Tessa Thompson on playing ‘Hedda’ and finding what you really want

Tessa Thompson’s latest role is sadly chaotic: Hedda Gabler. Adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, “Hedda,” in select theaters Oct. 22, features Thompson as a 1950s housewife who feels snubbed by an old lover and stifled in a new marriage. For Hedda, the only exit strategy is to punish those who harmed her and then destroy herself.

In this episode of Modern Love, Thompson explains why she identifies with female characters like Hedda and the desire to define life and love on her own terms. She also reads an essay on Modern Love about an unhappy marriage that helped the author find herself.

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“Modern Love” is hosted by Anna Martin and produced by Reva Goldberg, Emily Lang, Davis Land, Amy Pearl, Sara Curtis and Elisa Gutierrez. The show is put together by Lynn Levy and Jen Poyant, our executive producer. Production direction is provided by Christina Djossa. The show is mixed by Daniel Ramirez and recorded by Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. It features original music by Pat McCusker, Elisheba Ittoop, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Diane Wong. Our theme music is by Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Daniel Jones, Miya Lee, Larissa Anderson, Dahlia Haddad, Lisa Tobin, Brooke Minters, Felice León, Dave Mayers, Eddie Costas, Sawyer Roque, Sophie Erickson, Mariya Abdulkaf, Mark Zemel, Pat Gunther, Mahima Chablani, Jeffrey Miranda, Isabella Anderson, Christine Nguyen, Reyna Desai, Jordan Cohen, Victoria Kim, Nina Lassam and Julia Simon.

Thoughts? Email us at modernlovepodcast@nytimes.com.

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