humor, and surprises along the way, Parker says one of her favorite elements of the story is how we get to see "a woman deciding that she's going to be in control of her life." She adds that instead of witnessing her character's de-evolution, "which is what often happens with characters, you're watching her morality kind of emerge."
Such an evolution is reminiscent of another irreverent and ironic character Parker has played before as Nancy Botwin — the drug dealing matriarch in Showtime's hit series Weeds. Parker says she loved playing the antiheroine for 8 seasons of the show from 2005 to 2012 and that she'd "absolutely" return to the role if it's revived the way many other projects have recently been.
"I just love the cast so, so, much," she told Newsweek. "I mean, I watched those kids grow up and even today Hunter and I are super, super close." Hunter Parrish played Silas Botwin - one of Botwin's three sons in the series. Working with all her castmates on the production "was some of the best stuff for me," Parker says.
Another project she looks back on fondly is the time she spent on the set of the comic book film adaptation of Red. The 2010 movie is about a former CIA agent who is forced out of retirement when some violent criminals from his past catch up to him. It stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren — a group referred to as RED, or Retired Extremely Dangerous.
Parker's character is Willis' love interest in the movie and the duo were such a hit with critics that a sequel, Red 2, was released in 2013. "Working on those films was just a dream," Parker says, "some of the best times of my life." She adds that "we just had such a good time together, me and Bruce and John — two of my favorite actors ever."
While a third installment of the franchise has been in the works for nearly a decade, Willis' frontotemporal dementia diagnosis and other setbacks have stalled the project. For her part, Parker says she isn't willing to reprise her role in the series without her costar by her side. "Not without Bruce, no."
Looking forward, she's excited for her next role in the recently announced film Face, - the big screen adaptation based on Justine Bateman's 2021 bestseller, Face: One Square Foot of Skin. Parker calls Bateman "a friend," and says that "she's doing a lot for women and the way they feel about themselves." Beyond her film work, she'll also be looking out for more Audible Original parts including possibly continuing another Bermudian adventure for Beth Heller. "It is kind of perfectly poised for a sequel," she says. "I'm absolutely up for it."
Murder in Bermuda is now available exclusively on Audible.
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