Elizabeth Banks reflects on bond with Jessica Biel from ‘The Better Sister’

Elizabeth Banks is loving every moment of working alongside Jessica Biel on their new Prime Video thriller The Better Sister. At 51, Banks says playing the older sister to Biel, 43, felt like a natural fit, and not just because of their on-screen roles.

“I am an older sister. [Biel] is younger than me. We’re both boy moms. We look alike. I mean, we got along like a house on fire,” Banks shared in an exclusive conversation with Us Weekly while discussing her partnership with No7 Beauty. 

“I really loved working with her. She’s Type A. She runs her own business. She has found herself living in a rarefied world.”

In the series, Banks and Biel portray Nicky and Chloe, two estranged sisters drawn back into each other's lives after Chloe’s husband is murdered. The dynamic between the sisters adds a unique emotional depth to the show, one that Banks believes sets it apart from other thrillers.

Biel, according to Banks, “really connected” to her role as Chloe. And Banks felt a similar pull toward Nicky. What makes the storyline different, Banks explained, is the central sibling bond that grounds the mystery. 

“You see a lot of married couples” in murder stories, she said, “but you don’t see siblings who have their full history together right from birth.”

“I think it was right for us,” she added. 

“I have not seen [a thriller] where a sibling relationship is at the heart of it. These two sisters are estranged and their family drama is so serious. They are breaking generational trauma by coming back together. I think you just don’t see that in a whodunit.”

Despite the dark drama unfolding in front of the camera, things on set were a lot more relaxed. Banks recalled how she and Biel, along with co-star Gloria Reuben, spent downtime playing Bananagrams—especially during long courtroom scenes.

“In the middle of the series, we had a full week of just sitting at trial watching people on the stand. [During] those days, we played a lot of Bananagrams,” she said. 

“Gloria Reuben — she’s a shark. She plays tons of Scrabble. She was constantly using words that none of us could pronounce or knew. We would look them up and be like, ‘yep, that’s a word she wins.’”