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Im not so good at the old sex, he says apologetically.
Im really fucking proud of that, she says.
I didnt tell anyone I was gonna do that.
I love this outfit.
Im never in an actual outfit for more than five minutes.
I was very angry at myself.
I was sitting there completely unable to breathe.
That top was way too small for me.
I was like, Why did I do this to myself?
I walked out with these red, like, fuckin lacerations on my stomach.
It was very in keeping with the movie.
I cut myself open.
When he called me on the phone, he was like, Hey, honey, how are you?
He was like, I wrote it in 1996, actually.
I was like, Oh, cool, cool, so youre a fuckin oracle.
Not to sound too dark, but it is true.
The movie takes place in a future thats in ruins, and were not far off.
If you dont nail it, youre wallpaper.
And she experiences an awakening in a split second.
A huge mission statement of the movie is that art triumphs.
So it was really fun to let my freak flag fully fly.
Im very rarely asked to play weird little characters like that.
Its usually like, Come play the strong woman facing adversity.
And Im like, Fuck that!
Lea Seydoux, shes a walking, talking ad for sensuality.
So I was trying to be her toward the end.
What kind of direction did David give you, if not that?Very little.
Small, gentle massaging.
Like, if he was feeling something wasnt right, it was like, Dont do that.
Pull back on that.
Its not quite right.
Or if he enjoyed it, hed be like, Youre on the right path!
It was subtle support.
But he only wants your first instinct.
He doesnt want you to strain.
Theres something about straining or pushing thats dishonest.
And also he just doesnt have the patience for it anymore.
Hes like, Nope!
Im really fucking proud of that.
Thats my favorite part of the movie or my part in the movie, at least.
In the script, it was described as a pas de deux.
They were sort of dancing together.
And I took that really literally, so I was so scared that day.
I was like, How are we gonna learn this pas de deux?
And there was so much dialogue.
Theyre all very strange things to say and therefore not the easiest to remember.
The vocabulary itself was toothsome.
So I was scared!
I was like, Im not gonna be able to dance and keep my connection with you.
But it ended up being that I just chased Viggo around the room.
Its so hard to come near someone that youre so obsessed with.
My hands were shaking because we only did it one time.
David came in and was like, Well, that was an extraordinary fucking take!
What was Viggos reaction when you did that?We had the best time.
Were you surprised by him on set?Pretty much from the jump, yeah.
Even in the way he was answering questions at the press conference.
The most simple answer comes from a place of wisdom.
You dont have to complicate certain ideas.
Like, The body is reality.
But he was like, I shoot people.
All of that is surprising.
These are really lofty concepts, but also theyre not at all.
His relationship to pain is kind of admirable.
I feel like I share a certain instinct to enjoy pain.
Not in a masochistic way, but pain holds hands with pleasure.
And I dont even just mean sexually.
He has a fearless and accepting approach to life that is contagious.
It feels like your dad or grandpa being like, Look, were all in this together.
And theres no way out.
[She slaps her thighs.]
So … enjoy it.
Thats fucking dark and scary.
But theres something really beautiful about his philosophy.
I asked him if he had done therapy and he was like, No!Goddamn.
Youre like, Were all in therapy!
What were those conversations like?
Did you ever come to any conclusions?I dont think we ever came to any conclusions.
Like,Im totally a product of my environment.If I was from Kentucky, maybe I would be pro-life.
The way humans have gotten here is just such a mindfuck.
So I thought,This movie is about basically everything youve ever considered.How did we get here?
Are we capable of change?
Is there any way to come together?
The only way weve gotten here is by shared myths.
You believe in a thing, therefore its true.
Baby, I got you.
We just made all this shit up!
Money, God, everything.
When I say God, I mean, sex, power, art, all of it.
Theyre interchangeable words for me.
So yeah, we had these kinds of conversations all the time.
What does it take to make art?
What does it take from you, and what does it give you back?
Is everyone an artist, or are there only some people who are compelled to externalize their inner life?
Are there people that just want to be close to that?
Or is everything we do art?
Is everything we do political?
Like, right now, what were doing is art, maybe.
Who the fuck is defining what that is?
It totally makes sense that art is radicalized, because it scares people.
All of this shit is what we were talking about the whole time.
So, casual!Yeah!
And also its really funny.
I read the script and I loved it, but I didnt find it funny.
Then being on set, there was just no way to not laugh at everything.
What David says is really true: Some of the hardest stuff that you do, you laugh through.
Because those emotions are parallel.
But I just have a physical aversion that I cant actually control.
I was at the PGAs, and I was having a great time.
Steven Spielberg was behind me!
And then this guy with a camera went like this [mimics camera in face].
Which is completely normal.
Im an actor, and Im at an awards show.
And my body literally went like this [raises both middle fingers sarcastically].
I was like,Kristen …But it wasnt like I was angry that he took my picture.
At Cannes, I just have to focus on the things that are good.
you might stare at shit, or you might stare at the things that are pretty in the world.
So I was like,Okay, focus on David.
This movie is so personal to him.
It took me watching the movie to realize that Saul Tenser is David.
Obviously, thats him.Its such a testament to everything hes done.
So I focused on that.
Just a medium close-up would be great.
This is a literal micro-close-up.
Im like,Fuck off!
How did you feel after the premiere?Before the credits lifted, it was dead silent.
I was like,Ooh, people dont know how to feel.
They dont know if they should clap or not.
I felt like it was the fuckin Will Smith moment where everyone was like,Yes?
Its a lot to take on at first, I guess.
But to me, the movie is so simply sweet.
Yes, were barreling towards certain death, for sure.
Everyone talking about walking out and how intense it was.
I was like, Its not intense!
Theres a distancing effect and a grace to it.Yeah.
Its kind of how I visualize the inside of my body.
It feels all kind of tender and sensitive.
It almost feels like a critique of the awards world and festivals like Cannes.
We do want to digest each other.
Thats the closest it’s possible for you to get to a person.
There are ugly parts of that, and people lose themselves in that.
Its nice when you dont.
But to have it tailspin into oblivion?
Im like,Is it the beauty, or are you just whipped into a frenzy by popularity?
You know so clearly which actors like to act and which actors just like to be famous.
Its so fucking obvious.
Why dont we just say it?
But then again, what am I doing sitting here trying to define what art is for other people.
Actually, I feel the opposite in every way.
Youre like, Strike all of that.I just chase my tail.
Is that a fair assessment?Yeah.
It doesnt scare me as much anymore because nothing bad ever actually happens.
Even when the worst thing happens, youre like,Oh, Im fine.
