Mr. and Mrs. Smithhas a new identity.
Below, Erskine analyzes her new alias.
Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Contour RA by Getty Images
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Hihi!
Maya Erskine.Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Contour RA by Getty Images
MAYA ERSKINE:[Laughs] Hihi!
I’m so sorry!
Do you, Donald, and Francesca all greet each other with “Hihi?”
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’.David Lee/Prime Video
In the beginning, it definitely came out a lot.
And then so many other things happened on set that then those took over.
By now it’s gone away, so it will go away.
Donald Glover, Ron Perlman, and Maya Erskine on ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’.David Lee/Prime Video
What was your first impression of this remake?
How Donald was describing it after a couple phone calls with him to get to know each other.
That was very attractive to me.
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’.David Lee/Prime Video
What was it like going from playing a 13-year-old version of yourself onPen15to an adult spy?
Thats quite a vibe shift.
[Laughs] The first day of driving a car at night doing stunts, it was wildly different.
But it was really great for me.
How did you deal with all that pressure?
Angelina Jolie did it beautifully, and that’s that.
It’s not a comparison.
Otherwise, I think I would’ve clouded my brain with too much pressure.
Fleabags Phoebe Waller-Bridge wasoriginally attached to star in this role.
How did you make Jane your own when you took over?
I felt like I could infuse parts of myself.
We don’t speak like that.
And they’ve never spoken like that to each other since then.
So yeah, there’s a lot from all of our relationships sprinkled throughout.
Thats why it feels so relatable.
What kind of physical prep did you for all the action scenes?
That was sort of my main prep.
Focusing on that challenge was really exciting.
I was like, “This looks like aBondmovie.
And it is shocking that I’m standing in that.”
What moment was most important for you as you portrayed Jane’s evolution throughout the season?
That was my favorite part.
What was the most difficult scene to film?
We still don’t know if you and Donald are returning for season 2.
To me, that was the perfect ending for this season.
It felt like a very romantic end to this story in this season.
What would you like to see the show explore in season 2?
What’s exciting to me is seeing how the relationships evolve.
When the show was renewed for season 2, some reports claimed that you and Donald weren’t returning.
ButFrancesca shut down those “reports” in an interview with EW.
What did you think of all of that speculation at the time?
I totally understand why there’s speculation.
But Fran said it best.
You don’t need to peek inside.
I don’t want to ruin it.
Too bad you’re not on truth serum right now.
Because, I mean, I’m likethisclose.
If you ask me … No, don’t.
I can’t share.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A version of this story appears in EW’sAwardist 2025 Kickoffprint issue.
