Gayle Rankin Talks Sheila Of GLOW, She Wolf No Longer

GLOW is a show about women putting on costumes and accessing wells of power previously unbeknownst to them. Once a disenfranchised actress, Ruth's (Alison Brie) character, Zoya the Destroyer, becomes the fast-talking comedic heart of the wresting show. Enough time playing Liberty Belle, and Debbie (Betty Gilpin) is able to claim her own power as a producer.

But the most moving arc on Glow’s third season, which landed on Netflix August 9, is the story of one woman taking her costume off — though Sheila’s (Gayle Rankin) wolf outfit was always more than a costume to her. When we first meet her in season 1, Sheila the She Wolf identities more as a wolf than a human. With her matted hair and silent demeanor, Sheila roams the outskirts of the wrestling group like a feral creature. She is among the other women, but not of them.

The show offers no explanation for Sheila’s wolf-ness. Is her wolf persona a defense mechanism, a way of hiding from the world? Or is it really a deep expression of self, one that most of us aren’t brave enough to embrace?

When the wrestling show moves to Las Vegas, Sheila takes another step in her frankly fascinating journey of self expression. Sheila wants to be an actress, but she’s already playing a part. Essentially, the raccoon eyes get in the way of her assuming other roles. So, Sheila burns the wig, takes off the fur, and reduces her black eyeliner by a third. In an intimate moment during the women's camping retreat, Sheila encounters a wolf, and seems to say goodbye.

But who is Sheila without the wolf? Based on the electrifying monologue she gives at an AIDs fundraiser, we know one thing about new Sheila: She's a really good actress. Uncovering Sheila's other qualities is Gayle Rankin's next challenge — and what we discussed with her over the phone last week.

Gayle Rankin: "I was excited. Not until we shot the camping scene was I scared. It was about the costume. They were doing the makeup for the last time. And it was very, very emotional. I was like, I don't know who this new person is. I could either speak out about that or I could embrace it and understand that neither does she. She’s rediscovering who she is."

"Though practice. Through just being uncomfortable. And not being uncomfortable — I was given a lot of great material to dive into. The writers exposed qualities about her, not all of them positive. I took comfort in the fact that she’s going to evolve. We’re just scratching the surface. There's such an amazing challenge to play someone in the moment of true blank canvas. And that comes out. What kind of qualities come out?"

"He was 90% wolf, 10% dog. I’m forgetting its name. In the scene, you’re not sure whether this is real or some kind of vision happening. At first, I assumed that the wolf was turning its back on me and leaving me. The way I came to understand it was that the wolf was not turning away from me or shunning me, but giving me permission to go forth and find out more about myself. It’s so scary to say, I’m going to leave this thing behind in the hopes of growing. But you’re not sure it’s going to happen. It’s insanely brave. It helps because I just turned 30 yesterday. I felt it was time for me to open [up] in some ways. That was helpful."

"I’m not sure. It remains to be discovered whether or not this is the right path. This is a huge decision for this woman, to have this happen. A lot of people love her. I love her! We didn’t want to lose her. But we did it. I'm proud of us for doing it because it think it’s important to explore the complexity and bravery of that. Is she going to have to go back? Can she? Ultimately no, because we burned the wig. It’s gone. I’m excited by that. It’s so scary. I don’t know if it’s the right decision and that’s very human."

"It’s always been there. She has a great imagination. That’s something i can connect to — wanting to explore other characters. Maybe she didn’t want to think of her persona in that way because it might diminish what it means, or who she is. Is this a persona, or is this you?"

"I remember shooting the camping episode. The moment that got me is the moment when the hair and makeup artists came to touch me up and put the light back on my head to reset. I saw they were all crying. We were all saying goodbye to her. It was really intense."

"A lot of the cast didn't recognize me. They were like, 'Is Gayle here? Where is she?'"

"My acting teacher said a long time ago, 'You’re like a wild horse.' That actually makes sense to me. "