Julia Louis-Dreyfus goes from 'Veep' to weep in new tearjerker film 'Tuesday'
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Tuesday, a film about a mother dealing with death and grief.A24 -
Tuesday, left, played by Lola Petticrew, and Death in Tuesday.A24
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has spent her career making us laugh — as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, as Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, and as Selina Meyer on Veep. In a surprising turn, her new movie, Tuesday, is a meditation on death — and the stages of grief along the way.
“I'm hoping that it'll foster conversations about these issues, some of which are very difficult to talk about,” she told Morning Edition host A Martinez. “How to handle these big things that happen to us all. And yet we don't really like to think or talk about them.”
Louis-Dreyfus plays Zora, the mother of a terminally ill daughter named Tuesday (played by Lola Petticrew). Zora struggles to come to terms with the inevitable. She refuses to engage her daughter on the subject of death, even hiring a full-time nurse to care for her — an expense Zora struggles to afford — in part, to avoid watching Tuesday suffer.
But Death arrives in the form of a giant macaw (voiced by Arinzé Kene) to take her daughter away.
When Zora meets the bird from beyond, her denial turns sharply into anger and bargaining as she furiously searches for ways to buy her daughter more time. “I don’t know what I am without you, who I am without you,” Zora tells her daughter.
“I was immediately drawn by the script,” Louis-Dreyfus said. “The themes of the parent/child bond, the themes of grief, loss, denial, death — these were interesting ideas. And then the fact that there is this sort of shapeshifting macaw, [this] otherworldly representation of death, I thought, ‘Whoa, this is crazy town!’”
Louis-Dreyfus realizes that a film about death isn’t quite what fans of her comedy work were expecting. “There's comedy in everything,” she said, just before she shared a very personal example.
“When my father, who has passed away, was dying, we were in the hospital. I remember a woman came in with a platter of cheese, crackers and salami. I mean, a massive platter like if you were having a party for 50 people. And I said, ‘Oh, this couldn't be for us.’ It was just me and my dad there. And she goes, ‘Oh, no, when this happens (pointing to my dad, who is really close to breathing his last breath), this is what we do.’” She laughed at the memory. “I’ll never forget it.”
Louis-Dreyfus reminds us that even in our darkest moments, “There's a cheese platter to look forward to.”
Watch the trailer here:
The audio version of this story was produced by Nina Kravinsky. The digital was edited by Obed Manuel.
Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: Julia Louis-Dreyfus is about to surprise you. Famously, she played Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld" and Selina Meyer on "Veep." I mean, she's a comedy legend.
So, Julia, I can't believe that after all the times that you have made me laugh over the years, that I finally get a chance to talk to you, and we're talking about death.
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS: How about it? Welcome to your day (laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: I know.
Louis-Dreyfus stars in a new tear-jerker of a film called "Tuesday." In it, she plays a mother struggling to come to terms with her young daughter's imminent death. And in the film, Death has taken the form of a giant talking parrot. Yeah, a bit odd. But Julia Louis-Dreyfus is being hailed for her command of, quote, "desperate sorrow." Not quite what you'd expect from the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Now, she told me a story about how, even in the darkest moments, you can still find comedy.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: When my father was dying, we were in the hospital. And I remember a woman came into the room with a platter of cheese and crackers and, like, salami. But I mean, a massive platter. Like, you would have - if you were having a party for, like, 50 people.
MARTÍNEZ: God.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: And she brought it in, and I said, oh, this couldn't be for us. It was just me and my dad there. And she goes, oh, no, when this happens - pointing to my dad - this is what we do.
MARTÍNEZ: My God.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: I never - I'll never forget it. So, you know, there's a cheese platter to look forward to.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, well, at least that. Did you have any of the cheese and crackers? Were they any good?
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Absolutely not, no.
MARTÍNEZ: No. OK, good. Good. So your character is named Zora, and Zora is the mother of a terminally ill daughter named Tuesday, and she's having a very, very tough time coming to terms with what's going to happen, the inevitable. Tell us about Zora, where she is mentally and maybe just in her heart when we first meet her in "Tuesday."
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Zora is a human being in massive denial about her current situation. And Zora is making choices, almost subconsciously that are not great parenting choices. She is not answering calls from her teenage daughter. She is just waiting with anxiety for the caretaker to arrive so she can just get out of the house. She's in a sorry state, frankly, and quite unable to be there for her daughter whom she loves with a ferocity.
MARTÍNEZ: So, let's - we're going to play a clip of the film. You and your daughter Tuesday are in her bedroom. And Tuesday has been talking to Death, which takes the shape of a giant parrot. You come in and Death hides.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TUESDAY")
LOLA PETTICREW: (As Tuesday) I know you can't cope with this. You're not ready, and you won't survive it. You have to let me help you.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Zora) This is not something we're going to talk about tonight or any night. OK?
PETTICREW: (As Tuesday) Could you please come out and talk to her?
LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Zora) Who are you talking to?
ARINZE KENE: (As Death) Madam, you need to say goodbye to your daughter.
MARTÍNEZ: So that last voice you heard there is the giant, shape-shifting parrot. When you get the script for this, Julia, and...
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: ...You see - you read that a parrot is going to be part of this, playing the role of Death, what did you think? Did you put the script down a second to process that, or what was going on?
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Well, I was immediately drawn by this script because the themes of the parent-child bond, themes of grief, loss, denial, death. These were interesting ideas, and then the fact that there is this sort of shape-shifting macaw, otherworldly representation of death. I thought, whoa, this is crazy town. Also, it's quite dramatic, and it was an opportunity for me to really sink my teeth into something different than what I've done in the past.
MARTÍNEZ: Let's hear one more clip from "Tuesday." I mean, 'cause this role, I think, really pushed you in lots of different directions that maybe most people haven't seen you tackle before. Let's hear another clip.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: OK.
MARTÍNEZ: You're talking to Tuesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TUESDAY")
LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Zora) I don't know what I am without you, who I am without you. I don't know what the world is without you in it. I have absolutely no idea. And because of that, I think - I don't know. I was scared. I was fighting for my own life. But I love you so much more than me.
MARTÍNEZ: I mean, where do you go to get that?
LOUIS-DREYFUS: It's your role as an actor is to find a way in that's truthful and comes from your own experience in one way or another. And, of course, I am a mother.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: And I have a ferocious love for my children. So that's a starting point. And, you know, I've lost people very close to me. So yeah, it came from a real place within me. And I'm hoping that it'll foster conversations about these issues, some of which are very difficult to talk about, you know, loss and grief and how to handle these big things that happen to us all, and yet we don't really like to think or talk about them.
MARTÍNEZ: My grandma almost got to 100. She passed away at 99. I know...
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Was she 99.5, at least?
MARTÍNEZ: 99 and three-quarters, like...
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Oh.
MARTÍNEZ: ...A few months away. I know. I was...
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Oh, you can call that 100.
MARTÍNEZ: You just round up?
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes, without question. Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: Here's the reason, Julia, why I think about death so often now, is because I don't like the deal we made with the universe, that it only lasts at best, what, about 100 years if you're lucky, and then that's it. And we don't know what's after. It just seems like a raw deal that I want to renegotiate.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Well, what are you talking to me for? (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: I don't know. Maybe you know. You know, you just played this role. So I don't know, I was throwing up a hail Mary, hoping that Julia would be able to...
LOUIS-DREYFUS: ...Give you the answers?
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Oh, that's hilarious. Well, you're very optimistic. I love that you say, you know, maybe 100 years. Yeah, that would be amazing. But it's a fleeting thing, this mortal life of ours. And so, you know, let's savor every second.
MARTÍNEZ: That is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Her new film is called "Tuesday." Julia, thank you very much.
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Thank you so much. It's a pleasure.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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