Edie Falco on playing Hillary Clinton in FX’S ‘Impeachment’
Edie Falco plays Hillary Clinton in “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” which explores the 1998 Monica Lewinsky-bill Clinton scandal. But she sees no reason why the former first lady should watch the FX miniseries.
“She doesn’t need to watch the show. She lived it,” Falco says. “I mean, what is she gonna say? ‘Gosh, they really understood.’ (Laughs.) You know what I mean? I’m sure she has better things to do. With all due respect to Ryan (Murphy, an executive producer) and all the hard work that’s been done on this show, I don’t think she’s gonna learn anything about a chapter that she lived through.”
“Impeachment” chronicles the explosive sex scandal through the perspectives of whistleblower Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson) and Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein), the White House intern who was 22 when her relationship began with President Clinton (Clive Owen). After a brief appearance in the miniseries’ premiere last month, Falco’s Hillary finally gets more screen time in this week’s episode (Tuesdays 10 EDT/ PDT), in which Bill warns his wife about the impending media circus and goes on national TV to deny the affair. (The 10-episode run concludes on Nov. 9, and will stream on Netflix next year.)
Falco, 58, is best known for her Emmywinning roles as mob wife Carmela Soprano in HBO’S “The Sopranos” and the pill-popping Jackie Peyton in Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie.” The actress, who currently stars in “Morning Sun” offbroadway, tells USA TODAY about the “terror and excitement” of playing one of politics’ most polarizing figures.
Question: Many people feel very protective of Hillary, particularly since the 2016 election. Did you have any trepidation going into this project?
Edie Falco: Absolutely. I’m one of those people that feels protective of her. I have tremendous respect for her and was not at all interested in doing an imitation. I just thought, “I would really like to honor her inner life,” or at least one interpretation of that, and tell the story of who she was in this whole big event.
Q: Your co-stars Sarah Paulson and Clive Owen wear heavy prosthetics. Was that something the hair and makeup team ever considered for you?
Falco: They did a little bit. But we were dealing with time constraints, just with COVID. At some point, I also thought, “That’s probably not what I’m interested in doing.” I don’t necessarily want (people) to say, “Oh, my gosh, you look just like her!” I feel like that’s missing the point. After the first few minutes of being like, “Oh, she does or doesn’t look like (Hillary),” I’m hoping you get past that and then you’re watching the story. To be honest with you, it’s not my favorite thing playing real people, because people are comparing you.
Q: Have you ever met Hillary?
Falco: I have. I don’t know if she’ll ever speak to me again. It’s hard to justify, on some level, having said “yes” to this. It’s a weird sort of thing, because I do feel protective of her and I can’t imagine what it must have been like to go through these things, period, but also to go through them publicly. I almost felt like, “Everybody else get out of the way, I’m gonna take care of her. I don’t want anyone else to do this.” I’m a bit of a control freak in that way, so I thought, “I would like to give her as much respect and understanding that I can muster as an actress.”
Q: For years after the scandal, a lot of people called Hillary “weak” for standing by her husband. Donald Trump even called her an “enabler.” Did working on this show give you a deeper understanding of Hillary, or why she might’ve stayed with Bill?
Falco: There’s the script and then there’s my own personal feelings about the whole thing. I don’t know, I come from a different world than she does. It seems that her religion is a very big part of her life. I have my own spirituality, but she’s not messing around. I think her religious community gives her tremendous strength and always has. That’s my understanding.
Also, she’s always loved him, and that’s a real thing. I think she really took (their) vows very seriously. She made a vow to be with this man ‘til death do they part. This is my estimation, I could be totally dead wrong. But I think those all added up to (something) – it made sense for her to stay with him. And as far as what Donald Trump said, please. I can’t. That’s all I have to say about that. Wasted airspace.
Q: Given your work with James Gandolfini on “The Sopranos,” is it surreal watching his son, Michael, play Tony Soprano in “The Many Saints of Newark?”
Falco: It’s really remarkable. To me, they feel very different as people. But Michael, he really gets it. He got the voice, the face and the mannerisms. I think Jim would be freaking out right now if he saw this performance. Beyond thrilled.
Q: Do you have a favorite memory of James bringing Michael to the “Sopranos” set?
Falco: I remember when Jim told me that (his first wife Marcy Wudarski) was pregnant. He was like, “Oh, my God, I’m gonna be a father!” Then Michael was born and I watched this little kid on set. There was one memory I have in particular: Michael was teeny, and we were all in the hair and makeup trailer. Jim asked the hair person, “Would you mind just giving him a quick haircut?” And Jim sat down in the chair and put Michael on his lap. And Michael was not into it. He was screaming and Jim was trying to calm him down. It was very sweet and very Jim. Everybody has their memories of their kids’ first haircut. I just happened to be present for his.