The ‘Past Lives’ of Actor Greta Lee

**Greta Lee** (0:00)
It was just this moment for me where I realized I had a knee-jerk reaction to earn my screen time. And for me, it came in the form of improv, comedy improv, filling the space, scene stealing, scene stealing my own scene, and begging for the camera to not turn away. I had it ingrained in me, and I was doggy paddling for my life in a way that was not necessary or needed.
And that happened pretty quickly. Like in the beginning of the process of doing this, I just had this moment where I was like, don't probably don't improvise lines about rest and daughter spagels. Nobody wants to hear that.

**Sam Fragoso** (0:50)
This is Talk Easy, I'm Sam Fragoso, welcome to the show.
Today actor Greta Lee. According to Space and Time and I think my producers, the movie Past Lives came out three years ago. You may remember it from back then. It's about two childhood best friends torn apart after one family emigrates from South Korea, only to be reunited decades later for one fateful week in New York City. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and announced the arrival of writer-director Celine Song, who also received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. But for Lee, the movie star, it was the culmination of two decades working as a struggling actor. A period in which she was often referred to in the press as a scene-stealing performer, a term that I don't think she likes very much, but is apt because of her dazzling work in shows like Russian Doll, High Maintenance, and Girls. Fittingly, her latest turn is in the new film, Late Fame, directed by Ken Jones and written by Sammy Burch. Set in present-day Greenwich Village, she plays Gloria, an actor of the stage and screen, who hearkens back to an era of decadent, larger-than-life cabaret stars like Josephine Baker and Eartha Kitt, the kind of performers that are frankly a dying breed, and ones that Lee felt were worth paying homage to. So that's where we begin today's episode. Later, after the break, we get into her upbringing in LA as the daughter of Korean immigrants. The odd job she worked trying to make it as an actor in New York, the rejection and joy and financial stress that came with that period, weathering a Hollywood system that, frankly, hasn't historically or sufficiently valued a performer likely, and of course, how that all led to the miracle that is Past Lives. Also, I want to add that this episode includes maybe my favorite final 15, 20 minutes of an episode this year. And so with that, if you want to watch Late Fame, I believe it just opened in New York City and has plans to expand nationwide August 14th.
Enjoy.
Greta Lee, thank you for being here.

**Greta Lee** (3:13)
Thanks for having me.

**Sam Fragoso** (3:14)
How are we doing?

**Greta Lee** (3:17)
A lot of different conflicting things because I think on the one hand, this marks the longest hiatus I've had from acting.

**Sam Fragoso** (3:26)
Is that okay?

**Greta Lee** (3:27)
It is. It's a great thing and also a weird thing because in the last few years, it's been pretty nonstop in a way that I'm genuinely excited about. But I think breaks are useful, and I've been doing press for certain things, and doing other creative pursuits. I've been writing, and I've been parenting, and now I'm about to jump back in. So this is a transitional moment for me.

**Sam Fragoso** (3:59)
Well, I love to capture someone at a transitional moment.

**Greta Lee** (4:02)
Maybe you can help me figure out if I'm okay.

**Sam Fragoso** (4:06)
I hate to tell you this, but you've come to the wrong place.
I'll give it a try. I'll give it a call a try. So let's start Relay Fame. This film, Late Fame, which is directed by Kent Jones, stars Willem Dafoe, is very, very important to you. So I want to know, I want to start here. Why is that?

**Greta Lee** (4:25)
It feels like a very precious secret gem that I have, which is a funny thing to say about a movie because it's a very public thing, the way that it operates. It's inherent to...

**Sam Fragoso** (4:37)
Oh, you mean people go into the theater.

**Greta Lee** (4:38)
You have to see, you share it. But it felt...

**Sam Fragoso** (4:41)
Are you reluctant to share it? No.

**Greta Lee** (4:45)
I was reluctant to share Past Lives, actually.
But there are certain, I think, in a similar vein, it felt like something private that we were endeavoring to do with the movie. And Gloria, as a character, is someone that, yeah, I treasure and I adore for very specific reasons. But it feels personal. It feels like who she is and what she represents, and what the movie represents to me is personal.