JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS
The queen of comedy talks politics and how things have changed since Seinfeld.
From Seinfeld’s sassy Elaine to nasty – yet strangely likeable – Vice-President Selina Meyer, America’s favourite female comic has racked up more TV acting awards than any actress in history. Back in the spotlight after a battle with breast cancer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus talks modern-day politics, being a role model and why Veep had to end.
With the much-awaited final season of Veep – about unlikeable, narcissistic and inadvertently hilarious VicePresident Selina Meyer – upon us, Julia Louis-Dreyfus admits she’s not ready to say goodbye. And after seven years of her alter ego running amok in the White House, she can’t even begin to name her favourite things about the multi-award-winning show and character.
“Oh, God, I’m going to miss everything about her,” Louis-Dreyfus groans.
It’s been quite a trajectory for Meyer, whose spectacular political rise (and fall) as VP of the United States has survived such career stumbles as government shutdowns, espionage, collusion, missing ballots and embarrassing scandals. All things considered, the elements that make up her political portfolio sound rather too familiar.
“When we started, we thought we were making a comedy show. It turned out to be a sobering documentary,” Louis-Dreyfus, 58, admits. And she’s not alone in her assessment. Even Obama aides have cited Veep as the most realistic portrayal of the White House, surpassing other widely-lauded depictions including The West Wing.
“It feels like certainly in the US Government, at least with the current administration, it seems to be competing with us or even doing a better version of our show than we actually are.” Louis-Dreyfus leans forward. “You know I’m kidding, right? But I know you know what I mean.”
Indeed. HBO’s (not-so) outlandish comedy, created by Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, The Death of Stalin) was intended to shock its audience. But as it’s turned out, President Trump’s fondness
for hyperbolic quotes and tweets has continually raised (or lowered, depending on your perspective) the bar for Veep’s writing team.
“Yes. The envelope-pushing that we’re doing is definitely fuelled by [events happening] today. That doesn’t mean we’re doing any kind of parody, but there is a kind of outrageousness that’s in place that maybe might not have been six or seven years ago.”
Although Meyer was deposed after her one-year run as president (at the end of Season 5), given the current socio-political climate with the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, did Louis-Dreyfus take any comfort in the knowledge that she was at least usurped by a woman, Laura Montez (Andrea Savage)?
Louis-Dreyfus scoffs at the suggestion. “Knowing Selina, she’s so vain, she probably doesn’t like the idea of more women coming onto the field,” she laughs.
With Meyer now back in the political game and running again for the top job at the White House in the show’s final season, does the woman behind the character think she’s learned any life lessons or gained any perspective – especially having spent some time away from political life?
She laughs. “I would say enlightenment is not Selina Meyers’ game. I would say the opposite is true. She’s definitely truer to herself and her sort of core sense of self, but that doesn’t include enlightenment. So yeah, I would say her time out of politics has made her that much more voracious as a politician.”
Louis-Dreyfus could also be described as a political animal due to her extremely vocal support of the Democratic Party – notably Al Gore’s 2000 presidential bid. She also endorsed Obama, in 2008, and Hillary Clinton, in 2016. She later denounced President Trump’s Muslim travel ban as being
“We thought we were making a comedy show. It turned out to be a sobering documentary.”
“un-American”, and said, “My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France.” She has also made no bones about her contempt for the 45th president, calling him “a complete moron. Start to finish.”
Presumably, her on-screen life in politics has afforded her greater political savviness off-screen?
“I think it has,” she concurs. “I can’t specifically say how it has enlightened me but I’ve met a lot of politicians now. I have spent a lot of time in [Washington] DC, and so I think I have more of an inside track to politics, to a certain extent.”
LIFE OFF THE SCREEN
Along with the milestones we have witnessed Meyer cross on the show, Louis-Dreyfus has also endured two years of life-altering events.
Her father died in 2016. And then in 2017, the day after she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Veep, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now in remission and has completed treatment.
We’re chatting on-set in the Austrian alps, where she is shooting the comedy-drama Downhill alongside Will Ferrell – a remake of the 2014 Swedish film, Force Majeure. Though she’s wearing two hats – as star and producer – Louis-Dreyfus looks the picture of health.
“Well, I have my energy back,” she smiles, touching wood. “I am knocking on wood because I am superstitious, but I’m doing really well and I got through it.”
Naturally, one’s perspective shifts dramatically after such a health scare. “It’s absolutely changed my outlook and it’s a shock to the system,” she nods, slowly. “Things are clearer to me now. Working on Veep, and now Downhill, it gives me a lot of joy, just in the making of it. I did cherish it before – but I’m keenly aware of mortality, as I’m sure many people are. You realise after something like this, that whatever your goals and desires, you should really just go for [them].”
Has she had to make life changes since her diagnosis?
“Well, actually, I’ve always been a healthy eater and I’ve always been an exerciser, but now I’m even more so. I am kind of hyper-vigilant about it – getting a certain amount of exercise in for certain every week, and I’m trying to eat as clean a diet as I possibly can.” She leans forward. “I mean, within moderation.” Pausing for a moment,
“I’m keenly aware of mortality. You realise after something like this, that whatever your goals and desires, you should really just gofor them.”
she adds, “Look, there’s nothing funny about it for sure, but there’s plenty of laughter that’s gotten me through these incredibly shitty times.”
Louis-Dreyfus was born in 1961 in New York City. Her parents divorced before her first birthday and she was raised in Washington with her mother and her step-father.
She earned a degree from Northwestern University (where she met future husband, Brad Hill) before joining Chicago’s famed theatre group, The Second City. She then went on to trailblaze for other comediennes when she joined Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1982. At 21, she was the youngest ever female performer to be hired on the male-centric show, and was promptly asked to straighten her hair so she’d appear “more attractive”.
After a three-year run on SNL, she left the show to star in various movies, including Hannah and her Sisters (1986) and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), before she landed the role that would change her life – Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes, whom she played for a nine-season run from 1989.
THE QUEEN OF COMEDY
Impressively, Louis-Dreyfus has received more Emmy and Screen Actors Guild awards than any other actress in television history (primarily for Seinfeld and Veep), and she is often cited as a role model by other comediennes and actresses. In fact, Tina Fey insists that Liz Lemon – her character on the hit comedy series 30 Rock – was inspired by Louis-Dreyfus.
Louis-Dreyfus smiles. “I hope I’m a role model,” she says. “I think there has been a significant change since I was on Seinfeld, back in the day, and certainly since I was on SNL. So I think that opportunity has gotten wider for women in television to play strong comedic roles that aren’t based on a relationship to a male character. There are many more examples of really fine actresses out there doing excellent comedy right now.”
So, what’s on the play list in this reigning queen of comedy’s living room?
“Oh gosh, well, let’s see. I’m a big fan of Broad City. I have just started watching that Natasha Lyonne show Russian Doll, which I’m getting a kick out of. Forgive me, my brain is like fizzling out and I can’t think of what I’m watching!” She taps her head with her fist. “I don’t really watch stand-up. I have friends who are stand-ups but that was never something I did, though I certainly have respect for the women who do it.” She shakes her head. “Talk about a tough universe.”
It’s natural to feel a false sense of familiarity when interviewing an actress like Louis-Dreyfus – simply because of the hours she has spent in our living rooms. Even more so if they’ve become a reliable source of laughter. Happily, Louis-Dreyfus doesn’t disappoint in person – she is warm, whip-smart, and naturally funny. We discuss the age-old debate of whether comedic skill is an innate quality one is born with or whether it can be developed.
“I think it’s both. I think it’s like having an ear for music – but that doesn’t necessarily make you a great musician. You have to work on your skills, but I think there is something innate where you have to be able to hear timing and hear beats and pauses and so on and so forth. There’s much more to it than that, but I liken it to music,” she says. “For me, I think I’m better at it now than I was 10 years ago and that’s just because I have 10 more years of experience of working at making whatever it is I’m doing funnier and elevating it in some way.”
Married to actor, comedian, director and writer Hall since 1987, she shares two sons with him: Henry, 26, and Charles, 21. Who has the title of president in her family? She laughs loudly. “I think that we’re a family of co-presidents.” She smiles. “Is that a good diplomatic answer?”
As a working mother, how has she juggled all the responsibilities that accompany the title?
“Well, it’s important to know that you’re going to screw up across the board and that that’s completely okay. Working women who are raising children at the same time often feel they’re up against it because they think they have to get an A-plus all the time and get everything done perfectly. But we’re human and we just have to do the best we can. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
As our interview comes to a close, I ask about the last day on the Veep set. Were there tears? Was there cake?
She laughs. “There was cake! There were tears!” She gazes into the distance. “I’m not bullshitting when I say that we’ve all had such an amazing ride together. I have an enormous amount of love for all these people with whom I work. There was a lot we lived through as a big group – people had babies on the show, people had family members pass away, people got ill, myself included.
“As every day passed and each character had their final scene, there was an ongoing celebration, and a lot of sadness too. People were making toasts and speeches, and when I did my final scene, it was insane. We had 200 people on the sound stage.”
Clearly, shooting the last season was very emotional. “Frankly, I was caught off-guard by the emotion of it – not because I didn’t think I’d be emotional, but I was pretty undone by it.” She shrugs. “I’m going to miss all of it. Selina Meyer was a role of a lifetime, no doubt about it – and certainly, that’s not lost on me. It’s very bittersweet.”