Matthew Rhys’ ‘Girls’ #MeToo Episode Was Inspired by Lena Dunham’s Real Life

Matthew Rhys shared that his memorable guest role as an author accused of sexual misconduct on HBO’s “Girls” was inspired by an interaction that showrunner and star Lena Dunham said had happened to her.

“I hope I’m not speaking out of turn on (Dunham’s) behalf, but she kind of explained what had happened to her. So it was drawn from truth,” Rhys told Lulu Garcia-Navarro on the New York Times’ podcast “The Interview.” “She gave me the background to where that piece of fictional writing came from in a very detailed way, which helped enormously … We went to the location and rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed, which is utterly luxurious in television, where there is no time. I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, we have all this time to get this right because it definitely needs to be got right.’”

Rhys’ “Girls” character, Chuck Palmer, is featured in the third episode of Season 6, titled “American Bitch.” In the episode, Hannah (Dunham) meets with Chuck, an author whose credibility has tanked amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. After a spirited conversation, Chuck exposes himself to Hannah. The episode was released in February 2017, just months before the #MeToo movement rose to prominence in the entertainment industry, foregrounding experiences of sexual abuse.

“(Dunham) was interested in the real discussion of it — that he couldn’t just be kind of villainized off the bat,” Rhys continued. “There had to be some kind of true discussion or discourse within this event that leads to it. She wanted the push and pull of both sides for it to land in a very real place … All that kind of ‘discussion’ and back-and-forth is meaningless once that happens, because ultimately that’s all he wants.”

Rhys joined “The Interview” to discuss his career, with a focus on his recent roles in “The Beast in Me” and “Widow’s Bay,” both of which he has earned an Emmy nomination for.