What McDormand needed to develop was a technique that would allow her to authentically experience the emotions and psychology of her character while maintaining control over the results. “There’s a really deep well of experience and emotional facility,” McDormand explained, “but it has to have a really tight lid. You have to be able to get the lid off when you need it and dip down into the well, but you can’t keep it open all the time or you won’t survive … the trauma of bringing it back.”
