Four decades into her career, the Oscar nominee turnedChuckyicon is bringing her cunning stardom toHousewives.
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Our first conversation takes place just after the third season ofChuckyfinished airing on Syfy in May.
(Our second takes place in betweenHousewivesshoots the next month.)
But it wasnt love at first.
She thought the nomination would be followed by a wave of prestigious opportunities that never arrived.
She auditioned for Wayne WangsThe Joy Luck Clubbut didnt get cast.
I would love to be Frances McDormand.
Meanwhile,Chuckyand Tiffany persist.
What was your first impression of Hollywood?I always wanted to be a movie or TV actress.
I want to sell out.
I was like, Whats the point of doing theater when its 300 people a night?
When you do something in television and film, people all over the world can see you.
I came out to L.A. right after I got my drivers license.
My dad sold me a car for $400.
It was this broken-down Mustang.
The first thing that I did wasVanities, and I got a Drama-Logue Award for that.
I was like, Wow, Hollywood, its an open book for me.
It took me about four years to get an agent.
He sent me to all these auditions.
I started getting parts.
But I always said, Im not the girl next door.
Im the girl next door to the girl next door.
I asked him, What did they say?
How did they describe me?
He said, Well, Sean said you look just like Meg, except you have coarser features.
I was like, Thats me.
I have coarse features.
Because when we were growing up, we were very, very poor, and my parents were hippies.
Meanwhile, we could only take a bath once a week.
I didnt even realize until I went to college that people showered once a day.
My roommate was going down for a shower, and I was like, Again?
Didnt you just shower yesterday?
But I never really thought that I could be the leading lady.
I said to my manager, Its comedy.
They want a comedian in the female part.
They said, No.
Its knowing how long a beat to wait before you say your next line.
If the comedian says his line really big, its like an opera.
If you have the basso profondo, then you need the piccolo.
If his line is really big, then you gotta wait three-and-a-half beats, then come in small.
To me, its a thing that you either have or you dont have a comedic sense.
You mentioned that things got a little easier after you got an agent.
If somebody said, Jennifer, dont worry.
It was always a struggle.
One role never led to another role.
I am sure youve read that I fought tooth and nail against doingChucky.
I was coming off ofBullets Over Broadway, but the pickings were slim.
My manager wanted me to doChucky.
He called me up and he goes, Jennifer, you got an offer.
Its a major motion picture.
I was like, Really?
Im not doing aChuckymovie.
I cant even believe youre coming to me with aChuckymovie.
I was in the middle of my career.
I was hoping I could parlay my Oscar nomination into something a little more elevated than aChuckymovie.
But thank God I took it, because talk about career longevity.
That was 27 years ago.
Ive done four movies, three seasons ofChucky.
Don Manciniis the greatest writer ever.
Now, its funny that people really identify with Tiffany.
Ronny Yu directed a movie calledThe Bride With White Hair, which is considered a Hong Kong classic.
So, all these elements were very intriguing to me.
Then my friend Gina Gershon said to me, Jennifer, you should do it.
Youll have a franchise.
Every actor wants a franchise.
Theres not going to be any sequels.
I did not understand that Chucky always comes back.
Then we hadSeed of Chucky.
Don and I would get together every week and think of mean things that Jennifer Tilly could do.
We decided that Tillys career is on the decline and she thinks its slumming to do aChuckymovie.
Shes always complaining, Im an Oscar-nominated actress, and now Im fucking a puppet.
Like I could have been Julia Roberts.
I was never competitive with Julia Roberts.
Then Don turned in the script, and the studio rejected it.
And Don goes, You mean likeI Know What You Did Last Summer?
Theyre like, Exactly, yes.
So we had to take out a lot of the mean stuff.
Oh my God, turn on channel nine.
She feels like this is going to help her career.
The studio goes, That makes you look so awful, Jennifer.
A man has died after all.
People talk aboutBullets Over Broadwayas your first big role, but youd doneThe Fabulous Baker Boysbefore that.
Thats when I started getting a little bit of attention.
But definitely,Fabulous Baker Boyswas a breakout role for me.
My agent submitted me for the Michelle Pfeiffer part, which I thought was incredibly ambitious of him.
And then Steve Kloves said hed seen me in a play and wrote a part for me.
And shes blissfully unaware of her supreme lack of talent.
Sprinkle it with dew acting out the words.
She does not hear how tone-deaf she is.
That was the first movie I did with Jeff Bridges.
Hes very beloved in the film community because hes just such a great guy.
That kind of stuff is usually middling actors or soap-opera actors.
The people who cause the most trouble are people who are very insecure about their place in the world.
Then theres people like Daniel Day-Lewis, who have their own method.
People that are like,I have to live this life.Everybody has to call me by my characters name.
Even when Im at craft service helping myself to a gummy beer.With Jeff Bridges, its not that hard.
He knows how to act when they say action.
Im not impugning either method.
Everybody has things that they need to do.
You famously launched your own Oscar campaign forBullets.
You took out ads in Variety.
Did your agents and friends support your decision to do this?I was always a hustler.
When I didThe Fabulous Baker Boys, I was already nominally famous.
The paparazzi all knew me.
Maybe somebody wants to ask about my skin-care regime.
I was always doing that to have a go at get my name out there.
Dianne Wiest is obviously the lead in the movie.
She had twice as many lines as me.
Shes a romantic interest.
But this is what I did not know: They did not submit me for a Golden Globe.
You have to be submitted to get nominated.
Back then, Jay Leno loved me because I was really good on talk shows.
And I was really smugly going,She does now.
And so yes, I got nominated.
I called up my publicist after and I go, I got nominated for an Oscar.
She goes, Jennifer, are you sure?
Miramax was not happy.
I got flowers from everybody.
I didnt get any flowers from Harvey Weinstein or Miramax.
They were upset because they thought I was going to split the vote.
Now I think of it, I guess it was a blessing in disguise.
Did you know the Wachowskis before you got cast inBound?I did not know them.
It was after I didBullets Over Broadwayand they really, really wanted me.
I went in and I read for the role of Corky.
The role of Violet was … who was that actress?
Was it Linda Hamilton?
I heard that she was considered for the role of Violet before you.Linda Hamilton.
I was like,Oh my God!
I did not want to play Violet.
I kept going in and reading for Corky, and they were like, We want Jennifer for Violet.
My manager finally goes, They found this girl Gina Gershon.
They said they like her better for Corky, but shes willing to play Corky or Violet.
Will you meet her?
But I dressed as Corky-ish as I could jeans, torn T-shirt, my hair all Corkyd out.
I was sitting with the Wachowskis and she came in and said, I already got my ears pierced.
(Corky had six piercings in her ears.)
And I was like, Nobody told Ms. Gina Gershon that she was going to be playing Violet?
The next morning the Wachowskis knew it was over.
Violet is the better part.
And Violetwaslike a slow-moving shark.
When I thought of her, I thought of her as submerged.
You see the tip of the iceberg, but most of the iceberg is underwater.
After I finally took the part, they didnt let me improvise at all, which is my go-to.
If theres an empty space, Im afraid of empty spaces.
But I realized later, it was because everything Violet says is for effect.
And the Wachowskis go, Well, Joey never knew his lines.
He had to say something.
The story was about them.
They werent the decoration.
They werent the girl who shows up in a bikini or needs to be rescued.
I think it turned the needle a little bit, because them being gay wasnt even a plot point.
It was two people who were in love who happened to be women.
YourBoundco-starspopped up inChuckys second season, which was a lot of fun.
Did you bring the idea to Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano, or ?Don was obsessed withBound.
Even inSeed of Chucky, he puts in some lines about Gina Gershon.
But, I think they just really loved the script.
Don wrote all that.
He had the idea to bring inmy sister, too.
I really do believe that that helped with the renaissance ofBound.
Gina was working on the Archie television series.
She goes, There are two girls who play a lesbian couple onRiverdale, and theyve never heard ofBound.
We thought all lesbians had heard ofBound.
She goes, Bound, its disappeared.
We have to do something.
And after that episode ofChucky, then it started showing up on Netflix and the other streaming services.
I really dont like you.
And I said, Gee, man.
… And Tommy Lee Jones said, I cannot sanction your buffoonery.That is great.
Im a funny person; I love improv.
I think he got anominationwhen he did his serious part.
But there are lots and lots of actors who can do serious acting; anybody can cry.
To be a brilliant comedian like Jim Carrey is a gift.
So, he was like a racehorse.
You know the racehorses theyre pampered and high-strung.
He was at the top of his game.
He had just come off of huge hits likeThe MaskandAce Ventura: Pet Detective.
I remember he had a gym on the set that was bigger than pretty much everybodys trailer.
The movie revolved around Jim Carrey.
This is why I think sometimes people have problems with him.
I had no problems.
I was so grateful and happy to be in a Jim Carrey movie.
Were all brilliant cogs in the Jim Carrey machine.
They offered me one quarter of what I normally would get on an independent film.
When my agent told me what the offer was, I was like, What?
I wanted to do a major motion picture where they have a big budget.
And he said, Well, you want to be in the Jim Carrey movie, dont you?
On set, he could improvise, but you could never improvise back.
If you say, Hey, did you go to the store and get some milk?
You have to say, Yes.
But, what about the milk?
You have to just get back to the script as soon as possible.
And he would do so many takes.
In the first few takes he didnt know what he was doing.
He couldnt find his melody.
Then about the seventh take, he would be brilliant and everybody would be laughing.
Id be like, Great.
But hes just getting started.
Then he adds curly cues.
He gets very baroque and grand and pretty soon hes slamming the toilet seat on his head.
Thats why I say hes a comedic genius.
Nobody would ever think to do it.
Its almost compulsive with him.
The first day I shot, he goes, Jennifer?
When I leave the room, squeeze my butt!
I was like, Oh.
Im feeling really nervous, squeezing the $18 million butt.
He goes, Yes.
So, as hes walking out of one scene, I squeeze his butt.
And then at the end of the movie, my character loses the case.
In the script, she just goes, Ha!
and grabs the kids and leaves.
So, he was very generous in that way.
And it was maybe thebiggest hit that I was ever in.
Thats because they knew where the money shot was, and it was Jim.
And it was important that Jim felt comfortable and was allowed to do the things that he wanted.
I want to ask about your late-night appearances.
I rewatched quite a few before this interview, and youre dynamite on a late-night show.
Do you remember this?This is a really strange thing.
I was on Carson a bunch of times.
Hes a master of understated comedy, and he loved me.
My husband at the time, Sam Simon, he didnt like me going on Carson.
But Johnny loved working with me because he understood my character.
And he would always get a laugh.
So he was always calling and wanting me to be on the show.
Anytime anybody would drop out, Johnny Carson would call, about once every three weeks.
But Sam said, You dont want to be that person whos always on talk shows.
He was like, Youre a serious actress.
So I would always say to Johnny, Well, Ill come on when I have something to promote.
It was my first experience with the dark side of Johnny Carson.
I was the last guest because I wasnt famous.
So first this one actor came on John Larroquette fromNight Court.
And it was kind of not great.
Then Johnny had a magician that came out, who was trying to do tricks but that also tanked.
By the time I came out, Johnny was in such a bad mood.
I said, What do you think she pulled out?
The old Johnny Carson, he can say anything a golf club, a watermelon.
And he looked at me, like, he goes, I have no idea.
I felt like I jumped out of a plane and my parachute wasnt opening.
Johnny was very unhappy.
He was like, Why did she wear that outfit?
Her outfit threw me, shes wearing underwear on my show.
I go, What?
Shes so weird and crazy.They loved me.
Id never experienced the not-there, angry Johnny Carson, and I didnt want to come back.
I said, Oh, Ill come back later when I have something to promote.
And then all of a sudden it was announced he was going off the air.
Maybe thats why he was in a bad mood maybe he knew that already.
You do talk about your voice in that Carson appearance.
How do you feel it has helped or hurt your career?
But Im razor-sharp smart.
I try not to do self-deprecating humor anymore.
I dont think its super appealing when you get older.
When I look back on old footage of how I talk, its almost like removing myself from myself.
I felt like when I came up with a character, a voice would come out.
I remember the first day of shootingThe Getaway, and I was kind of nervous.
We did a scene, then director Roger Donaldson goes, Okay, everybody clear out except Jennifer.
Everyone take a 10-minute break.
And I was like,Oh, what is this?
This is not good.
He sat down and went, Cant you talk in your normal voice?
You know, the voice that you were talking in before you started acting.
I was about to cry because at that point I could not act in my normal voice.
I did not get fired, but it really rattled me.
I know its not politically correct to say that.
Woody Allen loved for me to improvise.
He loved when things went wrong because he likes life to happen before your eyes.
He always finished at seven oclock at night.
The crew goes, Oh, because he always wants to go and watch the Knicks.
And he puts together the best actors.
I think the greatest directors really dont tell the actors what to do.
They put together the actors, and they assume the actor knows how to act.
Sometimes hed say, Lets do it again.
And everyone will be like, Oh, do you want it faster or louder or whatever?
He just wanted to see if something different would happen.
I loved working withPeter Bogdanovich.
He loves when people are talking at the same time and improvising.
I worked withBob Altmanon a television series.
I remember the crew was complaining because he micd everybody, even the extras.
He wanted people to really be talking.
I love that way of working.
I loved working with the Wachowskis, too, because they were so meticulous and planned out.
Thats when we realized the script was so meticulously constructed it was like a house of cards.
I almost got that.
Oh, there was one that I really wanted!
It wasThe Joy Luck Club.
I went in, and I auditioned.
I got very close to it.
My manager called me, and he said, Wayne Wang wants to talk to you.
I start crying, and he goes, Why are you crying?
Because I knew I didnt get it.
Because why does he want to talk to me?
I knew he never would, and he didnt.
Who would you want to work with now?
Weve seen a resurgence for Jennifer Coolidge, thanks to Mike WhitesWhite Lotus, and Jean Smart withHacks.
Are these the kind of opportunities you would still want as an actor?Yes, absolutely.
Coolidge, we didThe Womentogether.
Shes hysterical and I love that shes getting all these accolades.
So many of my fans, so many people have said that I should doThe White Lotus.
Its a weird kind of thing.
And he went outside to have a smoke, then he couldnt get back in.
He was going around and around the building, and they wouldnt let him in.
Thats kind of what I feel like.
I know that Russell Croweonce said, Oh, there are lots of parts for older women.
They just dont want to play older women.
Its like, Russell Crowe, get off your high horse.
In a movie, therell be 37 parts for men and three parts for women.
I would love to be Frances McDormand.
Id love to have her career.
And shes basically the same age as me.
I would love to play Dame Judi Dench parts.
Helen Mirren, I would love to play her parts.
Hollywood is so disrespectful.
I thought,I just dont enjoy this.
I dont want to do any more auditions.
Once people retire, they sort of disappear really fast because they feel like theyre not useful anymore.
I think one of the most important things is to have things that you feel are important.
So I know youve been filmingThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
But I think I can say something without giving away any plotlines or anything.
Only theReal Housewives of Beverly Hills, though.
So its not like youre at the fanciest places in Beverly Hills, arguing.
But I never thought Id be onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
To me, its like working with Martin Scorsese.
To me, being on Housewives is experiencing zero gravity.
Theyve been asking me if I want to be on the show, and Ive always said No.
This year, I sort of thought,I just want to do everything different.
Im trying to take on challenges.
And were like, What are we going to create with these Lego blocks?
They can do anything.
They can make you the girl next door.
They can make you the villain.
They can make you the cranky one.
They can make you the patient one.
It depends on what they want to show, whats going to make the story.
Its just sort of like they just wade in there, and they go at it.
I like all the Housewives.
I appreciate what they do.
Im just going to say its really challenging.
But I once had a dream of a little girl.
I was swatting them down.
I was like, Out of my way.
Im late for the Oscars.
My babies have been my movies.
And Im starring on a television series thats really widely lauded.
Most franchises would say Tiffanys getting a little long in the tooth.
Lets bring in some younger people.
They did bring in a young Tiffany.
She was a wonderful actress, but its sort of like when they decided to do the reboot ofChucky.
It was a really good movie.
Even Don Mancini said, You know, its a great movie.
We were all like, Oh, were going to become extraneous.
But the fans were like, Well, thats not really Tiffany.
So theres not going to be more younger Tiffanys.
I have no complaints.
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