Give her a script — any script — and Naomi Watts shines. She’s a critical darling, earning Oscar nominations for her turns as a tsunami survivor in 2012’s The Impossible and a grieving mother in 2003’s 21 Grams. She can take a joke — look no further than David O. Russell’s 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees, or 2014’s St. Vincent with Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. Nor does she shy away from the action, whether taking on a gargantuan gorilla in 2005’s King Kong or saving her son from a school shooting in 2021’s The Desperate Hour. 

But Watts’s most heart-stopping performances are those in which she deftly transmits terror. Playing an ingenue in David Lynch’s 2001 thriller Mulholland Drive made her a household name; playing a journalist investigating a deadly videotape in the 2002 horror film The Ring made her synonymous with box office success. Now, the Australian actress returns to the fright fight with the limited series The Watcher, created by DAHMER’s Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy.

Watts stars as Nora Brannock, who, along with her husband Dean (Bobby Cannavale) and their two children, decamps to the suburbs, only to have fantasies of a bucolic life upended by anonymous, threatening letters from someone claiming to be “watching” the house. Based on a true story and adapted from a New York Magazine article, the series costars Jennifer Coolidge as a real estate broker; Margo Martindale, Terry Kinney, and Mia Farrow as less-than-welcoming neighbors; and Noma Dumezweni as a private investigator with a few secrets of her own.

The actress says she leapt at the chance to return to a nail-biting role. “I’ve really enjoyed not only playing in this genre,” she explains, “But I’ve always enjoyed it as an audience member. And Ryan knows how to tap into it like nobody else. It was a slam dunk for me right away.” Adding to the allure was Murphy agreeing to shoot in New York, where Watts lives with her family. “I said, ‘Ryan, I’m doing this project. If you’re saying yes, I’m yes, for sure.’”

Krista Smith: How familiar were you with the story when you first got the script?
Naomi Watts: I had not followed it like everyone else. I must have been living under a rock at the time. My manager called and said, “You’re getting a call from Ryan Murphy.” Right away, I’m like, “Yes!” It’s a good day when that call is coming. He sent me the article, which I devoured, and I just imagined myself in that story.

How closely does the series follow the true-life events?
NW: The story was there, but creative license was taken. Ryan didn’t say too much, and we didn’t have it all spelled out for us. It was a few scripts at a time, and then a couple more came in, which was a good way to work because it was playing out in real time. We were like, Wait, is it you? You’d be wanting to try to piece it together with your fellow cast members as it was going along.

It's an incredible ensemble. What was it like to work together? 
NW: Every day was a delight. I’d known Jennifer Coolidge’s work, but finally getting to see her in this role — she just ate it up. You’d get what was in the script and then she’d just riff. The hardest thing about working with her was just staying straight faced. I’d worked with Bobby Cannavale once before; he’s fantastic, a real dude. And I love Rose [Byrne, Cannavale’s partner]. He and Billy [Crudup] are great friends, so we’re like brother and sister. And Mia Farrow and Margo Martindale . . . it was just a great experience. I’ll never forget a day when we shot with Mia and Margo and we’re just sipping tea. It was super creepy — things had really gone to a next level of twistedness — so it was scary and weird in the playing. And then we’d break and just be chitchatting, telling legendary stories which I won’t repeat. 

You’re obviously familiar with the genre. What’s the allure for you?
NW: I’m fascinated by fear. We all have it in different ways — how it plays out is unique, but we all share it. Some of us have it more than others, and I guess I’m one of those people. Somehow it has to get processed, and through my work, I think, is a healthy place to examine it. 

Mulholland Drive, in which you really played two parts in one film, was a giant moment for you.
NW: I was very much under the radar before David Lynch gave me, what I consider, the part of the century. It was such a gift. Before, I was literally banging on doors, saying, “Please, let me read,” and barely getting eye contact from the casting director if I got to meet the director at all. It was a really difficult time. To have that change overnight, and then to be offered a film like The Ring, which was such a commercial success, really solidified, “Oh, she’s got a career now.” I never knew that would happen.

Your resume lists more than 80 acting credits. Is there a kind of project you’d like to do more of? 
NW: I’ve had the great fortune of working with some of the greatest directors, and I’d like to work with some more of them. But mostly, I think what I haven’t done in a long time is comedy. I do like to do lighter stuff, and my mom keeps telling me, “You are funny, Naomi. Why don’t you let the world know?” I guess that call just hasn’t come for the simple reason that I’ve been doing this genre or drama for a long time, and I think once you say no to too many of that kind, people start taking that as a message that you don’t want to do it. I’ve got to change that narrative, I think.

You’re also a co-founder of Onda Beauty, which focuses on natural products, and you’ve just introduced Stripes, holistic products designed for menopausal women. What was the impetus behind that? 
NW: I entered menopause earlier than was I ready for and I had no real sense of community or education. I felt a sense of shame and confusion, and like it was a stigmatized conversation that needed to be broken down. There are brilliant brands out there, but who is actually speaking to women going through this? By the way, it’s half the population, and we’re like 50 million strong. So why does the branding feel like nothing but doom and gloom? I wanted to have a community of women come together and say, “This shouldn’t be taboo. This is actually OK.” It’s such an important thing to have great women in your life. We need to hear we’re not alone.

In the meantime, you’re about to start filming another Ryan Murphy show, based on Truman Capote’s life, in which you’ll play Babe Paley . . .
NW: Ryan really knows how to give jobs to women over 40, let me tell you. Thank goodness for people like him. 

Your career has never been stronger. Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you hadn’t struggled for a decade before Mulholland Drive?
NW: I came to Hollywood in my early 20s, and I didn’t have a lot of self-awareness. I certainly didn’t have any confidence, and I would have been talked into the wrong things. I wanted to quit so many times, but I didn’t have anything else I knew how to do, so I had to just keep going. I was 31 when things started changing. It was good I got callused up, and I was able to make better choices as a more grown-up adult. It all makes sense now — I came with naivete and came away with resilience. It’s a good story for younger people to hook onto. If you know what you love and you get to do it, even little bits here and there, then just keep trying, because one thing can change everything.