Path Way

When it came to getting into character for the Hulu series The Path,  Michelle Monaghan says it started with footwear.

“When I slip into those nerdy flats, I slip into Sarah Lane,” says Monaghan of her lead character in the drama series, which recently wrapped its second season and has been renewed for a third.

Created by Jessica Goldberg (Parenthood), The Path takes place in the upstate New York compound of a fictional cult, the Meyerist Movement. Monaghan’s character is the matriarch. “She was born into the movement,” the actress explains. “In the first season, she’s very principled and dogmatic. By the second season she’s less naïve and, at the same time, her moral compass is a little off.”

Like the best dramas, this one has its share of infidelity and secrets — plus a murder — all set, in this case, against the titillating backdrop of a cult and zealotry. “People have a fascination with this stuff,” she enthuses. “We all want to know what happens behind closed doors.”

The perks of working on this show include getting to play opposite actors like Aaron Paul (her on-screen husband) and Hugh Dancy (the cult leader) and filming in idyllic Nyack, New York. “I have two kids, and we shoot the show June through October, so they basically get to have summer vacation in New York,” says Monaghan, who met her husband, Peter White, a graphic designer, in the Empire State. “It feels like a relatively easy way for me to be a working mom.”

Born in the small town of Winthrop, Iowa, Monaghan — a self- confessed adrenaline junkie — quit college one semester shy of graduation and moved to New York City to pursue acting. Now, with a career that has successfully balanced big-and small-screen success, as well as indie and blockbuster roles, she’s ready for something unknown — and maybe just a bit scary.

“Unlike a lot of people in Hollywood, I don’t want to direct,” she says. “I’d love to do a play, probably in Los Angeles because the scene is really burgeoning. That’s exciting to me.”

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 6, 2017