In TNT’s new TV drama, Proof, Jennifer Beals plays Dr. Carolyn Tyler, a surgeon grieving the loss of her son who is tasked with the goal of finding out what really happens after a person dies.
It’s a theme that has been tackled many times before, but the difference in Proof lies in the fact that Beals’ Dr. Tyler is backed by a powerful billionaire, played by Matthew Modine, who claims to have the resources to really find out if there is life after death.
It’s an intriguing and powerful topic for anyone who’s ever lost someone close to them, and when SheKnows recently got to talk to Beals about Proof, she described to us just how emotionally moving the story actually is.
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“It got to the point where the boy who plays my son, I couldn’t see him,” Beals said. “We would have to be in the makeup trailer at different times because I would just start bawling my eyes out. The poor kid. I would just hold on to him and start crying… so I just thought it was best, maybe, that we try to not see each other too much.”
Like the actress who plays her, in Proof, Dr. Tyler tries to separate herself from the emotions involved with losing her son. “I was really excited about the distinct polarities that are in her character,” Beals said of what initially attracted her to the part of Dr. Tyler. “She’s completely a woman of science and, yet, when we see her, she’s grieving her son, so she’s fighting her emotions and the only way for her to get through it is to throw herself completely and fully into work.”
And though Dr. Tyler is going through a trying time, that’s not to say the character is in a weakened state. In fact, it’s just the opposite. “Bitches get shit done,” Beals proudly says of her character’s power and strength as she searches to find answers about the afterlife.
Beals remained tight-lipped about spoilers, but she did give us this: Prepare for Proof to be an intense roller-coaster ride. “I can tell you… I see all the seeds that we planted in the pilot for what happens at the end of the season — my mind is just blown,” she said. “The journey is so intense and so deep and so dramatic that my body is still vibrating at a very high velocity.”
Tune into the Proof premiere on Tuesday, June 16 on TNT and catch a first look at the show below.
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