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Michelle Williams<\/strong> knows what it\u2019s like to die and come back again.<\/p>\n Dying for Sex<\/em><\/a> stars Williams as Molly Kochan, who leaves her marriage to explore her sexuality after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The series, inspired by a true story<\/a> and created by Liz Meriwether<\/strong> and Kim Rosenstock,<\/strong> also stars Jenny Slate<\/strong> as Molly\u2019s best friend, Nikki, and Rob Delaney<\/strong> as a neighbor of Molly\u2019s who becomes her unlikely sexual partner. In the final installment of the eight-episode miniseries, Williams delivers a tour de force performance as Molly says her goodbyes, enjoys her wild last few days (including trippy hallucinations)\u2014and dies. The emotional finale filled Williams with appreciation for her own life, and the fact that she could get out of that hospital bed at the end of each day. \u201cI get to wash off some of the makeup that\u2019s meant to make me look unwell, and I get to walk on my two strong legs,\u201d she tells Little Gold Men.<\/em> \u201cI get to leave this place and go back to my home. That\u2019s the part that I take away.\u201d<\/p>\n Dying for Sex,<\/em> which brought Williams back to acting after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, earned nine Emmy nominations, with two honoring Williams: outstanding limited or anthology series, as she served as an executive producer, and lead actress in a limited or anthology series. She previously won that same acting award in 2019, for her role on Fosse\/Verdon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Williams\u2014who admits she\u2019s struggling a bit with \u201cmom brain\u201d these days, caring for her five-month-old baby along with her three older children\u2014spoke to Vanity Fair<\/em> about Dying for Sex<\/em>\u2019s flying penises, what it\u2019s like to die over and over again onscreen, and what keeps her optimistic about the film and TV industry. (Listen or read on below.)<\/p>\n Vanity Fair:<\/em> I love the way this show captured female friendship.<\/p>\n Michelle Williams:<\/strong> That was a really big weigh-in for me, because my female friendships had been the stabilizing force of my entire life. And when I would talk to those female friends about the idea of doing this show, they just got this misty, far-away look, and they said, \u201cPlease do this for us. For how much we love each other, and for who we are to each other, and how passionate a friendship can be.\u201d I just related to it so much.<\/p>\n I assume you\u2019ve heard from a lot of people since the show has come out. Have you had any reactions that really stuck with you or surprised you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Every single one of them, it\u2019s so moving. I think Nikki Boyer<\/strong> told me about a pair of best friends who watched it in hospice while one of them was passing. That I never could have anticipated. And they sent Nikki a picture of them watching it, both with huge smiles on their faces.<\/p>\n I listened to Molly and Nikki\u2019s podcast when it came out, and I remember finishing it and crying my eyes out. What was it like when you first listened to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Same. It was a gut punch for me. I didn\u2019t know about the show when it first came out. I was introduced to it alongside the first draft of the first episode that Kim and Liz sent to me. I finished it and thought, Hang on a second. Is that as good as I think it is? I need to go back and read it immediately again. And I did the same thing with the podcast: What happened to me? Why did it overwhelm me to the point of weeping? That\u2019s so unusual. So I immediately went back to it and listened to the whole thing over again, and wept for a second time. So then I thought, Okay, here we go. I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n