- 6 hours ago
Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, Awkwafina, Laura Dern and Renée Zellweger joined for the annual Actress Roundtable.
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00:08Welcome to Close Up with the Hollywood Reporter Actresses. I'm Rebecca Ford and I'd like to welcome Laura Dern, Lupita
00:16Nyong'o, Renée Zellweger, Afqafina, Scarlett Johansson, and Jennifer Lopez.
00:22Thank you so much for joining us. So we're going to jump right in here. When were you most afraid
00:28or intimidated by a role and how did you overcome it?
00:31We can all probably relate that it happens every time before you start. It happens every time. Your imposter syndrome
00:38sneaks in and you're going to be found out and this will be the time that everyone knows you're a
00:42fraud and you're getting fired.
00:44And, you know, I don't know. It's always this wonderful, exciting collaboration and you don't want to let anybody down.
00:52So, you know, you just have those little nerves and want to make sure you hold up your end of
00:57the deal.
00:58It becomes less of fear and probably more just a sense of responsibility as you, I guess, get older and
01:06have been doing it a while.
01:07But it's always part of the joy of it, really, because if it doesn't frighten you, then maybe, yeah, why
01:15are you doing it if it doesn't somehow?
01:18Scare you.
01:19Yeah, scare the shit out of you.
01:21There you go.
01:24Laura, was there one specific maybe that scared you more than most?
01:29And I would say, I mean, to your point, scare you, scare the shit out of you, that probably the
01:35most scared I've been is when I'm having the most fun because it is so boundaryless and you kind of
01:41lose sight of where you are and that's an amazing feeling.
01:47But specifics in the moment, probably I did film Citizen Ruth and that was the, I felt at the time,
01:55the most different of anyone I'd been with.
01:58I mean, not that I'm not addicted to having paint, but that was a challenge and at that time felt
02:03scary to me and because it was a very dark comedy, trying to sort of walk this unusual line.
02:09And the script was so fun and terrifying and beautiful.
02:14I would say that the last film, Us, terrified me quite a bit.
02:19Every time I work, I wonder whether I have what it takes to do that particular role because, you know,
02:25we're in a business where we're always starting again.
02:28You know, you have to, you start with ignorance with every role and the preparation is about moving from that
02:35ignorance to hopefully a sense of, you know, expertise.
02:39By the time the film wraps, but with us, I had to play two characters in one movie and I
02:46had the time.
02:47It usually takes me to prepare for one and these two characters are diametrically opposed to each other.
02:53They are individual, but they're also two entities that ultimately are one.
02:59So that was a challenge just in terms of how to organize it in my head, you know, and how
03:10to, how to make them distinct and yet feel like two parts of one entity.
03:21What do we want?
03:25We want to take our time.
03:32We've been waiting for this date for so long.
03:40I call it the un-jathering.
03:47I think you're always kind of excited at the undertaking of a new role, a new movie, and I've done
03:53them for so long and all, a lot of us have here, that you're not nervous, nervous.
03:59There's like butterflies, but it's not the, it's not like, oh, I'm going to go down in flames.
04:03It's not that nervous.
04:05But this was the first time in a long time that I was actually terrified to do that opening number,
04:12which I suggested.
04:15So it was my fault that I was there to begin with.
04:19It wasn't written in the script.
04:22It just says, Ramona finishes a final flourish and then me and Destiny meet.
04:28And I was like, no, she, she's like the big, you know, kind of the moneymaker at the club.
04:34She was this person.
04:35I played a stripper in that, in this movie.
04:38And, um, and I was like, but she has to show why.
04:42Like, we can't say it.
04:43We have to do it, right?
04:44We have to, I have to dance on the pole.
04:47I have to show them.
04:48I have to go there.
04:49And even though that's scary and in my mind, I was like, it's going to be scary, but it's, but
04:53then when I was there and I have the dental floss on and, uh, you know what I mean?
04:58And I'm out there, like in a way I've never been, it was so scary.
05:05It was so terrifying.
05:06I was literally like for the first time in years, like my heart beating out of my chest and going,
05:12oh my God, I'm really nervous.
05:14I'm really scared and I wasn't smiling like I am now, you know what I mean?
05:18What are you going to do?
05:19Go back to minimum wage?
05:23Oh baby, this game is rigged.
05:25And it does not reward people who play by the rules.
05:29You either stand in the corner or get in the ring.
05:35I don't want to hurt anybody.
05:37Me either.
05:39Right?
05:41They would do this anyway.
05:44We're just helping them do it.
05:46I turned to my producing partner and she was walking onto the stage and everybody was excited and it was
05:50toward the end of the shoot.
05:51And here we go towards the stage and I have my robe on and there's 300 extras, all men.
05:57And it's like, oh my God.
06:00Okay.
06:01And I go, I turned to her and I go, I'm scared.
06:04You know?
06:04And she was like, you are?
06:06Never hears me say that, right?
06:08Or like, we're just like working, working, working, doing our thing, show, movie, blah, blah, blah.
06:13And I was like, yeah.
06:16And she was like, you got this?
06:17You got this?
06:18And I'm like, yeah, I got this.
06:20But I think that was putting myself out there in a way physically and emotionally and kind of, I don't
06:28know, something deeper than I had ever done.
06:31And playing a character that was that unapologetic in so many ways that it was so different than who I
06:40was.
06:40You know, I feel like all my characters, they have a little bit of me in them.
06:44And this one did a little bit, but it was so different.
06:47But it was, again, the most, it comes out to be the most rewarding thing that you do.
06:52It was like, oh, shit.
06:53Okay, cool.
06:53It paid off.
06:54That scene is amazing.
06:56It's a good scene.
06:56Can I ask you how, who helped you to choreograph it and how long you did it?
07:01And how many people actually saw you do it before the 300 male audience members?
07:07That's so funny.
07:08Hardly any.
07:09Right?
07:09So you were safe in a quiet space.
07:11I was in a quiet space.
07:12Oh, my goodness.
07:12Probably that's why, too.
07:13And it was hard.
07:15It was, you know, I had to learn the acrobatics.
07:17And so, you know, like the shoulder was out.
07:19And build up to it, too.
07:19And build up to it.
07:20So it took, like, we started, like, eight weeks out.
07:24And she started just showing me.
07:25I had a pole teacher who worked for Cirque du Soleil.
07:29But she lived in Vegas, so she kind of knew the strip club.
07:31So I was like, you know, this has to be, like, I'm not trying to be a Cirque du Soleil
07:35performer.
07:35I'm a stripper.
07:36And so it has to have that kind of, like, dirty, sexy, grimy, you know, feel to it, too.
07:44Like, I want it to be that, too.
07:46And so we kind of just put it together with the moves that I learned.
07:51And I was like, oh, this is a great one, or, you know, I need to conquer that one.
07:55So I need to learn that one, because that one has to be in there.
07:58And we kind of put it together together.
08:00And then it was like, from doing research and going to the strip clubs, you know, there was moves I
08:05saw some of the girls do.
08:06I was like, I'm going to put that in.
08:08I'm going to put that in.
08:09You know what I mean?
08:10And so we just kind of, I just kind of constructed it piece by piece.
08:15And then, you know, we picked a song, and we just did it in that way.
08:20But it was hard.
08:23And I think you're right.
08:24I didn't realize I was in that small space with just a few people.
08:28The director hadn't even seen it.
08:29She only saw a video of it, like, the day before.
08:32And then, you know, I went out and did it on the day.
08:36It was so scary.
08:39Now I think about it, I'm so glad it's over.
08:43It was such a crazy thing.
08:45And, Skyla, what about you?
08:46You have two very different films that have come out.
08:49Is there one that was sort of more intimidating for you than the other?
08:52I don't know if intimidated is really the right word exactly.
08:55I think both of those films, even though they're really different,
08:58and the thing they do have in common is that the scripts were, like, beautiful little gems,
09:03both scripts.
09:04And Laura read, obviously, Marriage Story.
09:06And it was such a, it was incredible.
09:08I mean, it was just every, I think what people that have seen it don't necessarily realize
09:14is that every hesitation and every unfinished sentence is all scripted.
09:20And no one's really, you know, it's the words of the words.
09:23And, you know, you have to stick to that.
09:25Yeah, it's all right there.
09:26And he's a real stickler about that, you know, which is fine.
09:31But, you know, you have to, you have this kind of structure, and then you figure it out.
09:40It was challenging at times just because, you know, Noah's relentless,
09:46and he works, you know, to, like, to exhaustion.
09:50I've never really been able to have that experience, just burning film like that.
09:54It's something you do when you do theater because you, you know, you just keep,
09:58it's one of the beautiful things about doing theater is that you get that chance over and
10:01over again to figure it out.
10:03And you do what you figure it out, you know, every night.
10:06And it's so exciting because you have, you know, you surprise yourself all the time.
10:11And you're stuck with this, you know, with this text.
10:14And that's kind of the experience that I certainly, and Laura had, too, is, you know,
10:20you had all this, all this opportunity to just try it all out.
10:26And it was challenging, but it also, you kind of keep coming back to, okay, I can't stray
10:34from this, so I'm going to, you know, make these discoveries within this kind of, the
10:40confines of this text.
10:41And it was, it was not, I wouldn't say intimidating, but it was challenging, definitely.
10:47In the beginning, I was the actress, the star, and that felt like something.
10:51You know, people came to see me at first, but the farther away I got from that, and the
10:58more acclaimed the theater company got, I had less and less weight.
11:01I just became who?
11:04Oh, you know, the actress that was in that thing that time, and he was the draw.
11:10And that would have been fine, but I got smaller.
11:16I was intimidated when I read your monologue, and watched you tirelessly learning it.
11:23Fumble through it?
11:24No, my God, no.
11:27And makeup and hair, and we would run lines, and I would listen to you memorizing it, and
11:33take one was flawless.
11:37This human being opening her heart and telling this entire story, not one word missed.
11:42I was just mesmerized.
11:45It was amazing to watch you do that.
11:47All the actors were hand-shy when Noah walked past.
11:49Yeah.
11:50I didn't add a then.
11:52I wasn't a then.
11:54The little things.
11:55But it was amazing.
11:56I think acting is, it is all about, you know, what you have with another person.
12:03That's the magic that happens, is what you get from this person receiving you, and you
12:09receiving them, and, you know, making this beautiful shape with somebody else.
12:14And I, of course, had this beautiful creature to act opposite, and be there present with
12:21me, and hold me, and, you know, this incredibly, like, sympathetic soul that is Laura Dern.
12:28Also, I'm just listening to you, I was listening to you, like, the beauty of performing, right?
12:32Like, you're practicing and practicing, and you're back there, and you're looking it over,
12:36and you're mentally going through it in your mind, and da-da-da, and then you have to go
12:39out there, and you have to do it.
12:42And the awesome thing is, like, with your heart beating out of your chest with your, you
12:47know, like, I can't say then instead of then, or whatever it is, and you go out there,
12:51and you just, boom, you nail it.
12:54The performance is the thing, right?
12:56Because that's what we do.
12:57We perform.
12:58We're, like, we go out there on the stage, whether it's in a set, or in front of 50,000
13:02people, or whatever it is, and we've got to perform.
13:06You've got to do it.
13:07And that's, like, the professional part, right?
13:10Like, you go out there, and even though, like, in your mind, in the back of your mind,
13:14you're like, oh, shit, I might mess up on the first take.
13:16Okay, I have another take.
13:17It doesn't matter.
13:17You go out there, and you do it.
13:19That's so dope.
13:20I'm curious if you've ever had an experience where the actor you had to work across from
13:26wasn't giving you what you needed, or it just wasn't really vibing the way it needed to.
13:31How do you dealt with that?
13:32You don't have to name names.
13:34I just watched all the videos.
13:36If you've had to, you know, work with an actor, and it just wasn't working.
13:40Not working meaning chemistry, like you don't connect.
13:44Yeah, yeah.
13:45And you really need to.
13:46You know, when you go to a party, and there are people who have that rhythm where they're
13:53listening to you, and then they wait a long time before they respond, and if you're a person,
14:00and I think we all share this, where we're, like, almost finishing everybody's sentences
14:04because we're having so much fun talking, it's super weird when somebody goes,
14:11I know what you mean.
14:13How has it taken six minutes to respond to the question?
14:16So if you're with an actor whose maybe rhythm is so different, it could feel odd.
14:23Or if they're just a mean, unkind person.
14:26I mean, I think, yeah, it's interesting.
14:29For me, I was trained in the theater, and so that's where I feel, like, most at home.
14:35And film is something that I've been working on for the last, what, six years.
14:41And what's interesting about film is that you are at risk, I think, more often of having
14:50an actor that doesn't respond, because on stage, it is the performers who are in charge
14:56of the magic, whereas on film, there's other people in charge of the magic.
15:01You know, yes, the performers do their thing, but then there's the editor,
15:04who ultimately is the one that puts the performance together.
15:07Then it's the take, you know, you just have to do this.
15:10Yeah, the camera, you know, all these weird things where you can't look at the person
15:14you're acting with, you have to look at the ex or something like that.
15:18So all those things get in the way or make just human exchange a little bit more challenging.
15:25And therefore, I think it's, you are more likely to find moments with an actor
15:30where things are not gelling, because there's so many other things to deal with.
15:37So I think for me, my growth in acting for film is almost to, you have to be a lot
15:45more self-reliant,
15:46is what I'm realizing, that you have to be able to control your performance
15:53in a way that it doesn't necessarily have to rely on the other person.
16:00But, for example, with us, I played both the hero and the villain,
16:04so I never had my scene partner there, you know.
16:07So I was playing against green dots and stuff like that, and I had to, I had to act,
16:13and then I had to prepare for how I reacted.
16:16So that was one of the ways that I had to be extremely technical and self-reliant,
16:22and to trust that the editor would do his job to make it, make the talking and listening happen.
16:30So for me, working on us was a lesson in how effective being self-reliant can be.
16:41It's almost like you have to control what you can and then just let go
16:47and trust that your scene partner, the editor, will do the gluing.
16:55And it sounds like a lot of preparation.
16:57Yes, a lot of preparation.
16:59Prepare, but then you know what it is that you're trying to achieve on the day.
17:03And depending on the circumstances, whatever shows up, you have your arsenal sort of to fall back on.
17:11What are you going to pull from?
17:13What's necessary?
17:14Exactly.
17:15And you know in the moment what's necessary because you know what the goal is,
17:18and you've already sort of, I don't know, looked at the trajectory.
17:23Right.
17:23So you understand where all the places it might go,
17:26and you just figure out for yourself as you go along how it's, you know, what's necessary.
17:31Yeah.
17:31I wonder now if like I'm that person that people are like,
17:35yeah, there just wasn't a connection there.
17:37I don't know what was going on.
17:38No, I'm just like retracing that.
17:42I think for me like if you come onto set and like if the other actor is like having a
17:48bad day or I feel like I sometimes that energy will come off a little bit, you know,
17:54and it's not anyone's fault, and I think it's always like if you hate me, then like I'm going to
18:00feel a little uncomfortable right now, you know.
18:02But then I think that when you do have those talks with your co-stars or whatever,
18:06and you kind of realize that they're human as well and they have the same fears,
18:10I think that helps like the onset connect.
18:13Like just knowing the empathy and knowing that we're both here going through it, you know.
18:17I'm curious how important it is for all of you to sort of shift what people expect from you based
18:23on your choices.
18:24Awkwafina, I know with The Farewell you did a really dramatic role when you were kind of known for comedy
18:29before.
18:29Did that add extra pressure?
18:31Were you worried people would expect you to be funny in the movie?
18:36Yeah, I mean it added a lot of pressure, yeah.
18:38I was really, really scared, yeah.
18:41Because I think, you know, you know what people think about you and stuff like that,
18:47but you don't know what you can do, you know.
18:50And I think that you create all these different scenarios in your head about the worst it can go and
18:55the best it can go,
18:56and you want to strive for this kind of invisible best that never will come true.
19:00But I think it's, you know, that striving that you kind of run on.
19:06It's so different now.
19:07The climate is so different now.
19:09There's so many wonderful opportunities for women of every age to, you know, play all different types of people.
19:17And, you know, I feel when I was working in my early 20s and even like my late teens, early
19:2420s,
19:27you know, I felt that I sort of got somehow typecast as I was like very kind of hyper-sexualized,
19:38which was, I guess, you know, at the time seemed okay to everyone.
19:44It was another time.
19:45Even though it wasn't part of my own narrative, it was kind of crafted for me by probably a bunch
19:51of dudes in the industry.
19:52And, you know, I guess that worked then.
19:54But it was really difficult for me to try to figure out how to get out of being an ingenue
20:01or the other woman
20:03because it was never anything that I had intended.
20:06You know, I'd been working since I was eight years old, and certainly that was never like a goal of
20:09mine.
20:10I sort of had to kind of shake it up a little bit because I just couldn't seem to –
20:16I just didn't want to work on stuff that I like knew how to do and knew I could do
20:21it.
20:21And it was like, what is this?
20:24I remember thinking at the time, like, maybe I need a different job in this industry that would sort of
20:30be more fulfilling
20:32because there seemed like there was just nowhere to go.
20:35And so I actually had the opportunity to do a play, to do an Arthur Miller play on Broadway,
20:43and it totally reset my whole way of thinking about how I could work
20:53and what the different kind of opportunities that could be available to me.
20:56And it's amazing how theater is limitless, you know.
21:01And it just felt so – even though it was terrifying, it felt – it was liberating
21:08because I actually felt that every night I had the opportunity to change the narrative.
21:14And I had – as Lupita had said earlier, you know, you have control of your own kind of fate
21:20on stage to some degree,
21:22and you're in charge of your own – of your own destiny up there.
21:32Renee, I know you took about a six-year break from acting.
21:35Was that a choice to also sort of reset things, or have you had to do that at other points?
21:42Not in terms of – if you're talking about people's perceptions of a brand or anything like that.
21:51And I was listening to what you were saying, and I thought it was really interesting
21:56because it reminded me, as a young person starting out, that I would get those jobs.
22:03You know, I would get the cut-off shorts and the, you know, the other woman, the, you know, one
22:10-night stand girl.
22:11And I did about three or four of those little jobs in Texas while I was still at university.
22:16And I thought, you know, I think I'm going to not do this anymore because I know where that road
22:24will go.
22:25I don't know what it's going to look like ultimately, but I bet it would be really hard to get
22:30off that road.
22:31And there's the inevitability of things changing, and your body changes, and, you know, you grow older, and, you know,
22:39you have a life,
22:40and you look like your life, and thank God for that, right?
22:43And I thought, I want to be good with the inevitability.
22:47I want to be good with that.
22:49And I want to work in a way where I can portray women who are relatable throughout my life.
23:00I don't want to have to stop at a particular time because I can't wear the cut-offs anymore because
23:05it looks weird, you know?
23:06It's a bad idea, or it doesn't really relate to the person that you grow into or whatever it might
23:11be.
23:11I bet it still looks good.
23:13You're very kind.
23:15You're kind.
23:15But it's funny because, you know, you feel like a different person, you know?
23:20You just, yeah, you know.
23:22So anyhow, I thought it was interesting listening to what you were saying about that because I wondered what that
23:28experience might have been like.
23:30And it wasn't even by your choosing.
23:31It's because it's just the nature of having been born a very beautiful woman, you know?
23:36So I think that's, I think it's interesting.
23:40But, and good for you because what's so, what's been, I thought it's so interesting.
23:45I've loved watching your career from the beginning, watching you grow up and, you know, through your roles.
23:49And from a very young woman, you've been working.
23:53And to see that no matter what you said, that you had been hyper-sexualized, I always felt that your
23:59talents who preceded that, I felt that always, I mean, it may have been your experience from the inside or
24:06whatever it was that you were being asked to do in terms of promotion or whatever it was.
24:09But I always saw a wonderful actress, always.
24:12I mean, I'm sure you guys are great.
24:14Oh, yeah.
24:14No, always.
24:15And I saw you in that play on Broadway.
24:18And you were phenomenal.
24:20So, so, so gifted.
24:22Oh, yes.
24:23Yes.
24:24I'll do this again.
24:26I like the gear.
24:27This is really.
24:28Just compliments.
24:29I really like this.
24:31So I'm curious about your views on sort of the press and fan attention and that public-facing part of
24:38your experience as an actress.
24:40How do you deal with when things are unkind, whether on social media or in the press?
24:46And what is, has your view of that changed over time?
24:49I feel that.
24:50I mean, I just, I, I, not to put anybody in an awkward position, but to say I know we've
24:58all faced it and the difficulty of trying to keep one's life private.
25:03But I must say you carry this other extraordinary gift of being iconic in this larger story.
25:13And I, knowing what it has felt like for me, there are moments when I'll pass a magazine cover and
25:19just feel, you know, grief for anybody having to walk through this, like, this salacious, you know, again, narrative that's
25:28created.
25:29Paper dolls.
25:29We've all had it, yeah, yeah, but I mean, I, I, I, I turn it with curiosity to you because
25:36it is amazing to be, you know, considered this, you know, iconic music legend and also truly be considered an
25:46actor.
25:46First of all, like, like, as two totally separate gifts and clear gifts.
25:51Thank you, don't make me cry.
25:51I'm very emotional.
25:52But, but it's beautiful.
25:54And while everybody gets to create their stories.
25:56Yeah.
25:57It's, that, that part of it, it's, it's funny.
25:59Um, from the beginning, I've been kind of really picked out and plagued with that.
26:07Um, lots of stories, lots of lies, uh, lots of things where you're trying to figure out, like, how did
26:18this happen?
26:18How did I become that person?
26:21And, uh, I think what I've learned is that none of it matters.
26:26And I don't, it doesn't really bother me anymore.
26:29I've learned that, like, I know who I am.
26:33I know what I do.
26:34I know I'm a good person.
26:35I know I'm just out here working my ass off and, you know, trying to, you know, fulfill myself creatively
26:44in a way, you know, because that's a drive of mine.
26:48That's my thing, you know?
26:49And I, I don't, I just learned not to worry about anything else, anything else.
26:56Me, my kids, my life, my, my work, what am I going to do next?
27:00What creative, fun thing I can do?
27:03What can we produce?
27:04What can we, what's the show going to be?
27:05What's the, this, you know what I mean?
27:06It's like, that is the, the makeup of my life.
27:09And what, what you realize is, you know, because there was a time in my life where it was such
27:13a big part and it was so hurtful and it was so hard that you think, you know, I, I
27:18don't want to do this anymore.
27:19I don't want to be this.
27:20I don't want to be the person on the cover of the magazine every week for two and a half
27:24years.
27:24I don't.
27:26This is crazy.
27:27Why me?
27:28Like, you know, and then you go, well, it only just hurt you.
27:35And even most of it wasn't true.
27:37So why do you care?
27:38Like, I had to get to a point where I just was like, it just doesn't matter.
27:41It doesn't matter what people say.
27:43What matters is who you are, who you are and what you're doing.
27:46And I think eventually that got through no matter what people are writing and what they're saying.
27:54They, you, they just all of a sudden see you.
27:56They go, oh, wait, she's been around a long time and she's doing okay.
28:02And she seems pretty nice and, you know, and I think honestly, American Idol helped with that a lot of
28:09all the things that I've done in my career.
28:10People like actually just seeing me talk about how much I love music and how much I love people and
28:16how much of a girl's girl I am, how much of a crier I am and, you know, all the
28:19things.
28:22And things shifted, you know, and, but it's, I just, I just realized it just does.
28:28The biggest thing is just, it doesn't, it's not really the thing that matters.
28:32But they, they can write whatever they want tomorrow and it wouldn't matter.
28:35Renee, I want to talk about playing Judy because obviously part of her story was sort of the way she
28:40was treated by the public and the media at a certain point in her career.
28:44How did you sort of get into the headspace of relating to her at that point in her life?
28:49Well, I guess going back to what Jennifer said, you know, where does that story come from?
28:56You know, and you, again, you get to the place where you resign yourself to needing to be the determinant
29:05of your own, I guess, I don't know, legacy, whatever that might be.
29:10How your children or your nieces and nephews think of you going forward, you know, from, based on what it
29:17is that they might read.
29:18But knowing that there's so much more to a story than what's written.
29:25And understanding and looking at what was written about her at the time of her passing and the years leading
29:31up to it in the last chapter of her life.
29:34It seemed so unfair to me because it was, of course, salacious, because that's what's so exciting to read about.
29:42And that news travels more quickly, doesn't it?
29:44Where they say a lie will travel around the world while the truth is still putting its shoes on.
29:50And I thought, I'd like to understand this better.
29:54I'd like to understand why that chapter is blanketed in tragedy and why she was accused of things, making such
30:01bad choices, and how she ended up in a place where she was facing so many challenges.
30:08What?
30:08The fights over custody, your children living away from you.
30:13I mean, if I'm a terrible mother, they like to write about, well, you tell me how I end up
30:18with such incredible kids.
30:20But I wasn't suggesting.
30:22Well, no, everybody suggests things like I'm not a real person, but I am.
30:29You understand?
30:30I'm only Judy Garland for an hour a night.
30:33The rest of the time, I'm part of a family.
30:36I just want what everybody wants.
30:39Was there a certain point in the process where you felt like, I really, I have it?
30:43Like when you put on the hair and the outfit and the makeup, or was it much earlier than that
30:48where you felt like, I really got who she is?
30:50No, that didn't happen.
30:53It didn't happen.
30:55It was in motion.
30:57It was a process that was in constant motion.
31:01Just little experiments.
31:02We were trying things every day.
31:04And it didn't feel like making a film.
31:07It felt like this celebration of her because everybody came to set and was motivated by the same affection or
31:18adoration for her.
31:20And it was an expression of that.
31:21So we were all cooperatively trying things.
31:24And there was always new.
31:25Someone would find a recording or we'd read something in a book.
31:28And we were always sharing and sort of adjusting according to what came along.
31:34Making choices on the day and just sort of conjuring her essence as truthfully as we could based on those
31:41things, that treasure we were mining for every day.
31:44Was there like a time, like a couple weeks in or a few weeks in, where you suddenly like felt
31:50in the pocket of it and you felt like you could be playful and, you know, kind of make decisions
31:56or act on your instinct because you were Judy then?
32:00Because there was this.
32:01It kind of settled.
32:03The parameters were set.
32:04Yeah.
32:05You know, and sometimes it just kind of, you like drop.
32:08I feel sometimes when you're starting out and you know it's abstract, you know, you're trying to find it with
32:12everybody.
32:13There's pieces.
32:14It's fragmented.
32:15That's right.
32:15And all the people around you, whoever it is, whether it's the camera department trying to figure out how this
32:21look is and what, you know, what's your, you know, what is this finding that, how to capture this performance
32:28in your hair and makeup team and all that stuff.
32:30And then I feel like sometimes a few weeks in you're like, oh, I can walk on the set as
32:36this person and I have this playground and I can do all this stuff.
32:39Did you find that or was it always, did you, did you always have this, you know, thing that you're
32:46describing where you kind of, where it felt like you just had to try out all these different things?
32:49It was never, it was never disconnected.
32:54You know, we were building on something, trying to, I mean, it sounds so crazy, but it felt, her essence
33:03was palpable on the set because her music was always playing and we were always listening to recordings of her
33:09voice.
33:09The music, when I played Selena, one of the things that got me the most kind of in her body
33:17was performing because you look at her and you're going to try to imitate her a little bit and then
33:21let that go and just live, right?
33:23But the music and the actual performance, because that's what we have that is the real things where you can
33:29really like watch her because you didn't get to talk to her in person, which is the hard part, right?
33:35It's the, the music kind of got you like, okay, I'm Judy, I'm Selena, I got this, you know what
33:41I mean?
33:41Like the music was such a big part of it.
33:43I wonder if that was the same for you.
33:45Oh yeah, absolutely.
33:46Well, because there's a performance language there that's been developed over so many years.
33:51And body language.
33:51Yeah, and when that's, when that becomes familiar and then it becomes a habit and then you don't think about
33:58it anymore and you can kind of wear whatever it is that's, that's palpable in the room.
34:03And on stage with you too, because those movements are like how she moves, you know?
34:08So all of a sudden you're like going, okay, well this is, this is where she was comfortable in her
34:12body and this is, this is how she moved her hands.
34:15Not just on stage, but when she was talking, you know what I mean?
34:17It's like, it's a whole thing.
34:19Yeah, and you just, yeah, you just build, you just build on that.
34:23And did you like playing somebody, like a real person?
34:27Oh yeah.
34:27I love playing real people.
34:28I feel like it's just, you got a blueprint.
34:30You're like, I know exactly what I'm doing.
34:32Yeah, it's so good.
34:34Yeah, yeah, it's nice to have a point of, you know, several points of reference, but the, the responsibility is
34:41different too.
34:42Oh yeah.
34:43Woof.
34:44Yeah.
34:44Woof.
34:45Yes.
34:46You just don't, you want, yeah, right?
34:48Because, right.
34:50Yeah.
34:50Because you want to be, well they love her.
34:52Yeah, you want to, they love her so much.
34:54They love Judy so much.
34:56Oh, and you do too.
34:57No, they love Selena, and she had just died two years before, so they were like, you better
35:01not, you know.
35:03And I was like, luckily I was young and more ignorant.
35:06Like now if I had to do it, I would be so in my head, so much more in my
35:10head.
35:10It would be much more difficult, I think.
35:12And I own, I own that movie and watch it all the time.
35:14And I was like, he didn't fuck it up.
35:16Yeah.
35:16Yeah, I was going to say.
35:17When I tell you, but I don't know what you're saying.
35:20As a Texan, I'd say.
35:21You keep, you keep moving in like, and the, it's right when you play one of those type of
35:26characters, it's like you're constantly talking about who she was and what she did and how she
35:31did it and it's, it's, it's, it forms as it goes.
35:35It forms as it goes.
35:36It's one thing to get it right.
35:39And as I was sharing with you before we walked in here, it's another thing when I get so excited
35:42that people who've seen the film and your performance will say to me, have you seen it yet?
35:49She gave her back to us.
35:51And a few people have just literally started crying, talking about what a gift it was to
35:57feel like they had Judy.
35:59I just was so touched by that.
36:02It's so great.
36:02It's so amazing.
36:09Awkwafina, The Farewell is based on Lulu Wang's true story with her grandmother.
36:14How did that help inform the character for you?
36:16The cool thing about Lulu and Billy is that Lulu wasn't like very precious about keeping
36:22her exacted.
36:24And she would say things like, you know, she wouldn't say like, that's not how I sneeze.
36:28It wasn't like that.
36:30And I think she was always very receptive to like any input I had about what she would
36:35be doing, what she would be thinking.
36:36And I think it's that trust that I think also really helps a performance also, you know?
36:40You don't want to, when you're working with a director and you improv something and they're
36:43like, can we not do that?
36:45It's like, you're just like the worst feeling ever.
36:47But then, you know, when you have that trust, like it's nice.
36:51But yeah, I think as a result, you reinvent something else.
36:56And I think in the case of The Farewell, Billy really became like this vessel for the Asian
37:01American experience or the Dash American experience that is lost between two worlds and, you know,
37:07doesn't know what to do.
37:09And then Yaya died.
37:11You didn't even tell me he was sick.
37:14So it felt like he just vanished suddenly.
37:19And you wouldn't even let me go to his funeral.
37:21You were at a school.
37:23We didn't want you to miss the school.
37:24We did what we thought was best for you.
37:26But I never saw him again.
37:30And every time I came back to China, he just, he wasn't there anymore.
37:35Laura, you worked with both Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach this year, and they're obviously
37:39a real-life couple.
37:40What did you find sort of similar about the way they work, and what was sort of the starkest
37:45difference?
37:46Well, I think they're both, as Scarlett described, with Noah, they're both exacting about the
37:51words because they really, I think as a playwright would, they really hear a rhythm to the language.
38:00With Noah, it has its own specific nature.
38:04And one thing that I was so inspired by, and I think we found in rehearsals, even when we
38:10aren't in the scenes with the people at hand, when it's with Adam with his attorney or Scarlett
38:14and I together, he feels there is a real musicality to the film.
38:20I think he hears a rhythm, Noah, that he's waiting for everyone to resonate with in a
38:29really beautiful way.
38:31And so having rehearsal time and many dinners over, in the case of Scarlett and myself and
38:35Adam, over a year, year and a half as he was writing the script, you started to see him
38:41build for each character a similar melody.
38:45In the case of Greta, she was also adapting Little Women.
38:49We wanted to honor Louisa May Alcott's words and another time, seemingly, but she's so brilliantly
38:59trusting of how modern the story is, of how modern Louisa's writing is, and how clear a revolutionary
39:11Louisa was, and through these characters, complicated and beautiful different female characters that
39:18she wrote, but also that she heard the language in a way that I think is very similar to how
39:24she and Noah have worked and collaborated, both as co-writers and her as his actress, that
39:33there is a rhythm to the language that she brings that is seemingly messy and joyful and complicated
39:40and angry and all of those things, but it's very strategic.
39:45Do you love it?
39:50If he asked me again, I think I would say yes.
39:54Do you think he'll ask me again?
39:57But do you love it?
40:00I care more to be loved.
40:03I want to be loved.
40:06That is not the same as loving.
40:07Are you seeing concrete changes as you work in this business?
40:12Do you really feel a difference on sets or in the sort of culture of Hollywood?
40:16Well, Greta and Laureen are great examples of an exciting year of women having some autonomy
40:24to tell stories.
40:26I hear the conversations, and I've been in partnerships with men, professional partnerships
40:34with men who make different choices now, even if it's just to be clear.
40:39They're more careful.
40:39Yeah, even if it's just to be clear about what their intentions are.
40:43Yeah, keep the door open, or I don't meet, I had one gentleman say, I don't meet with
40:47women alone.
40:48I just always make sure that there's somebody else in here because I don't want anything
40:52to be misconstrued or misunderstood, and I want her to be comfortable.
40:58So, you see that there are different choices being made, and like you said, maybe it's
41:03just being more careful.
41:04Consideration.
41:05I don't know, but there you go.
41:06That's a nice way to put it.
41:06Yeah, I think we've stood up and said, hey, we don't want this to be going on, and it's
41:11been going on a long time, and it's enough.
41:13And on a more positive note, we have movies like Hustlers and Little Women and all these
41:20other movies where there's women at the forefront, and we're producing, we're directing, we're
41:26writing it, we're editing it, we're doing it.
41:29Our movie was all women.
41:31All women.
41:32All women.
41:34But it was great, and it was awesome.
41:36And you realize, after doing so many movies for so many years, how rare that is.
41:42Like, when you have it like that, and you're like, wow, I've never had this experience,
41:4740-something movies or whatever the hell.
41:49That's always very interesting to me when I hear that, because when I first started, the
41:54first two directors I worked with were women, and I'd say there was an equal amount, and
41:59when I hear about an industry that existed that was really rare, it's very mind-blowing
42:06for me.
42:07I can't imagine not working with a woman at the helm of a project.
42:10Lupita, you've worked with Jordan Peele, Steve McQueen, Mira Nair.
42:14I think a lot of filmmakers who have been underrepresented in the past in Hollywood, are you making these
42:19choices specifically to work with directors like that, or is it just the roles you've been
42:27drawn to?
42:27I think these are all directors who have offered me the most interesting roles, and I've taken
42:32them.
42:35And, yeah, I haven't really thought about the demographic of the director I've been working
42:47with, I think, because I am, I mean, I am a black woman, and so, you know, this industry
42:58is, this time, this Me Too time, this Time's Up time, is about allowing for more equitable
43:07representation, and I'm a beneficiary of that movement, because in the work that I'm being,
43:16I've been able to do.
43:18And, like Awkwafina, I can't, for me, I'm very grateful to have come into the industry
43:24at the time that I have, because I am, I am benefiting from the efforts of a lot of other
43:34women who have come before me, other black women who have come before me, who have had
43:38it a lot rougher than I have, and I'm aware of that.
43:44It's a time when directors like Steve McQueen and Jordan Peele are being given chances to
43:50make work, and so they are able to then, you know, in Jordan's case, write with someone
43:57like me in mind for their next film, you know, so I think it's, you know, it's not necessarily
44:07my conscious effort, you know, this is evidence of the transformation happening, and for me,
44:19I think there, it's, this is a time where there is a concerted effort to consider diversity
44:26and inclusion.
44:27What I really want is for it to not be a fad, not be a trend, you know, where right
44:34now it's
44:34really dope and cool and on trend to work with women in underrepresented groups, but I
44:42think the moment of maturity in the industry is when it is just the norm, you know, when
44:49you no longer need to ask that question.
44:51Right, yeah.
44:52I think when I first started, one of the things that I wanted to do, because I was Puerto Rican,
45:00Latina, was that I wanted to be in romantic comedies, because I felt like all the women
45:06in romantic comedies were always looked the same way, they were always just, you know, they're
45:10always white, and I was like, there's never anybody, if I can do it and just show that
45:14I'm every girl, because I'm, I am the hopeless romantic, I am that, I am the single working
45:23woman, I am, I am all, I was those things, and that's one of the things that you asked
45:28earlier, like, do you, did you make certain choices, and I remember thinking, like, I need
45:33to be the lead in a romantic comic, I need to do that, I have to do that, and that's
45:38one
45:39of the things I went for, and that's one of the things me and my agents talked about,
45:42like, can we find me a romantic comedy, you know, yes, I've done, you know, Selena, and
45:47Mi Familia, and people are taking notice, but what can, what can we do where I can change
45:54that, do that, be that, you know?
45:56Yeah.
45:56I think there's a genuine urge for audiences to want an industry that represents their
46:03life, and I think that in that way, that's why I'm very positive about the direction that
46:07we're going in, I don't think that having people of different cultures or women will
46:11be a trend, because I think that it's what people want, people, you know, we're changing
46:15as a society, I don't think that the work that Time's Up or the Me Too movement will reverse,
46:22I think that it's going to become engraved into how we work, and how a set is run, you
46:27know, and I think that those changes are only positive because we're moving forward as a society.
46:32You know, a couple filmmakers have come out sort of against Marvel films, Scarlett and
46:36Lupita, I'm especially curious what you think about Marvel films being called the theme parks
46:40of movies and things like that.
46:42I think there's a, there's certainly a place for, you know, all kinds of cinema right now.
46:50I mean, people, people absorb content in so many different ways.
46:56You know, I actually didn't totally understand that statement, because I guess I needed some
47:03insight as to what it meant exactly, and somebody had pointed out to me, because to me it seemed
47:09kind of like a little old-fashioned, but somebody pointed out to me that perhaps what the statement
47:16meant was that there's no room for smaller films because the cinema is taken up by these
47:23like enormous blockbusters, and that like smaller movies don't have a chance at the theater,
47:29which I hadn't actually considered, which I think is a valid point, but I also feel like,
47:38you know, I feel like there's sort of this shift in how people watch stuff, and there's all these
47:44platforms for different kinds of that, and now there's movies and shows and art films and all kinds
47:51of stuff getting made that you can watch in all these different ways, and I just feel like it's
47:55just, it's just changing. It's, it doesn't mean it's going away. I mean, some of us, of course,
48:00it's hard when you love the idea of going to the movies and making movies, and you go, oh, it
48:05needs
48:06to be projected on this big screen, and it's such a shame you watch it on this tiny thing, but
48:09it's
48:09like, that's how people watch movies, you know, and you kind of have to go with the flow of like
48:14the,
48:14the way that it is. Well, and Tiff, if I can add to your point, it seems like it's a
48:21chicken
48:21and egg conversation because of what you're talking about in terms of content and how we've
48:26changed how we sort of take in a different, you know, the cinematic experiences or what used
48:32to be cinematic experiences. The place of movies, the place and the importance of cinema has also
48:39shifted a little bit. You know, we used to all watch the same things because the movie came to
48:45the theaters, and it was in the theaters for a couple months, and then we went several times,
48:49and then everybody was talking about it. We all had the same heroes, and so it set up a particular
48:53business model, and that was the paradigm for so many decades. It's kind of weird when suddenly
48:59the only things that sort of fit the modern financial paradigm are these bigger films in terms
49:05of, you know, people who are eager to invest to go and make a film. That's a proven, tried and
49:13true
49:13in the current atmosphere where people don't run to the cinema two and three times to see a movie
49:18as readily as they did in, say, the last, well, millennia.
49:24It's also like so expensive to go to the movies, you know what I mean? It's crazy. Like, I can't,
49:29every time I go, I can't believe that like families can afford to go to the movies.
49:33Yeah, it's crazy, and I think that's part of the problem also, is it's like, if you want to go
49:37see
49:38something in the theater, I'm just kind of looking at it from somebody else's perspective. Maybe you
49:42just want to see something that's like big and explosive, and you could take your whole family
49:45to, and it's fun, and you have popcorn and all this, because it's like a huge experience, and then
49:50maybe the stuff that's more intimate, or like you want to kind of pick and choose from, you think,
49:55oh, I'll watch this on, you know, watch this from home, or watch it in some other way.
49:59Yeah, and I think it's just the reality of also how, how it's, how it's just so unaffordable
50:07to go to the movies. It's crazy to me, and I guess that's also part of the business model
50:13that you're talking about.
50:14And I think this will be my last question about sort of making movies in 2019.
50:19Do you feel the culture around nudity and sex scenes has changed in the way it's discussed
50:25now and the choices you would make yourselves as actresses?
50:28I don't know. I think it's a personal choice. I've always felt like that's a personal choice
50:31for anybody. I don't judge anybody for doing it, for not doing it. You know, you take a role,
50:35you decide what you're going to do, you discuss it with your director, you see if it serves
50:40the story and the character in the best way, and then you have a choice to say yes or no.
50:45You spoke about how early on in your career you were asked to, like, take your top off.
50:50I didn't want to.
50:50And you didn't.
50:51I didn't want to. Oh, you're talking about more of a personal.
50:55Oh, that was not a...
50:56No, that was a...
50:57Yeah, no, a director at a fitting asked me to take my top off.
51:02Not for the movie.
51:04To see...
51:05To see what?
51:05Well, because I was supposed to do nudity in the movie.
51:08Oh, they wanted to see your breasts?
51:09He wanted to see my boobs. And I was like, we're not on the set.
51:12What they looked like before you...
51:13Yes.
51:14That is crazy.
51:15Well, he was crazy.
51:18And...
51:19Oh, my God, who was it?
51:22And I said no. I said no. I stood up for myself.
51:26But it was so funny because I remember, like, being so panicked in the moment.
51:29Like, oh, my God. And by the way, there was a costume designer in the room with me.
51:33Yeah, yeah, yeah.
51:34And so there was another woman in the room with me, and he says this, and I was like, no.
51:39You know, luckily, a little bit of the Bronx came out, you know what I mean?
51:41And I was like, I don't have to show you my... No, on the set, you'll see them.
51:46Well, thankfully, you were like that, though, because not everybody would feel that way more.
51:49That's the thing, because you give in in that moment, and all of a sudden, that person's
51:53off and running, right, thinking they can do whatever they want.
51:56And because I put up a little boundary right there and said no, he laid off, and then
52:01later on apologized. But the minute he walked out of the room, the costume designer was
52:05like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. That just happened. And I was like, you know, thrown
52:09for a second or whatever. But that was a...
52:11I feel like that could still happen.
52:13Oh, yes!
52:14I honestly don't... Yeah, I don't think we're, like, far away from that at all.
52:17You know, I was talking to some of our crew from the last woman I did about just
52:22inappropriate behavior in general, and they were talking about a particular DP that
52:26was just, like, doing all kinds of crazy stuff with the actor and, like, shooting up
52:30skirts. And then, you know, our first day was, like, AD had to go over to the actress
52:33and say, hey, just so you know, like, maybe you want to check and see because I think
52:37the camera angle's, like, going to maybe not be something that you're comfortable
52:40with, and she had no idea. And this was, like, you know, whatever. They had just
52:44finished shooting a year and a half ago or something. And the person I was talking to
52:47was just baffled by, you know, he was saying, I can't believe this goes on. But it totally
52:52still goes on.
52:53Yeah.
52:53I think the difference now, though, is that because of the conversations that are happening
52:58in public, women, like, for me, I feel now my, my, it's easier to tell.
53:05A little more empowered.
53:06Yes. It's easier to tell when something is inappropriate.
53:08Oh, yeah.
53:09Because in that moment, if the costume designer had said something, you know, it could have
53:14changed if she had supported you in some way, spoken up, it would have changed, you
53:19know, what I mean, the dynamic. And so now I feel we're programming a younger, the younger
53:26generation to know what's okay and what's not, you know, that it's not okay to be in
53:31a costume fitting and for a man to ask that of you. And that, at least, even though those
53:37things might happen, our defenses would be sharper, you know, in those moments.
53:42Yeah. I was thinking, to your point, too, and to yours, with the younger generation, I
53:47don't know that it wouldn't occur to them to speak up where we thought, oh, whoa, this
53:53is a little. Yeah. What do I do here? What do I do here? Let me navigate this.
53:58Yes.
53:59You're totally trapped. You feel trapped.
54:01Right? Let me grab onto this.
54:03I had a great acting teacher who told me all of the things that would happen. You know,
54:08not that he told me things about, like, oh, they're going to have to see your booze, but
54:11he was like, on the set, you kiss, you don't kiss all the way, you know, when you're rehearsing
54:16and you have respect for your actors and your director. So I had, like, a blue, kind of an idea
54:21in my mind that this is not okay. No, I'm not supposed to get naked before I get on camera.
54:27And I take him off at the last minute. Like, I know this stuff. And so, again, it's like
54:31teaching, passing it down. And what's happened now is a big lesson for all women, right?
54:37It's like, no, this is, these things are okay. These things are not okay. And it doesn't
54:41matter what context it's in. It's never.
54:42And you get to have a time.
54:43Never okay to feel uncomfortable.
54:45Right. And as you said, the light is on now, both in what feels comfortable and how to
54:50set boundaries, but also in calling someone out. I mean, I know for these guys, I started
54:57auditioning at 10, 11 years old, and I listen now to the next generation saying, I mean, it's
55:03crazy. You hear these stories. Of course, nothing we would do. People used to have auditions
55:08in hotel rooms. I'm like, yeah, every single time, waiting in the lobby of a hotel. And they're
55:13like, the director is waiting for you in the room now to have a chemistry read.
55:18Yeah. And there was no part of me that thought.
55:21No, that thought to question how bizarre that might be.
55:23You have reads and auditions in hotel rooms.
55:24Oh, yeah. Yeah. With a lot of lady casting directors, too, by the way.
55:29Yeah.
55:30But, yeah, that was kind of convenient if they were looking out of town or whatever.
55:34Actors' houses.
55:35Actors' houses.
55:36Oh, yeah, there's that, too. Oh, yeah. I forgot about all those stuff.
55:40Yeah.
55:41Yeah. And sometimes it was not inappropriate at all.
55:44Exactly. Not at all.
55:44Totally appropriate.
55:46It was totally professional, so it's not like you can put everybody in that category.
55:48Absolutely.
55:48No, it just kind of afforded an opportunity to be inappropriate if you were so fine.
55:53Right. If you were that person.
55:54Right.
55:54But also now there's intimacy coaches. I've also not been asked to do much nudity in my career,
56:00but, and, and, and, and sex scenes, but there's, I've heard that now they have intimacy coaches
56:06on set, which I think is really great. You know, when you have a fight scene, you have
56:10a fight coordinator. Why not have an intimacy coordinator, you know, someone...
56:13Well, on Hustlers, we had a comfort coach. What was it called? It was, it was basically
56:17somebody who understood that world and said, you know, these things are okay and these things
56:22are not okay.
56:23Oh, that's good.
56:23And made everybody on the set comfortable with what they were doing.
56:26Yeah.
56:27You know, because we had a lot of women who were half-dressed, naked, top, you know what
56:31I mean? So...
56:32Yeah.
56:33But this is still a professional environment and nobody should be made to feel...
56:36Right.
56:37And those things are very, very helpful, I think, to keep things above board.
56:42Does that intimacy coach work for just normal people?
56:44I was going to say, can we get them to grab presents?
56:47I think I'm really about eye contact in my personal life, so I would love to talk to them.
56:52It should be unending.
56:53Yeah, yeah.
56:53You guys, we've run out of time.
56:55I think we should end on that note.
56:56So thank you so much for joining us today.
57:00Bye.
57:02Bye.
57:03Bye.
57:05Bye.
57:06Bye.
57:10Bye.
57:18Bye.
57:18Bye.
57:21Bye.
57:21Bye.
57:22Bye.
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