Julia Louis-Dreyfus's new dramatic role scared her a little bit
The Seinfeld actor confronts death in her new film Tuesday
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is best known for her comedic roles, like Elaine Benes in Seinfeld and Selina Meyer in Veep.
But in the new movie Tuesday, Louis-Drefyus plays the dramatic role of Zora, a mother in denial about the impending death of her terminally ill teenage daughter. When Death itself shows up — in the form of a talking macaw — Zora is forced to confront the very thing she's been avoiding.
"I'm interested in trying new things," Louis-Dreyfus tells Q's Tom Power on today's episode. "Maybe things that scare me a little bit."
Filming Tuesday didn't scare the eight-time Emmy winner because of the role change, but because she had to delve into confronting the death of her fictional daughter.
"As a mom myself, I had to tap into areas that weren't very comfortable," she says.
But Louis-Dreyfus overcame her fear because she realized that people often shy away from comforting or discussing death, just like Zora.
"We're all going to suffer loss — if we're lucky, believe it or not!" she says. "That means you've lived a life in which you've made connections, and then those connections are lost."
She adds: "It's worthy of conversation. And without conversation, I think [loss] can be very isolating."
Louis-Dreyfus's fellow actors, Arinzé Kene (voices Death) and Lola Petticrew (plays her daughter, Tuesday), helped her get through these tough conversations on set. She tells Power how "generous" and "emotionally open" they were with her during filming, especially during scenes when confronting and discussing death.
"We could meet at a certain place emotionally that felt real and authentic," she says. "If this film engenders conversation about these themes, then it will have done something good for the world."
Louis-Dreyfus doesn't shy away from talk of her own mortality. As a breast cancer survivor, she told The New Yorker that she's seen "that edge" of her mortality. After her treatment, she decided to be less "breezy" about her life.
She started meditating. She started a podcast, Wiser Than Me, where she speaks with older women, such as Jane Fonda and Vera Wang. She decided to start therapy with her 87-year-old mother, when she herself was 60. They spoke about her parents' divorce during her childhood.
"Imagine how much more one can understand their past at the age of 60 and 87, versus 10 and 37," Louis-Dreyfus says. "Just to have the freedom to talk about things that maybe didn't seem approachable, was a total blessing … I am so much the better for it."
Louis-Dreyfus also wants to keep playing dramatic roles — despite the fear. She has openly discussed her desire for these kinds of parts.
"I don't shy away from my work and my desire to work and my ambition," she says.
The full interview with Julia Louis-Dreyfus is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Julia Louis-Dreyfus produced by Catherine Stockhausen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
