“We lose ourselves at times in these parts for a good reason. If a character is not taking up more space in me than my friends or something I’m reading or watching then something is wrong. That has to occupy the most amount of space in my body and my mind and my emotions. It’s a total immersion. Acting has very little to do with the head. It’s 90% your heart. If it’s not there, you’re going to fail.”
-Patricia Clarkson, episode 423 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
After nearly four decades of working in Hollywood, actor Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent, Pieces of April) says her portrayal of women’s rights activist Lilly Ledbetter is “the greatest privilege” in her storied career.
We sat with the legendary actress as part of this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival to discuss her powerful turn in Lilly (4:10), her colorful New Orleans upbringing (10:17), and the educator who first recognized Patricia’s talent (13:25). Then, she reflects on her life-changing move from Louisiana to New York City (18:40), years of training at the Yale School of Drama (22:08), and her early film roles opposite Kevin Costner in The Untouchables and Clint Eastwood in The Dead Pool (26:21).
On the back-half, we discuss her transformation in the groundbreaking 1998 film High Art (28:08), her process of “total immersion” on set (33:26), and how that commitment led to a call from director Martin Scorsese and a pivotal part in Shutter Island (39:33). To close, we talk through Patricia’s raucous role in Easy A (40:50), her ongoing fight for equal pay in Hollywood (42:30), and her lifelong love of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (52:30).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
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Show-notes:
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- See Patricia Clarkson as trailblazing activist Lilly Ledbetter in the new film Lilly.
- Watch her previous work in Sharp Objects, Easy A, Shutter Island, Good Night, and Good Luck, The Station Agent, Six Feet Under, High Art, The Dead Pool, and The Untouchables.
- Learn more about the Aspen Ideas Festival.
- For more talks, hear Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Hanks.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
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Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Reference photograph by Elisabeth Caren.
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