Oz, our director, is very funny. Contextually, it’s a dark film, but he’s very funny. So he wrote all those little quips in here and there like when Maika says, “I don’t drinkâ and I say “No, you won’t drink, I’ll drink, let’s go.” Oz is smart enough to know a film like this needs some levity.
It’s funny, my youngest son, Blake [also pointed that out]âlike, “Man, I didn’t expect that.” It’s like morbid levity, really, in the stark world. And I love to do that, because my favorite actors do it and do it well. Meryl Streep always finds irony and sometimes satire or something funny in the darkest of moments. So I was very, very pleased to be able to do that and that it was on the page.
You’re doing it up until the bitter end, with that line thatâs like, “I’ll be back…”
“…You won’t be back.” [laughs]
So how did you come aboard on this whole thing?
My agent Darrah Robbins, set me up with Oz on a Zoom, just like this. And I had read the script, but the funny thing is, he had not finished the film. So the scene you [just referenced], that final scene wasn’t even written. He said, “I got some ideas, I got some things I want to do. I want to go in different directions, I’m not sure.” Then when he finished it, he sent it to me and he said, “What do you think of the final scene?” And I was like, “Yeah, I’m all in.” It gave me some different colors to play.
Are you into horror generally?
I’m a big horror fan. Always have been. That’s part of the reason this is so exciting for me because I’ve never really done horror. I did do a film called Bad Hair, but it was a satire. Loved doing it, but thisâa proper dark, sinister and horrific filmâI haven’t done before, and hope to do more.
What are some of your favorite horror movies?
The Exorcist is my all-time favorite. Then there’s The Omen. Poltergeist. It had a lot of special effects. But I really like the ones, like Rosemary’s Baby, that don’t rely on special effects. It lets the audience off the hookâAh, that’s computer graphics, that’s not real. But movies like The Exorcist, movies like Longlegs, man, you’re dealing with some very, very dark spiritual metaphysical aspects of life. I believe in God, I believe in the dark side, that they all exist. And so to delve into that and stir it up and explore it is interesting because we all battle with good and bad, good and evil.
Most of those films you named infamously had creepy productions. What were the vibes like filming Longlegs?
Well, not a lot of creepy vibes that I encountered. But you’re rightâExorcist, there’s a whole lore behind that that people were dying while they were filming it and everything else and a lot of the cast died mysteriously. I don’t know if that was just hype or if it really happened, I don’t know. But noâI credit Oz, because he is so lighthearted and funny, to really keep the set just light and have that levity the whole time. But come âaction,â then you got to go in, play that part and you play it well and do what you got to do. But nothing too crazy jumped off while I was there.
