Fresh off the heels of playing a drug-trafficking rancher on “Dutton Ranch,” Annette Bening is keeping her crime streak going as criminal kingpin Priscilla Matheson in her new show “Lucky.”
“It’s a joy to explore playing a woman who says, ‘OK – if you don’t like me, I don’t have a problem with that,’” the Oscar-nominated actress, 68, exclusively told The Post.
Bening, whose acting career spans nearly four decades, explained the roles for women are vastly different than they were when she was starting out.
“There’s a lot more range in the writing in women’s parts,” she told us.
“The whole box that we used to be put in, and the stereotypes that we used to be trapped in are definitely changing,” she said. “I feel really lucky to find stories with complex women who do things that are unexpected, that don’t fit into stereotypes.”
Premiering Wednesday, July 15, and based on a novel of the same name, “Lucky” follows a grifter (Anya Taylor-Joy) on the run from a mob boss (Bening) after a botched heist with her husband (Drew Starkey).
The Apple TV miniseries was created by Jonathan Tropper (“Your Friends and Neighbors”), produced by Reese Witherspoon and also stars Timothy Olyphant as Taylor-Joy’s father.
Bening said that she understood Priscilla on an “emotional” level, and for that type of acting, “I do not think about it. I do the opposite of thinking, if I can.”
She added, “Sometimes that’s the best thing — to just stay out of that [analytical] part of your brain.”
The actress also explained to The Post that Priscilla is definitely not an example of how people should live their lives.
“She’s just all over the place emotionally … she doesn’t know how to live in the world in a healthy way,” she said before adding that is what makes her interesting.
Another perk of the role, according to Bening, is the “thrilling” action sequences, including shootouts and car chases, in the new series.
While some of the car chases scenes were pretend, “we did some of that, where we were racing around … That was fun,” she explained, adding that it was “really liberating.”
Bening has been married to Warren Beatty, 89, since 1992, and the couple shares four kids. They’ve been in several movies together, such as 1991’s “Bugsy” and 2016’s “Rules Don’t Apply.”
They haven’t teamed up for a TV show, but Bening said, “That’s an intriguing idea. I would certainly be open to that.”
“Lucky” premieres on Apple TV on July 15, with new episodes out on Wednesdays.
