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Theres his stand-alone episode of Barry JenkinssThe Underground Railroadand his starring role alongside Tom Hanks inNews of the World.
We would go outside and wed watch the sunset together practically every evening.
Steve took us on a Vietnam Warmovie marathon.
We did a ton of thosegreat war movies.
We would order Thai food and sit around the TV and just watch some of the most amazing movies.
Its hard to put into words, but I felt so honored to be there.
I also felt less alone.
What was that reunion like?
Shes such an incredible teacher and such a kind person.
She invited me back to certain shows.
That was really special.
When we had bad shows, we would just experience it together.
If we started to enjoy it, that became contagious.
ForWhite Lotus,I always want to feel part of the ensemble.
Theres nothing better than the company.
Even now, Im constantly reminded and surprised by a continued loneliness that is connected to life.
Im not bored by someone reading a newspaper or waiting for the elevator.
Im really engaged by that.
Its an honor when you get a scene where youre able to live in loneliness and in yourself.
You know whats interesting about it?
I had never really done nudity.
They find me naked in the closet in the second episode.
There was a conversation about that.
It was fun because we started talking about Why is this in the story?
What does this serve?
I felt really shared and onboard with why I was doing that.
We both wanted it to be this very feral thing.
The joke was animalistic.
Youre having this big confluence of projects being released at the same time.
How do you separate the attention youre now getting from your own goals?
Each person carries a ton of personalities, a ton of different ways to exist.
We dont know what those are.
Were changing those, moment by moment, to try and find whatever were looking for.
Thats part of what brought me toward acting.
Do you feel the same?I definitely have no awareness of that.
But that maybe makes sense because I might be the only person whowouldntbe able to identify that.
I have this quandary, though, about how much awareness helps or hurts acting.
I dont know if its right or not.
I love writing and directing.
I find the times that Ive gone in to do that, the more awareness, the better.
you’re able to never not think about something too much.
Its better to just be in it.
Im still grappling withHow aware can I manage to be about myself without sacrificing something?
The biggest way that I was able to handle that was Joe [Wright, the director].
Joe is a genius and a sweetheart and was attuned to that in every which way.
He gave us a month of rehearsal.
We got to know each other and play with those levels.
The way we got there was through character and emotional truth.
It sounds as if you approached Ethan on a much deeper level than just sociopathic thriller villain.
For instance, women in film noir: The femme fatale has all of this power.
Thats the negotiation that happens.
We got to build the background and the life of Ethan Russell so that hes an abused personandan abuser.
Which isnt to say he cant serve that in the moment of the story.
I think thats happened throughout time in terms of how we treat villains.
Its sometimes where the most interesting and seemingly troubled or stifled or marginalized person can go.
The trade-off is theyre the villain.
But what happens with an audience is they still get to experience the intricacies and joys of that person.
I thought about that with Ethan.
Similarly,Fear Streetdismantles the idea of what movie villains are supposed to look like.
I was jumping for joy when I met Leigh [Janiak, the director].
I was just like,Shedidit.
She figured it out.
Shes an unstoppably brilliant filmmaker.
Thats the reason the movie was made.
Great commercial filmmaking is like a Trojan horse.
The horse is the horror movie or the technically satisfying structure were used to.
But inside the horse is this gnarly, fearless cry for these characters and their place in the world.
Thats what it felt like filming the first movie, and thats how she directed it.
I remember I got down to Atlanta and I met with Leigh.
We talked for three hours about Simon.
There were a million things that we shared about our ideas of his past.
It just felt like,Oh, she cares about everyone in these movies.
Whether they are alive or not, she knows that they are people too.
She has that force and determination and willpower.
Shes able to look at the whole history of it and see what continues to be short shrifted.
Tell me aboutPam & Tommy, the Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson Hulu series you just filmed.
I left work that day, and I didnt meet Lily at all.
How has the hubbub of Hot Fred Summer translated to you, if it has?
What have you noticed changing?Im having a hard time noticing any difference.
I knew I wanted to make stuff; I just didnt know how.
All the things that I have gone and made that Im really proud of have that feeling.
They asked after I sent my audition, Do you know how to swim?
Im an okay swimmer, but I was like, Yes, Im thebestswimmer ever.
You just have that primal, wild urge.
Ive directed a couple of music videos with this really wonderful editor.
We talk about urgency when were cutting something.
The audience is focused on the fact that this goldfish is going to die.
