MATTHEW RHYS Being an actor with a healthy ego, I thought, “Why did they think I was perfect for this insidious, predatory older person?” No, I’m joking. I loved the script straight away, because I appreciated that she was trying to write an evenhanded debate between two people, where it’s not black and white and the interest of it lies in its gray borders.

Tell me about the inspiration for this episode.

DUNHAM I know that because of the nature of the show, people will try to decode the characters, but it really is an amalgamation of every experience I’ve known young creative women to have as they’ve fought their way through this industry. It was the apex of a dialogue I’m in with so many of my friends who’ve had this experience — complex, intellectual, yet predatory relationships with men that they creatively admire. I wrote the first draft of the episode in one night, just taking out my frustration and curiosity at these older, male, energy-sucking figures and trying to turn it into a cohesive half-hour.

Did you two find yourselves discussing the debate at the center of the episode?

RHYS Yeah, we did — where did it come from, where is it born, what is it born of? That was of great interest to us, because the character can’t be one-dimensional, or else you don’t care. I was interested in how someone becomes that. We spoke at length about the chronic insecurity that comes from the realization of a position of power, and what that can lead to — how someone goes from being a marginally famous author, and then assumes a position of power of a predatory, sexual nature. The evolution of it psychologically — I just realized how pretentious that statement was — was what was interesting.

DUNHAM The thing that was so cool about Matthew was that he didn’t come in with a preconceived moral notion about the episode. He came in and sat down with me and said, “Tell me about your experience as a woman in this industry, and tell me the psychological profile that you’ve experienced of the kind of guy who would do this.”

Lena, one of the most interesting things about the episode is that you can sense your investment in both characters. You’re someone who’s been outspoken about lifting women’s voices, but you’ve also been put through the ringer online by strangers.