Alison Oliver Shares How She Braced for Impact in <i>Task</i>’s Shocking Sixth Episode

Spoilers below.

The first time Alison Oliver appears onscreen in HBO’s Task, she’s nothing like the quiet college student Frances, whom she played in Conversations with Friends, or the rich and carefree Venetia from Saltburn. As Lizzie Stover, she’s a frazzled state trooper in the suburbs of Philadelphia, bickering on the phone and disrupting a high-stakes investigation by a task force under FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo). Though she makes a messy first impression, as the episodes progress, Lizzie becomes a beloved underdog, even striking up a friendship with her tough-as-nails colleague Aleah Clinton (Thuso Mbedu) and a romance with the shifty detective Anthony Grasso (Fabien Frankel).

“I think the character really arrived towards me when I first read [the script],” Oliver tells ELLE. “I had loads of conversations with Brad [Ingelsby, showrunner of Task and Mare of Easttown], because you didn’t want her to just feel super tough. She didn’t really know what she was doing, so there had to be a softness there as well.”

In episode 6 of Task, which aired Sunday night, the action reaches a boiling point. The task force members find themselves in a shootout in the woods as they search for Robbie Prendergast (Tom Pelphrey), the main suspect of their robbery/kidnapping/murder investigation, who is also being hunted down by a vicious motorcycle gang called the Dark Hearts. In the crossfire, Grasso fires at the gang right next to Lizzie’s ear, accidentally bursting one of her eardrums. She runs back to their car for aid, but she can’t hear Grasso or Aleah chasing after her, telling her to look out. Before they can reach her, two Dark Hearts charge towards Lizzie in a pickup truck and ram right into her, ruthlessly killing her on the spot.

Lizzie’s loss sends shockwaves both through the task force and the rest of the series, which is set to wrap next week. Here, Oliver walks us through creating Lizzie, filming her final moments, and what to expect from her next project: Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights.

When I first saw you as Lizzie, I was genuinely taken aback. You were completely transformed. I want to know how you went about building that character.

I was so drawn to her because I read [the script], and I was like, “Oh my God, this person is just chaotic and abrasive.” I found her so funny because she has no idea how disruptive she is and has no filter, and then later probably feels bad and resentful about it, and then becomes very defensive because people think she’s silly—and then makes the same sort of mistake again. I was really endeared by her.

I think you feel in that first moment when she’s obviously bringing so much baggage. There’s this ex that she’s screaming at on the phone, and you’re like, “Why are you doing this job? You’re so unprepared, and you don’t seem like you want to be there.” It was really important for me to create a very specific backstory of who she was.

I felt like she was someone who was probably quite an aimless kid and maybe didn’t have a father in the picture, because I think her relationship with men is quite complicated. She’s always on the defensive with any man she meets in the show. I always had this idea that she maybe wanted to be a gym instructor or trained in a gym or something, but ended up being on the front desk and hated it. And then had an uncle or something who was like, “Oh, why don’t you try this [working in the police force]?”

So, she’s been moving around to different departments for the last couple of years and has met this guy—I think he’s in the police department as well. She’s just not really living a life that aligns with who she is, but I think she doesn’t know who she is, so it’s messy and not organized.

I remember reading somewhere that every task force, by law, has to have a state trooper in it. So she is the submission from her police department because I think they just want to get rid of her. And I think she’s aware of that as well, so there’s an insecurity there. It was really important for me to feel like she was bringing all this baggage with her once she arrived. I also spent some time in Philadelphia before we started, so it just felt like she was from this place as well.

You mentioned that she has an interesting, complicated relationship with the men in her life. We’ve seen up to episode 6 that she’s created a relationship with Grasso. How would you describe what they see in each other?

I think it’s for that reason—that potentially she hasn’t had very positive experiences with a lot of men. In that way, she’s quite suspicious of even Grasso. When they first meet, they sort of clash, even though I think they’re from quite similar worlds or backgrounds. That scene where he joins her for a cigarette and starts telling her about being a DJ—he’s being really sweet to her, and I think she’s not used to that sort of softness from men.

What I found really endearing about her is that was all it took—just kindness and him being maybe interested in her. From that point on, she’s invested in him because she fancies him, but also because his kindness impacts how she interacts with her work.

Speaking of episode 6, did you know this was how Lizzie was going to go from the start?

I didn’t know when I auditioned, and then I had a call with Brad once I got the part. He basically was like, “So, you die…” And then we just spoke through it. I thought it was actually a really good choice because, with Lizzie’s trajectory, just before that moment, she actually reaches a breakthrough. She’s able to act instead of freezing in a high-stakes environment.

I think Brad is so good at resisting any trope of her going on to be this great cop now. That’s not how life works a lot of the time. And story-wise, it does a lot for Grasso’s character as well, in terms of the impact of his actions.

The episode as a whole had me on the edge of my seat. What was it like filming the forest shootout and the chase scene?

We shot that whole section in pieces. Because she experiences so much, none of them know what they’re walking into when they arrive on the bridge.

She goes from a place of being really scared, then trying to respond, then her eardrum bursts—so she’s lost one of her senses, which is like hell in a situation like that. And then she has to make this big decision: is she going to just die or wait for someone to come and save her? She has that breakthrough but is also really disoriented by what’s happening in her ear.

It was really important before we shot all that stuff to track that progression, because we were shooting out of order. You just try to control as much as you can before those scenes. But when you’re actually shooting them—and I hadn’t done anything like this before—it’s so based on energy and instinct. You’re working from a different place.

You’re not worrying too much about what you’re trying to express as a character—you’re just in the situation and reacting. It was also so hot.

Alison Oliver and Fabien Frankel in episode 6 of Task.

Really? While filming those scenes?

Oh God, that was all in July. It was like 100 degrees. And I chose to wear this long suit. Everyone’s covered up. But it was kind of good; we were all really dirty and sweating and running, so it felt quite real.

What was it like shooting the accident on the bridge, from a technical standpoint? Were you working with stunt doubles?

Yeah. They tried to figure out the best way to do it. But once I get hit, that’s a dummy, so I didn’t really have to do much stunt work for that. I remember when I was meant to be dead, they wanted me to keep my eyes open, but the sun was beating down. So there were so many takes where I’m just streaming [tears]. [The crew was like,] “It looks like you’re crying!” That was actually quite hard. But I think Fabien’s doing a lot of the work there for that last moment.

We see later on how [Lizzie’s death] affects everybody on the team, including her friendship with Aleah. What did you think about that unlikely relationship, and what did it mean to Lizzie?

I always felt like once Grasso reaches out to Lizzie and they create that bond, she wants to do the same for Aleah. I think she’s super impressed and probably intimidated by Aleah. But she can see the smile under her shell, and Lizzie’s way of connecting with people is through humor and silliness. She wants to break Aleah down a little bit. She has that really great line where it’s like, “Things work best when you’re friends and when you have each other’s backs—and we can be that for each other.”

As much as Aleah’s still resisting, she can feel that Lizzie’s broken through a little bit. And the fact that Lizzie actually makes her a patch [embroidered with her nickname, “Bullseye”] is so heartbreaking. But it’s a really nice relationship. You can see her gaining confidence and thinking, I’m going to really invest in this friendship too.

Oliver and Thuso Mbedu as Lizzie and Aleah in Task.

In your interpretation, did you think Lizzie had an inkling that Grasso was playing both sides?

I don’t think so. I think it’s better that she doesn’t.

What will you miss about playing her the most?

I had so much fun on this job. I can get so nervous on set sometimes and I’m constantly trying to do the right thing. But with this role, there was just this ease. I had a lot of fun playing her, even though she had her own inner insecurities and all those things. I just really loved her as a part, and I had a lot of fun being in that task force. It was a really enjoyable dynamic between the four of us.

Well, I’m glad we’ll be able to see you onscreen again, because Wuthering Heights is coming up in February and the trailer just dropped. What was your experience working on that set? What can you tell us about Emerald Fennell’s vision and her take on this iconic story?

I have no idea what I’m allowed to say. But what I will say is it was such a gift and an honor to work with her again. She’s an absolute genius, and I just can’t wait for people to see it. She’s amazing.

Anything you can reveal about Margot and Jacob?

Just that they’re amazing. Getting to watch them—I mean, they’re both such talented and incredible actors, so I just felt so lucky to be there.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.