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I'm Julia Garner, and
this is my last meal.
[Heavy metal intro music]
Every person has exactly
two things in common.
We all gotta eat and
we're all gonna die.
Today's guest is a three
time Emmy award-winning actor
who you might recognize from
Ozark, Inventing Anna, and the
Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Her new movie Weapons is out
in theater's August 8th, and
she's the reason I will never
be able to look at a vegetable
peeler the same again.
Julia Garner,
welcome to the show.
Yes, vegetable peelers.
Not to give anything away
from the movie, but I
did get to see Weapons in
theaters the other day.
Mm-hmm.
And then the next night
I found myself trying
to peel sweet potatoes
and gripped by a very
visceral sense of terror.
And you just kept on
thinking about my face.
And the vegetable peeler.
I really did.
It was haunting my
dreams that night.
Yeah.
And uh, so I threw my
vegetable peeler away
and so now I'm just
eating potato skins.
I think they're healthy.
Yes, I think so.
Have you thought about
your last meal before?
Of course.
I have a hard time making
decisions like for little
things for ordering.
So this is really great
'cause there's a lot of
different options for this.
So what made you
think of this concept?
Are you okay?
Oh no, but thank you so
much for asking that.
Yeah.
Are you not somebody who
hyper fixates on death?
Yes and no.
I mean, I, to sound like
really dark, but I feel
like everything has... dies.
Everything ends, yeah.
But I think it's harder
for the people that stay.
Yeah.
I think, you know, that's,
but that's, you know,
anybody that stays, I mean,
you can have somebody and
they're leaving to go to
the airport or they're going
somewhere and it's always
harder for the person
that's staying.
Are you somebody who tends
to feel better about it
when you talk about it?
Or do you just try and sort
of avoid it, live your life to
its fullest and then whatever
may happen may happen.
When you avoid,
it's, it's much worse.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and it just, that,
that will eat you, that
will kind of drive you nuts.
But I also just, I, I
think too, just avoiding
anything is probably the
worst thing that you can do.
Yeah.
I think that exposure,
ultimately, it kind of takes
the power away from something.
Mm. And then also having
lasagna and chocolate
chip cookies, you know,
that sort of feeds and
nourishes the soul.
I mean, a hundred percent.
But even that dies
because you're eating.
But Julia, for a, for a
brief 45 second period.
Mm-hmm.
Because that is how long
it takes me to eat a
whole tray of lasagna.
What?
45 seconds.
I inhale it like Garfield.
I don't even need to chew him.
Oh my, I'm a veteran.
I've been doing
this for a while.
Okay.
You are Garfield.
That's crazy.
And then I feel like
Garfield would, would
think about death.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
A percent.
There was a malaise
about him.
Yeah, there
was a melancholy kind of.
He had a, a, a
writer's soul in a way.
He really did.
He really did.
Today, Julia, you and
I are both Garfield.
Yes.
I, I'm a little bit Garfield.
You ready to eat?
Yes, I'm ready to eat.
Bring it.
I'm hungry.
Julia, for the first course
of your final meal on this
earth, we have a lovely
and refreshing tabouli.
This is made with
fresh, cracked, bulgar wheat.
A whole lot of curly
parsley in there.
Tons of lemon, olive
oil and tomatoes.
And then we took some
liberties with the halloumi.
We did a little grilled
halloumi dish with a honey
vinaigrette, kalamata olives
and toasted hazelnuts.
Then we have a fattoush salad
with a pomegranate molasses
vinaigrette, fresh toasted
and fried pita in there.
And then a side of pita,
as well as the diet Coke.
The world's healthiest drink.
The healthiest
drink, it's balance.
You know, you have the
vegetables and all the
health, and then you have
this.
I like to view it like
how the Catholic church
used to sell indulgences.
Mm. Oh, that's interesting.
They were like, you can
sort of buy your way out.
What's your drink?
What's your vice
of like, drink?
Do you like Diet Coke?
Like, what is, what
is your, uh, go-to?
I would go Coke
Zero over Diet Coke.
I don't have the long answer.
Why?
I don't have, I, I don't
know why, why I was doing
that, but people are doing
all sorts of things now
that they can get hits.
I mean, they're like, yes,
they're always talking in
ASMR and then the
diet Coke and this.
Why did you.
Why do you like diets?
Wait, Coke Zero.
I like, I think, yeah,
I think Coke Zero.
If I do this, my
throat's gonna bleed.
No, I like that voice.
That's good.
Wow.
So why do you like Coke Zero?
I like Coke Zero.
'cause I think Diet Coke was
a victim of coming first.
You know what I mean?
Like Diet Coke, I
can't keep doing it.
Did you put a lot of
thought to it, a victim of.
This is all I, this is
all I think about Julia.
This is all I
think about.
This is that Diet Coke.
So you think about food,
diet, coke and death.
Yeah, mostly.
Uh, and diet Coke's related
to both food, but it's
also probably killing us.
Yes.
So it's kind of the bridge.
I'm, I'm taking a flight
today, by the way.
So, but think about the fact
that you're much more likely
to die choking on a hazelnut
or on the 4 0 5 freeway
than you are on a plane.
Does that not make
you feel better?
That makes me feel better.
What is wrong with you?
I don't know.
I'm hoping at the end of
this, yeah, you can tell
me what's wrong with me.
Normally people are asking
me what's wrong with me.
So this is, I'm I
it's a nice break.
It's very refreshing
if you like this.
Yes.
It's very refreshing.
What is wrong with you?
I, I am a overthinker.
Um, I think of, uh, the
worst case scenario.
I try not to jump to
conclusion, but that's
been a, a thing of mine.
Can I dish you up
some tabouli?
Yes.
Yes.
Please enough of me.
The food makes it all better.
Yes.
Um, this is delicious.
Tell, tell
me about the choices here.
Tell me about the connection
to, well, to tabouli.
There's a very
Mediterranean theme here.
Yeah.
I, you know, I grew up
eating a lot of, you
know, middle Eastern food.
It's also just like the
most delicious, and you can
eat a ton of it, and you
still don't feel tired or
heavy, and it's just great.
It's just like the world's
most beautiful cuisine.
Eating vegetables and
like eating healthy can
taste good too if, if
it's marinated right.
You know, can I serve
you up some halloumi?
Yes.
Yes.
I would love some,
thank you.
Food's so interesting
because it just opens,
it's such an icebreaker and
even when you think of like
the most like universal
word.
It's, I mean, it's a
drink, food, drink.
It's, it's coffee.
Yeah.
Truly that is just so
interesting to me that
everybody starts their
day with the same joy
in the morning, which
is either coffee or tea.
Yeah.
And that has to do with food.
So, and also the
universal, uh, want to
have legal stimulants.
That just get your heart
rate up and kind of get
you ready for the day.
Yes, this is very good
by the way.
I, I am digging
this halloumi dish.
It's amazing.
Can I dish you up some
fattoush?
Mm-hmm.
I would love some.
Thank you.
It's so funny how it's
like very universal.
Oh, I just, that's,
that's interesting.
I just thought of something.
But like that
it's so universal.
It's, it's food and death.
It's just, it really is.
It's like, it's the
two most simple things.
Mm-hmm.
And when you think about it,
life is just, it's so simple.
Everybody always
complicates everything.
Yeah.
They really do.
But it's like people
just want to eat.
And they wanna die in
peace.
A hundred percent.
And that was, that was
almost the entirety of
human history until like the
agricultural revolution maybe.
Yeah.
Until people kind
of messed it up.
Thanks.
Ancient mesopotamians
with your fields of wheat.
Julia, you're in a
movie called Weapons.
One of the major themes that I
took away from this, and maybe
the most heartbreaking theme,
is that the way that fear
is used to control people,
especially control people.
Hmm.
Children, vulnerable people
into silence, where if
you could just summon that
courage to speak, you know,
something, uh, that you need
to, this whole situation
could have been avoided,
but also this fear is just
such a crushing feeling.
Yeah.
What were the themes that
you took from weapons that
really drew you to the role?
Zach Kreger, the director.
He's such a, he thinks so
outside the box, it's always
been rare, but it's becoming a
rare and rarer thing in a way.
Um, the thing that I
find fascinating with
weapons is, it's not
about this, but it ties
into, uh, addiction a lot.
Like every character's
having, uh, an, an addiction
in, in their own way.
Yeah.
And I think.
With addiction, there's
shame and you're trying to
manipulate and control and
avoid the feeling of shame.
So they're all
kind of....
Llike tied together,
and I think that's
always interesting
to play out in a way.
Yeah.
This was my first horror
movie that I've seen in
theaters in over a decade.
Do you, are you
not a horror fan?
The thing that I try
and generally avoid is
this incredible stress
where I'm not in control.
Mm-hmm.
I love stress where I'm in
control, but the thing that I
found was this like beautiful,
collective human experience.
Mm. Where not only are we all
terrified at the same time,
but it's also such a deeply
sad, empathetic human story.
So we all, you know, felt
that sadness at the same time.
There's laugh out loud jokes.
Yeah.
It was like our emotions
were all being pulled by the
same string at same time.
Have you had that
experience in a theater?
And what was the first
time you can remember
that happening?
Well, all my favorite
movies have that.
Yeah.
And 'cause I, I don't, I,
and it's the same thing
when I read a script, if
I feel like it's like one
color, I think it's, it's
really important to it.
To have comedy
in every project.
Mm-hmm.
In, in a way, because if
you have comedy, then when
you have the drama within
the story, it's going to be
more heartbreaking because
you kind of fell in love
with those characters that
made you laugh and, and
you are invested more.
And that's what I love about
his Zach's tone is that
he has such a, it's such
a unique tone that I have.
I've never seen
anything on screen.
It just, it's, it's
very strange in the
most beautiful way.
As somebody who's a chronic
overthinker,
horror movies seem to
be an interesting genre
to find yourself in,
especially knowing how
deep you go into roles.
This is like your sixth or
seventh major, major horror
movie that you're starring in.
I mean, that's what
I'm getting.
Sorry.
I mean, no, but it's true.
I also think too,
that's where like the
interesting work is now.
I mean, think about
the amount of
like filmmakers that,
amazing filmmakers that
are coming out and they all
got their start in horror.
Um, and I think that's
kind of the genre where
you are allowed to kind
of do anything and be
unapologetic and not feel
like you energetically have
somebody hovering over you
and being like, no to that.
No to that.
You kind of can just play and
create and yeah, I think, I
think that's why horror films
are so popular now in a way.
Does any part of you just
wanna like do a rom-com?
You're just like, God, I wish
I could just be, oh my God,
walking down New York City.
That's, that's
like all I watch.
So yes.
But there, but I please,
if anybody's hiring
for a rom-com, hire me.
I'm, I promise I'll be funny.
I promise.
Please.
I am desperate.
And that's funny.
It's really funny.
I think this is what gets you
casted horror movies though
is making the unhinged looks
you're giving to the camera.
Oh no.
Julia, for course number two
of your final meal on earth.
We have the lasagna
bolognese.
This is four layers,
uh, ragu made with beef
and lamb ricotta.
A little bit of bechamel on
top with Parmigiano regiano.
We have the capese salad.
Heirloom tomatoes, we're
flat in tomato season.
It's beautiful.
Buffalo mozzarella.
Little bit of salt,
olive oil and balsamico.
Simple spaghetti pomodoro,
fresh grated tomatoes.
Little bit of garlic tossed
with olive oil and spaghetti.
Why did I say that
like Johnny DeMarcus.
I know.
I love it.
Bon appetito.
Do you wanna
start with the caprese?
That's, I, I, you're
going Italian?
Italian.
I'm just going, I'm
just going New York.
So is that like Bob daughter?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like it's just like
Sopranos the right.
You.
I love this.
Tony.
I grew up on the oc,
so like I, oh yeah.
I was never a Sopranos guy.
Were you watching the OC
while you were living in the OC?
So I actually, no,
I never watched the oc, but
what I did watch was the Real
Housewives of Orange County.
Did you watch the OG season?
Season one.
I watched Vicki get
heckled in a Target.
Because she was just
trying to buy more stuff.
A man after my own heart.
Oh my goodness.
And then everybody's staring
at, and then somebody just
goes, Hey, I didn't know they
sold Gucci at Target, haha.
And then the whole store
started laughing at her
and she left the target.
Have you ever seen the Real
Housewives of Orange County
out in the wild when you
were younger growing up?
Oh no.
That was in the
wild, in Target.
I watched Vicki get
laughed out of a Target.
I thought you were
just talking about
like B roll from there.
No, no, no, no.
I was, that was my neighbor.
They lived right across the
street, their gated community
that we would hop the fence
to build BMX jumps in and then
get chased away by security.
They lived there.
I used to play basketball
against, what's up Colton?
Colton Keo.
Oh.
He played for my rival
high school and me and my
buddy used to look up plot
lines to talk crap on him.
So I'd be guarding him and be
like, Hey, sorry, your mom got
divorced and started dating.
Look, look at into the
camera and say that.
So I'd be guarding him.
I'd be like, here, and
I'd be like, Hey, sorry,
your mom's divorce papers
finally went through
and she's dating Slade.
And then I'll
never forget this.
He goes, that was shot
nine months ago, asshole.
Oh my God.
Wait.
So I said, it's new to
me, so that's insane.
No, we, should we go?
Should we go melon
or spaghetti?
Yeah, let's go.
Let's do a melon.
Um, do you, do you knife and
fork this or do you just I do.
It depends If I'm like really
sitting in a proper
setting, I would
knife and fork it.
But if I'm at home, I mean
this is just, yeah, you're
just gonna put in just Yeah.
Gar, Garfield side, but we're
on camera so I know we still
have to be well-behaved.
Or can also just.
There.
She finally think, God,
that's what I'm gonna do.
We can lose the pretense.
We're about to die.
We're gonna die.
Shoot.
If I was about
to die, I would do a lot
crazier than, this is
not like, what would you
do before you would die?
Yeah, we can't put this in.
I mean, just like,
like I, oh, okay.
Yeah.
Good, good.
We, I think we should
put this in.
Julie, what's the craziest thing
you would do that you're
comfortable saying on camera
if you were about to die?
I mean, that's a terrible
question because I would
do the most obscene.
Mm-hmm.
Crazy sh-t.
Yeah.
Self, self-destructive sh-t.
Would you mind if
people knew it was you?
Like, would you,
would you go ski mask?
I don't.
I don't give an
f. I don't care.
I'm just gonna go rogue
baby, because at that
point I'm gonna die.
Yeah, but you're your legacy,
your family, presumably you a
family life come, is anybody
gonna remember me in like 30
years when all my family dies?
Okay.
But if someone was like,
Hey, six time Oscar winner,
Julia Garner, age 74.
Well, robbed a bank
and then like jumped
out of an airplane.
See, that's, that's
kind of cool.
I agree with that.
There's something wrong with
me that I'm like, wow, what a
freaking legend.
Is there something about
that intensity that is
always been attractive to you?
No, bring that back.
Like bring back the movie star
that would sit in the Academy
Awards, watching the Oscars
wearing sunglasses.
Indoors and going like,
like bring, bring that back.
I like that.
Where do you think that
comes from for you?
You know what it is?
I think it's the
sense of like.
Authority.
Mm-hmm.
That's really attractive.
And that makes a star.
Yeah.
We're, we're in a weird
age for movie stars because
people have someone's access.
They sit down and eat
lasagna with
strangers talking about death.
No, but no, but
it has an edge.
You're talking about death.
You're saying, oh, I'm eating
this beautiful meal, and how,
how would you like to die?
What would you eat?
What would I eat
before I died?
I would use the world's
best products to create the
greatest carne asada burrito.
But that would be your
last meal is to work?
Yes, actually, yes.
No, that is the only, it's
sort of the reason I got
this tattoo of a vegetable.
'cause leeks are the
hardest, uh, vegetable
to prep and clean.
And it's like a reminder
to myself how much I love
doing the hard work because
it's something that.
Calms me down.
It distracts me from
death for the time being.
And I think like the hunter
gatherers people, they want
something to work towards.
Isn't it so interesting?
Like, to me, the process
is so much more interesting
than the result.
Like a hundred percent.
It's, you know, once you
get that final result.
It's then all of a, it's
just just like boish
and you're like, what?
What?
What's gonna happen next?
It's always about the process.
So I do like that,
that leak tattoo.
Thank you.
What is the end of
the process for you?
Is it after you wrap filming
or is it after the project
comes out and do you get
almost a sense of like
melancholy or depression?
After you've finished your
work on the project.
I don't wanna say I
get depressed.
There's a sense of letting
go that I think there's
a, there's an art form
to letting go in a way.
And I think when you finish
a production, especially
with my job, when you're
acting, you know, it's so
much in your control and
then all of a sudden it just.
It's not in your
control at all.
You know, you, they
could, you could give this
amazing performance and
then the way that they
edit you is just awful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then you kind of, there's
a lot of like, I'm gonna
hope for the best and, uh,
maybe expect for the worst.
So, yeah, I think it's
not a bad way to live.
Can I, can I give
you some spaghetti?
Yes, yes, yes.
The spaghetti's getting
cold as long as you don't
break the spaghetti.
That's, that's good.
That's what's the most
insufferably California
thing that you brought to
your family in New York?
That they give you
crap for?
Moving.
They just, moving.
Just that, just
moving in general.
My sister, God, it was so
annoying, and she was like,
oh yeah, you're, you're an la
you're a California girl now.
You're an LA girl now.
And I got, so I got, for some
reason I got so offended.
I mean, sorry, youre
from California.
What am I doing?
But it's, I could tell
that you are from the
East Coast, by the way
you pronounce California.
Really?
There's a vow sound
in the A. Okay.
California.
It's like's, say
California, California.
Okay.
There's almost a vocal for
like a California, like if
you really slow it down,
it becomes like California.
Dude.
You from San Clemente San?
Yeah, dude, I grew up
in Southern California.
Southern California.
That's, that's great.
You're the queen of accents.
Killed it.
I'm got also, you've like
literally worked with a
dialect coach to master
pretty much every accent,
just in your downtime, right?
Yeah.
Like aside from your
fantastic work.
I'm like you, I
like, I like working.
Give me something to do.
Because then the bad thoughts
enter your brain if you stop.
Well, I like being busy.
Same.
Yeah.
I kind of was like, you
know what, I kind of
wanna learn something.
You know?
I, you always want
different skill sets in
a way that once the job.
That, that job comes by,
you're gonna be ready to go
and not think about it and
have the confidence to kind
of do what you need to do.
So I, I just wanted to
learn every, somewhat, every
dialect, um, in, in a way.
So I hired a dialect coach
and kind of learned the
basics of every dialect.
And by the time that
that project came about,
then I could, you know,
fine tune it in a way.
How much does your love of the
work come back to, like your
childhood start in acting?
Because I know you had
a pretty severe learning
disability and you said
that you all felt really
insignificant in school
and then it wasn't until
you started acting.
Sorry.
I know I laugh when
things are really awful.
I'm sorry.
It is.
No, it is.
Sorry.
So when you, I clearly you're
making your English eating
and we're talking about death.
This is, but I want to go all
the way back to the beginning.
Well, I was bad at a
lot of things and Yeah.
And acting.
I was somewhat okay.
Yeah.
You know, it's so funny
with acting, it's like
there's a sense of putting
yourself out there.
Mm-hmm.
But there's also
a sense of hiding.
Mm-hmm.
And I do like to hide.
In a way, but you mentioned
like you're almost wearing
a character like a cloak,
where despite the fact that
you are the body saying the
words, it's almost not you
person, it's somebody else's
words, but it's my emotions.
Whoa.
Do you actually feel those
emotions as your own then?
They like intertwine.
That's a fascinating
state to be in.
Mm-hmm.
What's the, what's the
feeling of being in that flow
State? Athletes call
it being in the zone.
I mean, it's very, we
call it meditation.
Yeah.
It's very similar
to playing sports.
You know, there's the
team aspect of it and
everybody's working together.
And then there's also chasing
the flow state and, um, being
the, the prep work, but then
letting that go and just
being very lost in the moment.
Um.
Or hoping that you're gonna
get lost in the moment because
that's the best work is when
you're lost in the moment.
Well, oh, we haven't
even eaten the lasagna.
Eat the lasagna.
I, I'm distracting
you from,
I can yap all day.
I love, I do make,
that's what I make.
Well, I make a good lasagna.
If you could make one dish
in the world to impress
somebody, would it be lasagna?
Mm-hmm.
Hell yeah.
Absolutely.
Come back here.
Cook lasagna with us.
We won't talk.
I'll, I will.
I put pepperoni in my lasagna.
That's the craziest
sh-t I've ever heard.
Is it?
You're talking about how
much you love Italian food,
New York and Italian food,
and didn't trust as a pizza.
You're putting pepperoni
in your lasagna.
Yeah, it's really good.
It sounds great.
I'm just, I didn't
expect it as well.
Says the chef, he's
critiquing me already.
He's writing a review.
You said you were
a journalist.
Oh my God.
Sometimes I'm not
a great, oh my God.
I'm, I'm not gonna
give you lasagna and I
would love to try your
pepperoni lasagna buckets.
It's very good.
I was gonna ask a pertinent
question about characters.
What character have you felt
yourself get lost into the
deepest flow state with?
All of them in different
ways, especially the ones
where I'm playing them
for a very long time.
Like Ruth, I was playing
her for a really,
really long time.
So I really got to know
her for really long time.
And then, you know, Delvy.
Like, I'm, I'm a sleep talker.
Like I talk in my sleep
apparently like this,
My husband, like, I'll, I'll
have a full conversation
and I'm not even aware.
And this, there was this
one time he woke up and I
like went like, like this.
And he's like,
what's going on?
And I was like, I don't wants
this purse, I want that purse.
I was like in
full conversation as
Delvy and he's, and then
he will talk back to me and
ask me questions and yeah,
so I think that probably.
It gets to that point.
That's how I know I'm
really deep in it.
Julie, for course number three
of your final meal on earth,
we have the schnitzel sampler.
You didn't ask for this, but
we wanted to make you this.
We have the chicken
schnitzel with the sesame
and the breadcrumb.
Chicken's been brined
overnight, pounded thin.
Then we have more of a classic
Austrian pork schnitzel,
and then we wanted to do a
little something funky and
actually go with the whole
roasted eggplant schnitzel.
You can still, wow.
Kinda see the
stem right there.
That looks really good.
We've roasted it,
flattened it out, fried it.
Got some fresh fries.
Lemon, please enjoy.
There's, there's a
lot of food going on.
Ooh, do you want,
thank you so much.
Um, what's the
connection to schnitzel?
So, you know, how lasagna is
the thing that I like to make.
So my mom makes really,
really good schnitzel.
You know, my family, on my
mother's side, they're German.
Mm-hmm.
So I grew up eating
schnitzel and like cucumber
salad and um, yeah.
Yeah.
Some of my earliest
scent memories is the
smell of schnitzel.
As somebody who loves the
intensity of experience,
do you try and balance
that out with like equal
amounts of coziness?
Like do you also chase
that cozy safety?
When I'm not working, um,
I have like two sides.
Either I'm like super
intense when I'm working or
I'm like complete bed rat.
Mm-hmm.
And I just will rot in
bed, just rot away for
like three days straight.
That's all I need.
Mm-hmm.
I need to be by myself.
In a bed not moving,
just rotting away, and
then I'm like, rebirthed.
I like that.
Mm-hmm.
I think there is something
beneficial to the human
existence about having a
high variance of experiences.
Mm-hmm.
I love being around people,
but they don't recharge me.
Mm-hmm.
In a way.
Yeah.
And a person they said to me
once, they're like, oh, so
you're an outgoing introvert?
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, yeah, I, I,
people make me very happy.
Like, I think the thing
that inspires me the
most, if people are
always like, oh, do what?
Movies, books, whatever.
That, that doesn't inspire me.
Like a great conversation,
a deep conversation
always inspires me,
so with another human.
And, um, but I like to
reflect alone and kind of
recharge and think about
that conversation in a way.
Yeah, the thing that really
attracts me to food, I, I
love, you know, the actual act
of cooking and I love serving
people in the conversation,
but to me it's always been
about the people
behind the food.
Mm. Anytime you can learn
about schnitzel and see its
migration, you can learn about
the history of the world.
This is actually ketchup made
from bananas because this
is based on a Filipino dish.
Oh wow.
And you can trace the origin
of banana ketchup back to
like World War II and GI
Occupation of the Philippines.
And so the point is
like people are the
most interesting thing.
Is that why you think
you love the prep behind
character so much?
'cause ultimately
Banana ketchup.
I don't know.
It it, it's interesting.
I'm not used to it though.
It's good.
Oh yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's very sweet.
Mm-hmm.
And it's dyed red 'cause
they didn't have
access to tomatoes.
Got it.
But to you it is like
studying these characters
and inhabiting them.
It's like meeting a
new person and learning
every single thing about
them for the first time.
It's kind of like
when I read something.
Um, and I'll kind of judge it
in the same way as like when I
was single and going on dates
in a way where it's like, is
this interesting enough for
me to wanna keep going on a
date with this person.
And get to know this person
and then maybe eventually
fall in love with this person.
And kind of in that, that
same way, but I, if I'm not
interested in the person or
getting to know the person, it
can even be like a friendship.
It's the same thing
with characters.
If I'm not interested
in getting to know
them, I, I should, I
don't wanna do it.
Again, the horror movies, it all
makes sense because they
are so multidimensional.
Mm-hmm.
I know you tend to keep a
journal as the character
when you take a role.
What did your journal
entry say for Justine
Candy played in weapons.
It was just not, I think for
her not feeling enough or like
worthy in, in a way, and, and
feeling, uh, misunderstood.
I think was her
big, big thing.
Mm-hmm.
Because I think people
judge her in the
beginning of the film.
They think of her as one way
and then it, it's completely
different by the end of it.
Mm-hmm.
So maybe they were judging
her.
And seen through
different perspectives.
Mm-hmm.
Which is also really cool.
Yeah.
If someone were playing you
in a biopic and they were
writing a journal as you,
what do you think they would
find as your major motivation?
That's a great question.
One, I, I don't know
how interesting my
biopic would be.
Um, so that's one.
Just rotting
in bed for one shot.
Yeah, just rotting in bed and,
just like being stuck in a green room
somewhere in like Baton Rouge.
I know you said
that typically--
What would you write.
You just met me and if you
wanted to get to know me,
like what your observation.
I think I've heard you say this,
that you tend to go back to
characters, childhoods, even if
they aren't ever presented
as a child from that.
And so I would say that
you are somebody who.
Likely grew up feeling very
insignificant from school.
I think we're all sort
of stuck in this age of
when we're like six, seven
years old and coming into
consciousness and learning
what it means to be a
human, and you're somebody
who found that initial
dopamine rush of being good
at something for the first
time, and it happens to be
the thing that people get
most famous for being good at,
which is really interesting
'cause I don't think any of
your motivation was to be
seen in that way to be famous.
Right.
No, I think you're stuck
a little bit in this
paradox where you grew
up on the classic movie
stars and I think you
have a certain amount of
yearning for that time.
But also this bittersweet
nostalgia of knowing that
you can never go back.
And so that's what I'd
say about the motivations
from childhood.
You're wrong.
I'm wrong.
No, no.
You're not wrong.
You're not wrong.
Oh, thought you
said I'm wrong.
You're like, no, no, no.
Yeah, probably no, but
I, I think too, there's.
There's a certain, I think
that there's, I have a
fixation on like the old
time stars because there's
also a sense of mystery.
Mm-hmm.
And there's no more mystery,
or it's very hard to maintain.
Uh, mystery.
There's, you know, and if, if
you are keeping that, then you
know there's somebody else and
they're doing some crazy shit
online and they're gonna, you
know, get clicks or something.
It's, it's very hard now.
Do you still believe that
the quality of your work can
actually cut through all?
Because I think you are
specifically one of those
people where the actual
quality of your work, no
matter what role you're
in, the emotions that you
are able to convey to the
audience cuts through all
of this BS about who is the
most marketable or whatever,
because they open themselves
up to so much social media.
Do you still believe that
there's a future in which like
that can be the main thing?
Absolutely.
That makes you a star.
Absolutely.
You can kind of to.
Um, I think we live
in a day and age where
marketing and sales is
like viewed as number one.
Mm-hmm.
But just because something's
viewed as number one doesn't
mean it's always gonna win.
Yeah.
And I think great art.
Great storytelling.
Um, that always wins.
I, I think also moving
people always wins.
What does the phrase,
failure is a friend of
the clown mean to you?
Exactly that.
It means--
Where
did you learn that?
So I learned that
in clown school.
I learned a lot of crazy,
amazing things and I got a
certificate and a red nose.
The teacher you studied
under, Philippe Goer.
Mm-hmm.
Is known for some of the
craziest insults you have
ever heard in your life
and known for just berating
people when they got on stage.
Mm-hmm.
What was the craziest
thing you said?
I loved it.
He was telling the truth.
It was bad.
It was terrible.
Yeah.
Couldn't hear a laugh.
Nothing.
At least he was telling the
truth, and I loved that.
I loved that.
You don't like liars?
I don't like liars, and I
can, I, I'm very good at
telling when someone's lying.
And I'm bad at lying.
I'm awful at lying.
Is is that not part of acting?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, no.
Is, that a misconception?
Absolutely.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah.
Why do you say that?
Well, lying is lying.
Lying and, and acting is.
It's not my truth, but
whoever I'm playing,
that's their truth.
Mm-hmm.
Unless the character's lying,
but then still within the
lie, there's the truth.
There's the lie here
with whatever my scene
partner, and then there's
the truth in here.
That's the character.
Yeah.
So you're never really
lying as...
That's interesting.
Yeah.
That's my reality at
the, at the moment.
I know part of like the goal of
pedagogy about clowning, I
fell down this rabbit hole.
I have special interests.
Uh, so when I found out
you trained with him,
I just couldn't stop
watching his videos.
But it sounds like so
much of his belief is that
ultimately to be a clown
is to be an idiot, and the
ultimate idiot is the child
because the child is
out of place in a world that
was never built for them.
And we still find
them sort of amusing.
There's like an
innocence to it.
And finding your
clown is about finding
your inner child.
Did you find anything out
about your inner child
from going to clown school?
I've always tried to
maintain the inner child.
Um, I think the inner child
stops when you close up.
Mm-hmm.
And I, I wasn't realizing,
'cause there was so much,
there were so many changes
in my life over the last few
years and, um, all the like,
pressure and things that
really don't matter, even
though it does, but it's,
it doesn't really, right.
Yeah.
And when I went to
clown school, that
kind of, it reminded
me of like, it doesn't
matter, just stay open.
Because if you stay
open, good, bad,
magical things happen.
I love that.
You know, and that's what
he means by failure is
a, a friend of the clown.
It's like, you're not
gonna get a laugh.
There's nothing funny.
He would always say,
there's nothing funny
about the gucky clown.
All clown, great clowning
is tied to being humble,
Julia, for the final course
of your final meal on earth.
We have the chocolate
chip cookies, fresh baked.
We have the flat white, that's
two shots of risto espresso
with micronized foamed milk,
some sugar if you please.
And then we have an
Entenmann's style cake because
Entenmann's discontinued at least
regionally, maybe for good.
The chocolate icing,
chocolate fudge cake.
So we recreated
it from scratch.
Entenmann's like periodically
discontinues so many
of their products.
Entenmann's, if you are
watching, I'm looking at
you directly in the eye.
Do something about this.
This is a 'tragesty'.
Yes, you're tragesty, please.
Yes, please.
So we have made
it from scratch.
Uh, fresh homemade
whipped cream on top.
Please dig in.
So that was my birthday cake.
We've timed that, like
synchronized divers.
Mm. Have you had, you're from
Orange County, have you, did
they have Entenmann's?
Oh yeah.
I grew up, my grandma had a
frozen Entenmann's coffee cake.
At any point it
was always frozen.
At no point was
it ever thawed.
And she would cut off,
give it to me for an
afterschool snack.
I like your grandma.
She's wonderful.
Yeah, she'll love you.
Yeah.
And then a frozen, um,
half a gallon of milk.
Just depression era
stuff, you know?
What is it with
grandma's and milk?
My grandmother.
Okay.
My grandmother, Georgia.
Georgia Garner.
Mm-hmm.
She only, she hated water.
She only drank, uh,
grapefruit fruit juice.
Mm-hmm.
Absolute vodka,
no ice and milk.
No one drank water
before, like 1993.
Yeah.
What is that?
It just wasn't a thing.
I Did your grandmother
drink water?
No.
Absolutely not.
No.
She drank like a, you
know, Manischewitz.
Uh, a lot of whole milk
and then, you know,
trader Joe's orange juice.
That was six months past
the expiration date.
No, that's healthier
than my grandma.
My grandmother like was like
98 pounds and just drank
a lot of vodka and yeah.
No ice.
No ice.
It seems like you have a lot,
like, you genuinely have like
a lot of love and admiration
for you can like see the way
your face lights up thinking
about your grandma.
Because she was, she
was hilarious.
There was no one like Georgia.
Yeah.
How do you personally deal
with grief in your own life?
Are you somebody that
handles it well.
Do you like to distract
yourself with work?
Hmm.
I've always liked to distract
myself with work a little bit.
Same, but I've, I've had
that experience and that it
doesn't, it's not smart and
it doesn't like end well.
Your problems are always gonna
follow you no matter what.
So might as well just,
you know, deal with them.
Face on.
You said that when you played
Ruth Langor on Ozark, you
inhabited that character
for so long that you felt
a certain kind of grief, we can
give away spoilers.
She dies.
What kind of like grief
did you feel in that
moment and how did you
snap yourself outta that?
Was there like a long process?
I get that, I get emotional
thinking about it because
she was, uh, such a huge
part of my life and,
um, you know, I started.
That role I started playing,
you know, when I started I
was 22 and I was doing that
show for years, and I feel
like the, the formative years
and she changed, she changed
my life and I loved her.
I absolutely loved her.
So yeah.
It's, it's so interesting
hearing you say she changed my
life because obviously from my
perspective it's like, well,
you, you changed your life.
By giving life to that
fictional character
in a lot of ways.
Do you think there's something
about, I don't know, you
almost not giving yourself
credit in that regard?
No, I do.
I mean, I do for allowing
myself and opening
up, letting myself go.
And getting to know somebody
else really well that
I could tap into that.
So I do give myself
credit, but in, in, in
like a different way.
There, there's one line
read from Ozark that has
gone down in, in infamy
for all the best reasons.
But if you wanna stop
me, you're gonna have to
kill me and I will not
do you the disservice of
imitating you doing that.
But there's like something so
special about that that we've
seen blow up online for all,
all the appropriate reasons.
What place do you need to get
to in your mind to be able
to deliver a line read that
is that, bordering on like
feral in such an awesome way?
During that time with her
cousin and everything, she was
saying, if you wanna stop me,
you're gonna have to kill me.
But she was already dead
inside.
She already died because
of that significant loss.
So she kind of was like,
what's the worst that,
you know, if you're gonna
do something, what's I,
I have nothing to lose.
Like I can do whatever I want
and I'm not gonna feel guilty
because I'm already gone.
Speaking of death, that's
really what it was.
It is actually so incredible
to like, hear that firsthand
how much thought and depth.
Went into that scene because
it is something that you
feel, and going back to
what you said about this
whole business is just about
making people feel something.
Yeah.
And I also think too, like
especially with acting.
You have to be very cautious
of like, besides it being
visual, it's also audio.
So like the rhythm of
how somebody speaks.
They're very
sensitive to that.
So like there might be,
there's different types
of screams and I think.
I, I was very, I remember
obsessing over like
wanting to go up instead
of screaming down.
Mm-hmm.
Because that was the
less predictable.
And also it's, it's more
feral if you go, ah, like
kind of, sorry that was really
bad, but it ah, but like really up.
Well, ADR, yeah.
Got a couple
pickups of you.
Julia, please.
No, we have to
eat this cookie.
I mean, it's
very good, but like I've never
been more full in my life.
Oh my God.
As we near the end
of our journey, what
do you think happens?
Oh my God.
So good.
I'm so full.
What do you think
happens when you die?
Oh yeah.
What the hell do I know?
Ready to go to the
lightning round?
Yes.
Who's the one person dead
or alive you'd want to share
your actual last meal with?
That's so sad.
Oh my God.
I don't know.
Can I just have
like one big party?
You can have a party because
then everybody's gonna get
like angry and I'm just,
I don't wanna leave this
earth where people are
angry at me, so I'm just
gonna have one big party.
It'll be a Last Supper.
I'm coming.
Uh, what song do you want to
be played at your funeral?
Nothing by Foster the People,
they would not relinquish the
rights to their music.
Wait, we got that note.
Probably, probably
Hypnotized by Notorious BIG.
I can't help, but like
it's just, it's a great song.
It's a bop.
We're already having
a party, you know?
Yeah, exactly.
All set.
It's the Last Supper, hey!
If you were in charge
of Turner Classic movies
programming for a day,
what are the three movies
you'd show?
All About Eve.
I always pick that every
interview, All About Eve, All
About Eve, but All About Eve.
Um, the Godfather.
Dr. Zhivago.
What's
your greatest regret?
Honestly, I don't know.
Even the times where I have
made mistakes, I, I own, I own
up to it, even with myself.
And, um, I just, I try to
make it a part of the story
and not do it again, and
not let it take control over
my narrative in my life.
Yeah.
So I don't know.
Well said.
If a cosmic entity and his
shiny metal herald on a
surfboard was about to destroy
earth and the only thing
stopping him was a ragtag team
of four mutants, what's
the first thing you'd do?
Wait.
If a cosmic entity--
Wait, what is this question?
I don't understand.
If a cosmic entity and
a shiny metal herald on
a surfboard was about to
destroy earth and the only
thing stopping him was a
ragtag team of four mutants,
what's the first thing
you'd grab from your house?
Oh my God.
I'm like the worst.
Like if I was in a zombie
apocalypse movie,
I would be the first person
to die or the second person.
Mm-hmm.
Um.
Maybe my phone, but even
then, like, what if the
service goes out, then
you can't a, a cliff bar.
I don't know.
I don't know.
A stealing package.
I told you.
What would you, what
would you bring a cat?
Cat.
You would bring your cat.
I would bring Pippin, my
Garfield ass cat.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's nice.
That's nice.
You know, that's not gonna
do much, but that's nice.
Finally, Julia, are you happy?
I'm very happy/
And I'm incredibly happy that
I got to share this
wonderful meal with you.
Everybody go see Weapons.
Julia, if you wanna say
your last words to that
camera right there.
Lasagna.
There it is.
We love a callback.
Truly you are
freaking fantastic.
Weapons is fantastic.
If I can brave seeing a
horror movie in theaters
for the first time in
a decade because of how
good it was, you can too.
I believe in you.
Just curl up in
the fetal position.
It's nice.
Yeah, that's, that's
the thing to do.
And, uh, don't be afraid of
vegetable peelers after this.
Or do.
The perfect way
to elevate all of your meals.
The Last Meals Bar Set is
available now at mythical.com.
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