Talking HBO’s ‘Rain Dogs’ With Ronke Adekoluejo

Everyone needs a friend they can call when times get tough. For Costello (Daisy May Cooper) on the HBO series, Rain Dogs, that friend is Gloria (Ronke Adekoluejo), even if she isn’t always great at picking-up. Regardless of her ability to be reached, Gloria is loyal, and it was wonderful to be able to ask Ronke some questions about the role.

Rachel Bellwoar: How did you first learn about this project, and what’s been your favorite part about playing Gloria so far?

Ronke Adekoluejo: I, first of all, self-taped for the part that was sent through to my agent. I then went in to meet Richard [Laxton] and the incredible casting directors at Nina Gold’s office. That was when I landed the role and I met Cash Carraway – our writer – who told me she wanted me especially for this. It made me feel really special and so excited about bringing Gloria to life. My favourite part has been her impulsivity. I often try to figure out the reasons characters do things but with Gloria, she does it. Nothing needs an explanation. She’s just living, moment to moment in the present.

Bellwoar: For most of episode one, Gloria is this absent figure that Costello keeps trying to get ahold of, but she’s also the first (and really only) person Costello calls for help. What was your reaction to learning Gloria’s first scene would be in a telephone booth?

Adekoluejo: It was funny, she wakes up in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, still dressed and intoxicated from the night that probably became morning. She’s aware that she’s in trouble, because she doesn’t have her phone. But her first instinct isn’t to try to find her best friend but to get over the blues she has. She, in that moment, is going from feeling to feeling. What feels good, and after meeting Lenny, that’s probably another beverage. Hair of the dog as they say.

Bellwoar: As much as Gloria may not be looking for long term commitment in her romantic life, she and Costello have known each other for years. Why do you think that friendship has stuck?

Bellwoar: While most people are charmed by Selby, Gloria isn’t his biggest fan. What does she see that Costello can’t?

Adekoluejo: The relationship according to Gloria is codependent. Gloria might not use that word for them, but she sees the need that Selby has for Costello is desperate and toxic. Without her he will crumble, and no one needs that kind of pressure. Especially when he’s not really offering much else.

Bellwoar: Gloria is good at her job, but I don’t know that she’d be working as a mortuary cosmetologist if her father didn’t own a funeral home. Where do you think Gloria stands, when it comes to her work?

Adekoluejo: She doesn’t live to work. Her job is by the by. It’s great when she needs the money, but other than that, it’s definitely not something she holds up as a priority. Gloria is probably the most present person one has ever met. She lives solely in the moment. If she didn’t have this job, she’d find another that also didn’t demand too much from her. Maybe she’d actually be a make up artist but for living people too.

Bellwoar: With Costello’s daughter, Iris, we get to see Gloria in Aunt G-mode. What was it like to get to show that side of her, where she gets to be the responsible adult?

Adekoluejo: I don’t think for Gloria it’s about responsibility. If anyone called her a responsible adult to her face she’d probably feel sick at the fact. She definitely does not like kids but with Iris, it’s love. Pure, unconditional, uncompromising love. If in that moment Iris is in her presence, because of the love she has for her, Iris is her main priority. Children can always teach adults a lot, with Iris, it’s her fearless nature and fierce intelligence. When they’re together, it’s almost like Iris is the adult and Aunty G is just responding.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Ronke!

New episodes of Rain Dogs air Mondays on HBO.