IR Interview: Teyana Taylor For "One Battle After Another" (Awards Track) [Warner Bros.]

The Inside Reel

Actress Teyana Taylor talks to Awards Track about approach, colors of performance, reaction and energy in regards to her role as Perfidia Beverly Hills in the Paul Thomas Anderson film: “One Battle After Another” from Warner Bros.

Transcript

00:00I

00:15Wanted to protect you from all your mom's stuff

00:20My stuff even though I know that's impossible

00:24This is the end of the line not for you

00:30I'm gonna keep around you cause a winner don't quit on themselves

00:33Whoa, who's this?

00:39Oh, they're just my friends

00:40Now is that a he or a she or a they?

00:43It's not that hard, they, them

00:45Okay, I just want to be polite

00:46Yo, say it, say it, baby

00:57Love you, Bob

00:58Love you too

01:00This one takes us to a whole level, new level of authenticity

01:06Finding her, I mean, cause the energy with everybody

01:10Between, you know, DiCaprio as Bob

01:14And Penn as Lockjaw

01:15Is something completely different

01:17Can you talk about modulating the energy in those scenes

01:20And keeping it up?

01:21Mmm, I mean that's a good question

01:23Honestly, the first thing was the level of safety

01:25You know, to be on set with legends like Sean Penn and Leonardo

01:30And they, and they're so gentle

01:33And their mentorship is just everything

01:35I think like, knowing that they treated me as if like

01:40I was up there with them, you know

01:43That makes me want to go hard

01:44Because that means that we're here to make a great movie

01:46And this, we're not here for egos

01:48And we're not here for, for pride

01:50You get what I'm saying?

01:51And for me, I'm a player

01:52You know, so one

01:54I feel like I already got a point to prove

01:55And two

01:56When I'm down for the cause

01:58I'm down for the cause

01:58And we gonna get this done

01:59So even if I'm nervous

02:00All that shit go out the window

02:02Before they yell action

02:04When they yell action is on

02:05The same thing

02:05When that whistle blow

02:06Game is on

02:08When that gun blow

02:09The race is on

02:10You get what I'm saying?

02:11And that's the kind of energy that I have

02:14And I love to make the people who's come before me

02:16That I love and admire and respect so much

02:18I just love to make them proud

02:20I like when Paul yelled cut

02:22And they're like, okay

02:24You know what I'm saying?

02:25Like, I love that

02:26That pumps me up

02:28It gets me going

02:28This is Bob Ferguson

02:31I was a part of the French 75

02:33Bitch, I felt like Tony Montana

02:38Steve Lockjaw just attacked my home

02:41And I cannot remember

02:43For the life of my only child

02:45The answer to your question

02:48Maybe you should have studied the rebellion text

02:50A little harder

02:51I need to find my daughter

02:53Well then call us back when you have the time

02:56Did you

02:57You just

02:58You know, you are so unsuitable for my daughter

03:10My child comes from a whole line of revolutionaries

03:15And you look so lost

03:18What are you going to do about this baby?

03:21Did you find her voice fairly early?

03:24Because she

03:24She has this whole body motion thing

03:26The way she carries herself

03:28Everything

03:28Can you talk about that?

03:29Because you can read the script

03:31But then when you get on set

03:32It takes on a whole other thing

03:33Oh, that's real shit

03:34Honestly, to find Perfidia

03:36We couldn't do that through the script

03:38We had to have a lot of conversations

03:40And we had to really

03:41You know, color coordinate her layers

03:43Because she is so complicated

03:45She's so complex, you know

03:46So it's kind of like

03:47I wanted to get her layers

03:49And then, you know, color coordinate them

03:51And really just know when to dive into those colors

03:55You know what I'm saying?

03:56So

03:56What I'm doing here

04:00Is I'm creating a closed circuit

04:03Very important to keep your cap shunted like this

04:08So you don't accidentally detonate your charge

04:12Don't stop

04:14I want you to create a show

04:16This is an announcement on revolution

04:18The message is clear

04:22I'll be seeing you very soon

04:24Not if I see you first

04:25What colors did you lock in on on her?

04:30Was it certain details that you liked?

04:32Or was it like

04:33You ever just had

04:35Like, you know, how you just got

04:36Like, you know

04:36Red, white, blue, orange

04:38Simple colors

04:39She is

04:40Perfidia is like

04:43When all the paint kind of spills

04:46Or that color

04:47That when you keep dipping the brushing

04:49After using a different color

04:51And then the water is kind of like brown

04:53It's just this weird color

04:55You know

04:55And that's Perfidia

04:57Because you even see the part

04:58Where she walks out on Bob

04:59And her baby

05:00It's silent

05:01But you see even the face

05:02You see she's hurt

05:04But you also see

05:05This is a woman

05:05I feel like

05:06But still

05:06I gotta show up for myself

05:08To have to be so

05:10You know

05:12Tedious

05:13With those colors

05:14It's like a drop of this

05:15Drop of pink

05:16Drop of green

05:16Drop of red

05:17Because she's angry

05:17Drop of blue

05:18Because she's cold

05:19It's like

05:19How do you

05:20You know what I'm saying

05:20And then that pink

05:21Of just being vulnerable

05:23But then that pride

05:25And that ego

05:25And it's just like

05:26Oh

05:27She gets in her own way

05:28And it's just like

05:29It's a color that you can't really

05:31She's so

05:31Goddamn

05:32Complicated

05:34She is

05:34It's just a splash

05:35Of different colors

05:36You know

05:37But she is primal

05:38I mean

05:38Because you see her

05:39Just like

05:40Bam

05:40Like that

05:41You know

05:41You see her

05:41Get cold

05:42Man

05:43It's interesting

05:44But that requires

05:45You see her get cold

05:45Like after a sad face

05:47Like you see

05:47She'll be like

05:48That lip quiver

05:49A little bit

05:50She'll get that baby

05:50And then she's like

05:51This is the new consciousness

05:53You know what I'm saying

05:54It's just like

05:55Yeah

05:55How she just flipped that

05:57Like that

05:57It's crazy

05:58For bringing justice

06:00To the vigilante group

06:01Known as the French 75

06:03We are here to award

06:06Steven Lockjaw

06:07With the medal of honor

06:09You have to understand

06:12Who will love

06:13Me and mom

06:16We used to run around

06:16And do some real bad

06:17They got hurt

06:21Now they're coming after us

06:23I'm sorry

06:24I didn't ask for this

06:25That's just how the cards

06:26Were rolled out for me

06:27It's not cards

06:28You don't roll cards

06:29It's dice

06:29Dad

06:30What is wrong with you

06:31Well talking about the flip

06:33Because the thing is

06:33There is some humor

06:34In these scenes

06:35Some gallows humor

06:35Like with DiCaprio

06:37And even with the way

06:38Sean plays Lockjaw

06:39So I mean

06:40Could you talk about

06:41Finding sort of

06:41Because you're not playing it

06:43For any kind of laugh

06:44You're playing it for the drama

06:45But sort of the humanity

06:46Comes out of that

06:47Right

06:48Right

06:49No that's real

06:50And it's crazy

06:50Because a lot of those

06:51Funny moments

06:51Come from

06:52The magic that we create

06:54On set

06:54You know

06:55Paphidia was a mess

06:56You know

06:57In the funniest way

06:58And she just didn't give a

06:59F***

06:59It was unapologetically

07:00Herself

07:01And my ability to improv

07:03Definitely helped

07:05Push the needle

07:05In regards to

07:06Some of the funny parts

07:08Because it's just like

07:09Okay cool

07:10Well since we playing

07:10Get it out

07:11Were you surprised

07:13How people

07:13Yeah were you surprised

07:14How people reacted though

07:15To the character

07:16Because being on set

07:17And then in the theaters

07:18Two different things

07:19You know

07:20I know

07:20I mean it really

07:21It was

07:22You know what I like though

07:23In all the screenings

07:24It was really dope

07:25To see

07:26Everybody pass the vibe check

07:28They laughed

07:29When they were supposed to laugh

07:30They cried

07:31When they were supposed to cry

07:32Because I'm like

07:33You know

07:33Even the letter

07:33At the infamy

07:34I'm like

07:34This is the most vulnerable

07:35We hear

07:36Paphidia

07:37Like I wonder

07:38If people can hear it

07:39Like because now

07:39I'm overthinking

07:40I'm like

07:40I wonder if people

07:40Can hear it

07:41You know

07:42Even though it's

07:42Super loud in here

07:43And to hear so many

07:44People sniffling

07:45And it hit them

07:46The way that I hope

07:47And that it would

07:49Because reading that letter

07:50I was really crying

07:52And I'm like

07:52I hope that people

07:53Feel that

07:54And they hear that

07:56Even though they don't

07:57Have the visual

07:58To see that

07:59You feel what I'm saying

08:00So it's like

08:01It felt good to know

08:02That people

08:02Are understanding

08:03Those small nuances

08:05And you know

08:05Those small details

08:07In there

08:07But it requires thought

08:09And it's the best film

08:09It does

08:10It does

08:11And that's why it's good

08:11To actually watch it

08:12More than once

08:13I think the first time

08:14People get so overwhelmed

08:15With everything

08:16It's good

08:17It's all good

08:17But that second time

08:18You go and watch it

08:19That third time

08:19You start catching

08:20Other little shit too

08:21You know what freedom is

08:23What

08:23No fear

08:24Go

08:26Not one thing

08:48It's another

08:48Find that to be true

08:50No fear

08:50Come on

08:51No fear

08:51What a little thing

08:52Will

08:53ó

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