Hilary Swank was equally surprised to learn that her character would knock off one of the biggest stars in “Yellowjackets.”
Warning: Spoiler for Season 3 below!
The Emmy-winning actress spoke to The Post about her ruthless kill scene in Season 3, Episode 9, titled “How the story ends,” at the finale event in North Hollywood, California, on Thursday, April 10.
Her character, adult Melissa, does the unthinkable and stabs adult Van (played by Lauren Ambrose) in the chest during a heated confrontation.
As Van takes a knife and is ready to plunge it into her former “Yellowjackets” teammate, her conscience kicks in.
Van, who is already suffering from incurable cancer, decides at that moment that she can’t kill Melissa — despite their dark past as cannibals in the wilderness.
While many viewers assumed Van would succumb to her terminal illness, especially after the scene of her choking on her own blood, Swank’s character decides to take Van’s life.
For the “Million Dollar Baby” star, who joined the “Yellowjackets” cast in Season 3, she didn’t see the plot twist coming.
“Obviously, for me, it was even a surprise,” Swank exclusively told The Post.
The actress also shared that she was only given a heads-up about the scene a little over a week before shooting.
“I actually didn’t know until I got the script because, in television, that’s how it is. You don’t really know until about ten days before you film what you’re going to be doing,” Swank said, noting that it was a “challenge” to have such little time to prepare.
Swank also disclosed that they filmed the diabolical death scene repeatedly to have “a bunch of different angles.”
When it came to her time on the “Yellowjackets” set, Swank said she was pleasantly surprised by how well she jelled with the cast — especially since she didn’t come in until the latter part of Season 3 like some other characters.
Swank’s character was assumed to be dead by her former teammates and is discovered to be alive decades later by adult Shauna (Melanie Lynskey). She’s later found by adult Misty (Christina Ricci), adult Tai (Tawny Cypress), and an ailing adult Van bleeding on the side of the road after she escapes a cannibalistic fight scene with Lynskey.
“The cast is all well, you know, a well-oiled machine, and so, you don’t want to be the odd person out,” she told The Post, “but they were all very welcoming, and I felt like my character was super interesting.”
Her co-stars had the same reaction.
When The Post interviewed “Yellowjackets” actors Warren Kole (who plays Jeff) and Sarah Desjardins (who portrays Callie) in February, the two could hardly contain their elation.
The entire “Yellowjackets” Season 3 is now available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime.
