Abhiroop Das
Co-created by the team of Lee Eisenberg, David West Read, Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson, Apple TV’s ‘Brothers’ begins by reimagining a real-life story about how Woody and Matthew discovered the possibility that they might be biological brothers. In this comedy series, Woody comes with his entire family to stay at Matthew’s, only to wrestle with this newfound revelation and all the possibilities it entails. However, another arc that runs parallel to this connects to his own family issues. Joy Harrelson, his wife, also gets embroiled in this saga, just as she struggles to make Woody understand what his family really needs. Much like Matthew’s wife, Val, Joy provides a nuanced, alternate perspective on the story and the themes it touches upon.
Joy Harrelson is Partially Inspired by Laura Louie, Woody Harrelson’s Real-life Wife
While the character of Joy Harrelson is not a direct portrayal of Laura Louie, Woody Harrelson’s wife in real life, Laura did provide some loose inspiration for the role. Actor Brittany Ishibashi, who plays the role of Joy in ‘Brothers,’ told Photobook Magazine that the distinction was made clear from the outset. “It was made very clear to me from the beginning that I was not playing Woody’s real-life wife,” the actor clarified. However, she did meet Laura while preparing for the show, and rather poetically described it as “a ray of light hit you like a lightning bolt. You can’t help but be inspired by her light and her love for her family.” It is these qualities that Joy channels into her take on the character, but apart from that, her larger arc is entirely created by the show’s writing team.
Apart from Woody and Matthew McConaughey, who play fictionalized versions of themselves, all the other characters in the show have fictional names and storylines. A few of these characters draw from their real-life counterparts, some more strongly than others, but the finer details are nonetheless penned as part of the story, and do not reflect reality. While that is especially true for Joy as a character, Ishibashi did look into Laura’s relationship with Woody in greater detail. Ishibashi described the process as “finding the delicious layers of what made her (Laura) relationship with Woody work,” and it’s very likely that this partially informed Joy and Woody’s dynamic on screen as well.
Woody and Laura first met in 1987, while he was working on the television sitcom ‘Cheers’ and she had been assigned as his personal assistant. Per Woody, they worked together for three years before their relationship turned romantic, with the actor eventually expressing his feelings by composing a song for her. The couple then went on to build a family together, welcoming three daughters, Deni, Zoe, and Makani, before tying the knot in 2008. In ‘Brothers,’ however, we see an alternate, heavily fictionalized version of Woody’s life, in which Joy fits in as a character in her own right rather than being an on-screen rendition of a real person.
Brittany Ishibashi Brings Joy’s Complex Arc to Life in Brothers
Actor Brittany Ishibashi essays the role of Joy Harrelson with her own artistic touch, one that adds to the character’s overall sense of originality. The Japanese American actor comes from a family that has been part of the entertainment industry for several generations, with her mother, Momo Yashima, having worked as an actor and her grandmother, Yae Yashima, being an acclaimed singer. While conversing with Photobook Magazine, Ishibashi described growing up backstage as the driving force behind why she stepped into the world of the arts. After finding her first break just out of high school, in the show ‘Felicity,’ Ishibashi went on to star in a number of acclaimed shows and movies, such as ‘E-Ring,’ ‘Grace and Frankie,’ ‘Runaways,’ and ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ where she plays Ashley Nakahino, Erica, Tina Minoru, and Tamiko Masuda, respectively.
Ishibashi was sold on ‘Brothers’ from the moment she read the pilot script and felt drawn to “the idea of playing in a world where we can have deep love for each other and still strongly disagree on so many things.” Flexing a stunning understanding of her character, the actor likened Joy to a tree that grows taller to provide shade to the Harrelson family, even if it means bearing the pressure that comes with it. She further described filming alongside Woody as an intensely life-affirming experience, adding that it allowed her to just be herself and bring her all to the role of Joy.
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