Julia Louis-Dreyfus covers The Hollywood Reporter to promote the fifth season of her show Veep, which airs this Sunday. Last week, she hosted Saturday Night Live, where she reprised her role of Elaine Benes questioning Larry David’s Bernie Sanders. For those who don’t know, Julia and then boyfriend Brad Hall were asked to audition for SNL while still attending Northwestern University. Since her SNL days, Julia has starred in three award-winning TV series, Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine and now Veep. With seven Emmys to her name, she is considered one of the most influential actresses in Hollywood today. Julia is using her status in the industry to speak out more and more about its challenges, primarily those that women face.
On Staying with Veep after creator Armando Iannucci left: “This is not the kind of thing that’s going to come along a lot. I’m not interested in being the wisecracking this or that or the eye-rolling wife. Those roles are out there, and they’ve come my way, but I’m not doing that. I’m bored sh-tless by that.”
On being asked to audition for SNL: “It was mind-blowing, just f—ing unbelievable. Here we were coming in as these stupid-ass new kids who had not a clue doing our goofy Chicago sketch comedy in front of a bunch of kiss-off, more experienced, bitter people. And so we go to that Wednesday table read, and it really did not go over well. There was no noise coming from anybody. It was f—ing bad.”
On SNL sexism: “The culture was not friendly — very dog-eat-dog. It was this very chauvinistic situation back then: very few women, lots of sexism, issues of sexual harassment and some really big-time drugs. Of course, I was so oblivious. I just thought, ‘That’s so weird that that guy’s sketch is 17 pages long and at the table read he’s howling laughing.’ ”
On the end of Seinfeld: “Jerry was understandably exhausted but there was this deep sadness because we knew that it was a phenomenon and that it would never come around again as it was and that we were bidding it goodbye.”
On filming “last f—able day” for Inside Amy Schumer: “I started to feel unbelievably paranoid that I was making fun of myself and wondering, was this really happening to me? Like, ‘How meta is this moment in my life? I started to have a kind of soul-searching crisis in the middle of the day. And I didn’t know the women well enough to bring it up, so I was just trying to be a good sport even though I was dying a little bit on the inside.”
On working to secure producer credits on Old Christine and Veep: “I don’t want to disparage people whom I’ve worked with, but let’s just say I had to work really hard to get those credits, and they did not come easily. I know it would have (been different for a man). There’s no question.
On looking for women-centered stories: “I’m trying to change things. I mean, I’m playing a powerful woman who’s middle-aged. And who, at least I think, is still pretty f—able.”
You can read the whole article here. There is a funny story about a fan letter she got from Hillary Clinton, only to find out in the exposed Clinton emails that Hillary had never watched the show. Another story speaks to how fiercely competitive Julia is, which I adore because I am too. What I found interesting, and I not saying it is a negative thing, but regarding the ending of Seinfeld and the possibility of Veep ending once Iannucci left, Julia sounds like it is hard for her to give things up. Like she knows maybe the time has come but it was such a positive experience, she can’t bring herself to let it go. It intrigued me because my husband and father are this way, they need time to accept something is changing whereas my mother and I are almost clinical when we have to let something go.
Julia recently produced an adaptation of the Swedish film Force Majeure and she and Brad are producing an HBO miniseries based the book Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War by Helen Thorpe. The story is about three women who have served in the National Guard in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is a chance Julia will star in the series as well, which would be fascinating to see.
Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter, GWENN and Getty Images
I just love her.
Me too!
Me, too.
I do, too. She is smart and definitely still f**kable.
Me too. I think she’s a wonderful actress, and she seems like she would be a great person to be friends with!
Respect. JLD is amazing.
Seems like a really honest interview.
I love her, loved her as Elaine, love her in Veep episodes I have seen. I also have always admired the fact that she was a hard worker and scrapper and so down to earth, though she comes from that mind-boggling family financial industry fortune.
And that she is saying all these things! Bravo forever.
I love her. And I think Veep is effing fantastic (also fan of Iannucci). It has me laughing out loud and it’s fun to compare it to The Thick of It. Same humour but the different cultural tics give it a totally different flavour.
Have you watched In The Loop? It’s on Netflix and Iannucci directed it. Brilliant!
I know right. She comes from staggering wealth but works hard enough to never hold it against her. Have a great weekend and give Cath and Mr Wallering my deepest regards.
She seems so down-to-earth and seems to have her values in check. That’s what is so shocking – for her to be so successful in her own right and not have her outlook or values skewed by fame or success. AND on top of that, come from a pretty wealthy family. Although i think I read somewhere that her family really didn’t focus on wealth but hard work and conviction.
One of the greatest comedic actors ever. Watching old episodes of SEINFELD and now VEEP, I am continually astounded by her.
I wish I was almost clinical about change. Goodbyes just tear me up. Always have. As a child, I worried constantly about what will it be like when…my siblings go off to college, I’m not in grade school anymore, my cat or dog dies, whatever. I even used to lie in bed at night and think that when I woke up, it would be tomorrow and this day would never come again. So yeah, I relate to having trouble giving things up.
See, I’m like Hecate and Mr Sixer is like you. I’m all, “Oh the old game had got boring anyway and there are loads of new games we could play. Let’s pick a new one!” And Mr Sixer is, “Life’s not a game, you gung ho twit, and even if it is, what’s wrong with the game we’ve always played? I liked it and don’t want to leave it behind.”
Lol. My husband is like me, so he wants me to needlepoint a pillow that says Change. It’s Bad.
HA! I have to nurse Mr Sixer along on our various voyages of discovery. It doesn’t take him long to start wanting to stick to the new game instead of the old game. This is usually about at the point I’m starting to look for a new new game!
Oh God, you are me. I had such a mid-life crisis right before I turned 10 and realized I would never be in the single digits again.
ha, I remember that feeling vividly! and it returned when i turned 20, officially leaving my teenage years behind.
Oh, I’m so glad to hear others who can relate to this! This describes me to a certain degree, but my 16 year old daughter is just hopeless: every birthday is a nostalgic event for her. When I was her age, I looked forward to being a bona fide adult and doing adult things, but she is currently mourning her lost youth, lol!
i dont handle change well, i need time. make me one of those pillows when you get to it.
I can relate watching my older sibs leaving home for college and being very sad. Somehow as an adult I’ve become the opposite. I am not very sentimental anymore and can adapt very fast. But it can hurt people’s feelings and I’ve had to adjust some.
My little son is very slow to accept change. I had to spend his first week in preschool with him before he would stay alone. I have to prepare him to leave play time well in advance. My oldest just jumps into new situations with no fear. She hardly says goodbye when I drop her for school.
The best. And smart. And not holding back.
–TheRealPinky
I’ve always loved her, but somehow have been unable to get into Veep. I’m bummed about this.
Anytime I’m feeling down I pull up JLD dancing on Seinfeld and the my world is brighter. She is absolutely brilliant and I adore her.
Love her! So funny and continuously the best part of any show she is on. Which with Veep says something.
The Hilary Clinton story was so fitting. It could have been lifted directly from Veep.
Freaking funny woman and I love her interviews, I think because she’s so matter of fact and bluntly funny.
I haven’t seen Veep and didn’t see this show during its original run but Nick at Night started doing reruns of The New Adventures of Old Christine and I was so tickled by her character and storyline. She was amazing on it.
Keep on keeping on Julia.
I feel bad commenting on her looks after all she’s said but seriously – she looks SO good. I’m in my late 20’s and I’d say she has a better body than most women my age I know. Definitely better than mine!
I love Veep so much, can’t wait for its return. She is amazing on that show, and in pretty much everything else she does.
Soldier Girls. Wonder if they ran that past the real life people? I don’t want to rag on her just for ragging sake–she’s talented and a fighter for what she believes in–but over a decade in the military and multiple rows of awards in, well, let’s just say I never met a female soldier who would have been thrilled by ‘ soldier girls.’
But hey, there are a lot more important issues in the world.