- 5 weeks ago
Actress Elizabeth Perkins continues to balance a prolific career with a grounded personal life, bringing decades of experience to a new wave of roles. She sat down with LifeMinute editor-in-chief Joann Butler to discuss her latest projects and the perspective she's gained throughout a career that's still going strong. Perkins stars in Netflix's Big Mistakes , a dark comedy from Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott, about siblings pulled into organized crime. She praised Levy's inclusive, collaborative style, calling the set environment both rare and inspiring--made even more special by finally working with her longtime friend, Laurie Metcalf. She's also set to appear in FX's Cry Wolf , from Sarah Treem, alongside Olivia Colman and Brie Larson, tackling the complexities of Child Protective Services. She also had a brief, but impactful appearance in The Housemaid , directed by Paul Feig, continuing a run of high-profile collaborations. With a career spanning film, television, and theater, Perkins has built an eclectic résumé. She earned multiple award nominations for her role on Weeds and won a Gracie Award for Sharp Objects . Her early breakout came in Big alongside Tom Hanks, with other notable performances in About Last Night with Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, Avalon , and a wide range of film and television projects that showcase her versatility. Off-screen, Perkins finds balance in a quieter life spent hiking, making collage art, and connecting with nature. This is a LifeMinute with Elizabeth Perkins.
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00:00Hi, I'm Elizabeth Perkins, and you're watching Life Minute TV.
00:04Actress Elizabeth Perkins has been wowing us for decades with one big hit after another.
00:10From that breakout role opposite Tom Hanks to her Emmy-nominated turn on Weeds,
00:15her latest Netflix, Big Mistakes, is no exception.
00:19She sat down with me recently to tell me all about it and a whole lot more.
00:23This is a Life Minute with Elizabeth Perkins.
00:26Elizabeth Perkins in the house. Yay!
00:28Thanks for having me.
00:29It's a Life Minute.
00:31So glad to have you.
00:32Lovely to be here.
00:33So, your new Netflix show, Big Mistakes.
00:36In Proverbs, it is said, the fear of man lays a snare.
00:39But whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
00:43Dad, you're coming!
00:45I'm going to blow your brains out!
00:46I got it!
00:47You're being very dramatic!
00:48It's created by Rachel Sennett and Dan Levy, who created Schicks Creek.
00:54It's starring Dan and a wonderful young actress named Taylor Ortega.
01:00She's incredible.
01:01Laurie Metcalf is in it.
01:03And it's about two siblings who unexpectedly get involved with organized crime in New Jersey.
01:09They make a fatal error that opens the door to a lot of misadventure.
01:15Yeah, for sure.
01:16It's funny.
01:17Yeah, it's a comedy.
01:18Sort of.
01:19It's also dramatic.
01:20Anyway, watch it.
01:21So tell us about Annette, what it's like to play her.
01:24Annette has been involved with this family.
01:27My son has been engaged to Taylor.
01:29So I'm very, very, very close with this family.
01:32But they're definitely in a different class than me.
01:35I'm a very wealthy real estate mogul.
01:38I'm a little put off by their, I don't know, their very déclassé to me and opinionated.
01:44But at the same time, I know my son loves this woman.
01:48And so I kind of put up with them.
01:52And Dan Levy, what's he like to work with?
01:54Oh, he's so inspiring.
01:56He just comes from a place of deep humanity.
02:00That's what he's like in his personal life, too.
02:02He's very open.
02:03He's very collaborative.
02:05I mean, he's an amazing sense of humor.
02:07He insists that his sets maintain a sense of calm and are very inclusive.
02:14He knows that acknowledging the crew is just as important as acknowledging the stars or the actors.
02:21So there's a real sense of honest camaraderie and everyone feeling like they're important and that there's a real sense
02:31of family.
02:32And it's very inspiring to work with somebody who's that in control, but in a really good way, of setting
02:40that tone of inclusivity.
02:44Oh, that's so nice.
02:45It's really nice and very rare.
02:47Rare.
02:47Very rare.
02:48Rare, I'm sure.
02:49Very rare.
02:50Where is it taped?
02:51We've been shooting in Jersey City.
02:53You have been?
02:53Yes.
02:53Oh, my gosh.
02:54I didn't even realize it.
02:55Yeah.
02:56We have a soundstage out there and we've been doing a lot of location.
03:00You should come on by.
03:01If you get a season two.
03:02I know.
03:03And Laurie Metcalf.
03:04She's great as well.
03:06Unbelievable.
03:06And it's funny because Laurie and I have been friends for about 45 years, which I can't believe I have
03:12friends for 45 years, but this is the first time we've ever worked together.
03:17So for me, it was just an absolute dream come true because we have a shorthand.
03:22I mean, I remember when her daughter was born, Zoe Perry, and I remember her pushing her around New York.
03:29So it's been such a blessing to be able to finally work with her.
03:34Oh, that's so neat.
03:35Yeah.
03:35How did it all come to be?
03:37Well, I was fangirling on Dan Levy on social media and then met him at an awards show.
03:44I can't remember what awards show it was, but his table was right next to mine.
03:48And I had known Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy for years just through different iterations.
03:52And I just fangirled my way over to Dan Levy.
03:56And we sort of became friends through that.
03:58And we'd text each other.
03:59And I was always kind of hoping, like, oh, God, I'd love to work with him one day.
04:02And so when he asked me to do this, I didn't know anything about the project.
04:06And so when he told me Laurie Metcalfe was in it, I just kind of melted.
04:10And I said, I don't care what the part is.
04:12I just want to hang out on the set.
04:15I'm like, I'll just hang out by craft services if you need anything.
04:19So it was just a little gift that landed in my lap.
04:23That's awesome.
04:24Well, good for them, too.
04:25They did good with you.
04:26You're an icon.
04:27And FX Cry Wolf.
04:29You're in that as well.
04:30Yes.
04:30Tell us about that.
04:31I'm just feeling really lucky these days.
04:33Sarah Treem is our creator.
04:36And she did The Affair.
04:37Amazing woman.
04:39And it's starring Olivia Colman, who, like, I bow down to the queen.
04:44Just an incredible actress.
04:46So that's been remarkable for me.
04:49And Brie Larson is in it, who's absolutely lovely.
04:51And I play Brie's mother.
04:53It's a new show on FX.
04:57They'll probably be coming in the fall.
04:58And it's on the dark side, but it's so well acted and so well written.
05:05It's about child protective services and the system and how that operates sometimes for the good and sometimes for the
05:13bad.
05:13And exploring, you know, different dynamics of social services, which particularly now in this environment are suffering.
05:23And there's, you know, a lot to be said about that.
05:25Yeah, really timely.
05:26Yeah.
05:27And Housemaid, you were great in that, too.
05:29Small film, but very good.
05:30My friend, Paul Feig, who's the director.
05:33So fun to watch Sidney Sweeney and Amanda Saver go after each other.
05:36It was so much fun.
05:38I have a very small part in it, but I'll do anything for Paul.
05:41He's amazing.
05:42He's amazing.
05:43Yeah, he does some good stuff.
05:44Well, you're on fire right now as well.
05:47Again.
05:48And still, I should say.
05:50You've been in so many iconic roles.
05:52Do you have a favorite?
05:53I think I have a favorite film.
05:55It was a small movie called Avalon that was made by Barry Levinson.
05:59No, no, Mike, Michael, it's going to be just the same.
06:02Us and your grandparents are going to live in our house, and they're going to live in another house.
06:04We're all going to live near each other just like it is now.
06:06Honey, please don't distract me, okay?
06:07It's going to rain any minute.
06:08You got furniture all over the street.
06:09I'm going to panic.
06:11Okay.
06:12He did three movies about growing up in Baltimore, and this was the last installment that was about his childhood.
06:18I had the honor of playing his mom in that, and it was an incredible group of...
06:23of actors, Aidan Quinn and the late Joan Plowright and all these actors from the Yiddish theater in New York.
06:30And it was just lovely to make a period piece, and I was really honored to play his mom.
06:36That was a little gift.
06:37In terms of roles, I mean, there's been so many.
06:41I was on the show Weeds, and my character was Celia Hodes, and she was just nuts.
06:47No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
06:48That's grown-up juice, not for you.
06:50When can I have some grown-up juice?
06:52When you have a daughter who drives you to it.
06:54I don't think there's any actor out there who wouldn't want to say, yeah, I want to play somebody who's
06:58just off the wall,
07:00because it's so freeing and it's so unpredictable, and you can sort of do whatever you want and get away
07:06with it.
07:06And she was just evil and broken and mad and sad, and that was probably one of my favorite roles.
07:13Cool.
07:14How do you get ready for roles?
07:16It changes every time.
07:18You know, you can make decisions in your apartment or, you know, I'm going to do this, I'm going to
07:22do that.
07:23But it all comes down to what happens when, you know, your feet are on the stage and, you know,
07:28what that tone is and how everything's playing off of each other and the other actor in the scene.
07:35So every single job is completely different.
07:39I mean, you do as much prep work as you can.
07:41I study my lines until I know them backwards and forwards.
07:44That's my personal choice, but it just depends on the vibe on the set, what the director wants, how the
07:50director wants to approach it or the creator.
07:53I'm a child, Susan, and I'm not ready for all of this.
07:58Oh, that's fine.
08:00That is, that's just great.
08:02Yeah, people still quote that movie, which is so funny to me.
08:06Like, I'm like, wow, because I think I was 27, 26 when we made that, so a long time ago.
08:12And you look the same, just the same.
08:13And what's he doing to work with Tom Hanks?
08:15Oh, he's the best.
08:16I mean, everybody who's worked with Tom Hanks has been like, he's the best.
08:19He's a leader.
08:20He's calm.
08:22What I love about Tom is that he never takes it all too seriously.
08:26I mean, like, ultimately, you're making a movie, you know, you're not solving world hunger.
08:31It's a gift to be able to do it, and he always acknowledges that.
08:35Keeps a sense of perspective about it all, which is welcoming.
08:39And about last night, I always loved you in that, too.
08:41That was my first.
08:42I, on the other hand, work with monsters.
08:45You're talking about five-year-olds.
08:48Right.
08:48And my job is to break their spirit.
08:50That's what kindergarten is all about.
08:52He was sort of at the height of the Brack Pack, and I remember working with Rob Lowe, and he'd
08:56come out of his trailer, and there'd just be all these screaming teenagers on the street.
09:01And I was like, because I'd never seen anything like that before I'd come from the theater.
09:06So that was an experience.
09:08Yeah, he was definitely a teen idol in those days.
09:12And the theater, was it Chicago?
09:14Worked in Chicago and worked here as well in the theater.
09:17Yeah, I got my first big break here in New York doing Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs.
09:22Were there any actors along the way that inspired you?
09:26There's been so many.
09:26Well, Laurie Metcalf, who I'm now working with.
09:29Oh, my God.
09:30The first time I saw her on stage, I think I was 18.
09:33Oh, wow.
09:33And I remember thinking to myself, God, if I could ever be that good of an actor.
09:39I was very inspiring working with Mary Louise Parker, who's incredible, just always surprised
09:45me, always brought something new and interesting.
09:48Working with the late William Hurt was a great experience for me.
09:53Now being able to work with Olivia Colman has kind of been like, thank you, because I'm
09:58just in awe of her work.
10:00Did you always know he wanted to act?
10:02No.
10:02I mean, I always did plays, you know.
10:05I was in Hansel and Gretel when I was little, and I always did plays all through school, but
10:11I wanted to be a veterinarian.
10:13I'm a big animal person, big rescue person, and I just wasn't qualified.
10:19I just couldn't get through math.
10:21I just couldn't get through the science.
10:22I mean, I loved animals, but, you know, it's really, really tough to become a veterinarian.
10:29And most people don't realize it's harder than med school.
10:32Well, like it's so easy to be an actor.
10:34Well, that's a successful one, though.
10:37Well, most people don't realize about veterinary medicine is that, you know, being a doctor
10:41for humans, there's one body.
10:43But when you're talking about veterinary medicine, there's so much you have to learn.
10:47So I just couldn't handle it.
10:53Oh, that's so funny.
11:01Well, they call them puppies.
11:02They're full grown.
11:03But one's only three pounds and one's eight pounds.
11:06So, yeah, Dudley and Little Pete.
11:07Little Pete is a special needs dog.
11:10He has a tumor in his brain.
11:11But he's fine.
11:12It's funny.
11:14When we adopted him, they said, oh, it could be six weeks, could be six months.
11:18And so we fostered him.
11:19And that was seven years ago.
11:22Oh, that's amazing.
11:23He's like, oh, I love him.
11:26Love him so much.
11:26Oh, that's amazing.
11:28You're really taking care of him.
11:30What do you like to do when you're not working, if that ever is?
11:33Well, I live upstate, so that's great.
11:35I have a property up there.
11:37I spend a lot of time up there.
11:39And I'm a collage artist.
11:40I have a studio up there, and I do mixed media collage.
11:45And I love to hike.
11:46I'm very into nature.
11:47And I grow my own vegetables, which are going to be going in the ground shortly.
11:51Looking forward to the summer.
11:53And like I said, you look amazing.
11:56What do you do to stay well?
11:58Drink a lot of water.
12:00I mean, people really underestimate water.
12:03I don't know.
12:03I'm happy right now.
12:04So that might help.
12:06That's so great.
12:07That always helps.
12:07Oh, yeah.
12:08What do you binge?
12:09Do you ever have time to binge anything?
12:11True crime.
12:12But it's so funny.
12:13I talk to so many women.
12:14They're like, I love true crime.
12:16And I've actually seen some memes on social media about, you know, women in bed.
12:22Then he dragged the body out to the shed.
12:25And, you know, I think it's true.
12:27I think it's a great escape.
12:29I love the show Snapped, about women who kill.
12:33Women who kill.
12:34So I'll binge that.
12:35But what I am doing lately, and I don't know if it's because of the state of the world,
12:39or where we're at, but I've been watching a lot of old sitcoms late at night.
12:43Like, Everybody Loves Raymond, or Friends, or Golden Girls.
12:47I don't know.
12:47There's a sense of comfort in that, or familiarity that just feels like, oh, okay, everything's
12:53fine.
12:54Golden Girls are on.
12:55I've got my lemon tea.
12:57It's all good.
12:57Everything's fine.
12:58Favorite comfort food, speaking of comfort.
13:01Oh, bread.
13:02I'm just a bread and butter person.
13:04Like, if I was, you know, be on a desert island, it'd be like just a loaf of crunchy
13:08bread and some salted butter, and I'm good.
13:12What's on your music playlist?
13:14Well, last year was all Taylor Swift.
13:17Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift.
13:19We actually, my daughter and I went to the closing night of the tour in Vancouver.
13:23But right now I'm into French jazz.
13:25You know, when I'm just going about the house or working in my studio, it's just nice to
13:30have soft, kind music.
13:33And then all of a sudden, Chapel Rhone.
13:35I'm definitely into female singer-songwriters.
13:38Big Brandi Carlisle fan.
13:39Joni Mitchell.
13:41Yeah.
13:41Awesome.
13:42What would your current self tell your younger?
13:45God, the first thing that popped in my head was calm down.
13:47I think that, like, don't sweat the small stuff or don't worry.
13:52Like, it's all going to be okay.
13:53You know, as a young actor, sort of, you know, making the rounds in New York, it's a lot.
13:58I probably would have told myself, you're going to end up right where you're supposed
14:01to be.
14:01But you don't know that when you're young.
14:03So probably just calm down.
14:05It's going to be okay.
14:06I remember being very anxious in my 20s.
14:09And now that I'm in my 60s, I sort of look back and like, wow, that was a lot of
14:12wasted
14:13energy.
14:14So probably calm down.
14:16What's the key to happiness in life?
14:18Nature.
14:20Connecting with nature.
14:21That, you know, I lived in L.A. for 30 plus years and finally came back.
14:26I mean, I'm originally from New England.
14:28And I realized that I was, everybody says, oh, L.A., there's sunshine.
14:31But, you know, you don't go to the ocean every day.
14:34You know, it's, and the sun is kind of like, and it's dirty.
14:38And it's, and, you know, being upstate now, it's, it's just really nice to have access
14:44to air and water and green.
14:47You know, even when I'm in the city, I'll just go into Central Park and be like, oh,
14:51this is good.
14:52This is good.
14:53Even, you know, go down to Union Square the other day.
14:56I was like, yeah, cherry blossoms.
14:58I'm good.
14:59I'm good.
15:00Definitely the key.
15:01What's something that you still want to do you haven't done?
15:04You have a lot going on.
15:06To be honest, I've been to Scotland twice, but I've never been to the Highlands.
15:13Like, I want to go on a hiking trip through the Highlands, like the Isle of Man, maybe
15:20hit Northern Ireland.
15:22So I think travel more.
15:24I, you know, we raised four children, been working a lot.
15:28So I think now would be a great time to travel and that Scotland's number one on my list.
15:34So it's just a matter of like booking it.
15:37Like if you book it, then you will go.
15:38But if you don't book it, you'll never go.
15:40One thing that I've always wanted to do is hike part of the Appalachian Trail.
15:44And I know several people who've hiked the entire trail.
15:47And my sister is a master hiker.
15:48She hikes all over New Hampshire.
15:51And I would love to hike at least a part of it.
15:54That's so cool.
15:54That's a dream of mine.
15:55I'll do it.
15:56Get it done, Elizabeth.
15:57Let's get it done.
15:58Do your kids have a favorite role of yours?
16:01Probably.
16:02But I, we don't watch my movies in my house or the shows that I'm on.
16:07I was always very conscious of like, yeah, you'll watch it if you want to.
16:12You know, I've never been a person who said, you know, let's sit down and watch mom's movie
16:16because it's just, no, I don't get that.
16:20I'm sure there is maybe, but I've never asked.
16:23That's so good.
16:24You're like so delightful.
16:27Thank you, Wendy.
16:27Oh, you're right.
16:28Congratulations on all the stuff going on.
16:30You're so good.
16:31I appreciate that.
16:32And everything you do.
16:35Thanks for having me today.
16:36To hear more of this interview, visit our podcast, Life Minute TV on iTunes and all streaming podcast
16:42platforms.
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