Emily Hampshire Came Up With One of ‘VisionQuest’s Most Memorable Quotes

This interview contains spoilers for VisionQuest Episode 5.

Emily Hampshire has gradually become one of the most beloved actors working today. Though best-known as the endearingly deadpan Stevie in Schitt’s Creek, she also appeared in the sci-fi thriller series 12 Monkeys and the psychological mystery show The Rig. This year alone has seen her star in the action-packed time-travel film Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice and Canadian sports series Slo Pitch, as well as be announced for Season 2 of the cultural phenomenon Heated Rivalry.

This year has also seen her make her MCU debut as Edith, the fun-loving, highly energetic Stark AI, in VisionQuest. Edith’s arc is one of the most fascinating in the series as she discovers the real human she’s based on. Though she’s been enlisted to help Vision through his identity crisis, she begins to experience one of her own. Luckily, she has Friday (Orla Brady) and even Ultron (James Spader) to help her through.

Collider got the chance to speak to Hampshire about her work in the show. During the conversation, she talked about Edith’s deep connections with Friday and Ultron, the heartbreaking reason Edith feels “expendable,” collaborating with Terry Matalas again, her favorite lines, and more.

‘VisionQuest’s Emily Hampshire Talks Edith and Friday’s Special Bond in Episode 5

“You really do see the history of all these AIs.”

COLLIDER: Edith is known for being the carefree AI who isn't scared of loss or death, so I think a major turning point for her comes at the end of Episode 5, when Friday goes off by herself to try to stop Ultron. I'm curious if you can talk about that moment and Edith's connection with Friday in general, because I feel like their bond is so beautiful. I love those two together.

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: Oh my gosh, first of all, I can't believe you've seen Episode 5, and you know about the bond! I haven't been able to talk about that at all. Am I allowed to talk about that?

We won't post this until the episode airs!

HAMPSHIRE: Yeah, yeah — fair enough. I love that so much because, with this whole show, you really do see the history of all these AIs, which is very interesting. You think of AIs, and do they have history? They have memories, but do they remember those things from the past? You really see this human bond that has formed between them, which I thought was so lovely. I also love Orla so much, so it was very nice.

‘VisionQuest’s Emily Hampshire Reveals Who Edith Is a Variant Of

“When he was writing Edith…he kept hearing my voice.”

I also have to ask about the exorcism scene in Episode 4, when Edith is trying to get Jo out of the mind space. What was it like filming that scene? It really had a horror bend for a second there.

HAMPSHIRE: So funny. That scene really reminded me of Terry Matalas’ brain, because I'd worked with Terry a while ago on this show called 12 Monkeys, and he told me — when he was writing Edith — that he kept hearing my voice-slash-Jennifer's voice, who I played in that show. That scene that you're talking about is such a Jennifer-ish scene. Jennifer Goins was the part I played in 12 Monkeys, which was the Brad Pitt part from the movie 12 Monkeys. We were talking about it, and he's like, “I think Jennifer might be a variant of Edith.” And then he taught me all about variants. I remember that was a big learning curve for me in the MCU. It’s just so Terry, that scene. Everything about it.

‘VisionQuest’s Emily Hampshire Unpacks Edith and Ultron’s Unexpected Connection

“She's so afraid that she is expendable.”

I feel like the scene where Edith figures out who she's based on is really interesting because it leads to a lot of complex feelings for her. Why do you think Edith has such a difficult time processing this?

HAMPSHIRE: You have Friday, who is socialization, and Jarvis, who is security — these are all important things. Edith's thing is fun, and it's so disposable. Even if you look at school, the first thing they get rid of is gym and art, and so I think she's so afraid that she is expendable. If you think about it, too, if you were an AI, the minute you are not functioning and doing what is needed, goodbye. I think to learn who she's based on, in her mind, she isn't as seemingly important or impressive as a person as she thinks she should be. And then, of course, Ultron shows her that it is important.

That leads really well into my next question, because I think it's really sweet and unexpected that it’s Ultron who reassures her of who she is and who she can be. I'm curious what you think it means specifically coming from him, because I don't think that's the first person you think of to do that.

HAMPSHIRE: No. Well, what's interesting is I felt right from the beginning that Edith and Ultron — in my mind, at least — have a real connection in this way that he wants to see the Louvre and do all these things, and Edith's thing is to experience life. She has all the information — all the ingredients of a great meal — but she wants to taste it and wants Vision to. I really think, especially in their combativeness, even in all these little moments, there is some kind of recognition of game in each other. I think their little rivalries come from seeing themselves in each other, so there's a connection between them that I felt right from the beginning.

‘VisionQuest’s Emily Hampshire on Improvising and Her Favorite Lines

"‘I don't have the bandwidth for this stuff.’"

She gives little sister energy in a way, and some of her lines are gold. One that I wrote down that I love was, “It's like watching Hannibal Lecter swipe right.”

HAMPSHIRE: Oh my god, I died at that. It was so hard for me to say that line because I thought it was so funny. I love that line.

The writing is obviously so strong, but I'm curious if you had any room to improv and play, especially with some of these more comedic moments.

HAMPSHIRE: I did, thanks to Terry. He really is great that way. But also, I think I went a little far. I was trying to find human behavior that an AI would experience. So I was like, “If she is anxious, she freezes — literally. If she’s freaking out, she gets that spinning color wheel or something, and maybe she'll spin.” Anyways, I wrote about 20 pages of equivalents, and I sent it to Terry. God bless his soul. He's so patient. One of them was like, “If you can't take something, it's like, ‘I don't have the bandwidth for this stuff.’” And so that got in there. I just couldn't stop thinking of what it would be like to be human as an AI.

VisionQuest is now streaming on Disney+.