USA TODAY International Edition
JUDY GREER IS SUMMER'S BEST SUPPORTING STAR
If you’ve gone to the movies this summer, you’ve probably seen Judy Greer.
The actress, who has made a name for herself as the rom- com best friend ( 27 Dresses) and unhinged secretary ( Archer) in dozens of films and TV shows, has roles in five movies this season, in addition to starring in FX’s Married ( Thursdays, 10: 30 p. m. ET/ PT).
“It’s been really busy. I’m trying to really enjoy it,” says Greer, 40. After appearing in a slew of low- budget features, “I said to my agent, ‘ I kind of want to try doing some big- budget movies. I know it’s hard to get in those, but I want to see what that side of things is like.’ I’ve more than accomplished that goal this summer — I’ve been very lucky.”
ANT- MAN ( now showing)
As Maggie, the ex- wife of thief-turned- superhero Scott Lang ( Paul Rudd), Greer pops in and out of Marvel’s latest until the end of the movie, when Ant- Man and Yellowjacket ( Corey Stoll) wreak havoc on her home. Tasked with reacting to a supersized ant crawling down the stairs and a life- size Thomas the Tank Engine crashing through the roof, “some of the stuff was really there, like the train, so that definitely made it easier,” Greer says. “They did bring in a golden retriever to be the ant for a couple of scenes, which was pretty funny.”
JURASSIC WORLD
Despite appearing in a roughand- tumble dino bonanza, Greer’s character Karen never steps into harm’s way. In fact, after leaving her two sons in the care of her sister, park operations manager Claire ( Bryce Dallas Howard), she isn’t seen for most of the movie, which the actress really doesn’t mind. “I was more sad that I missed shooting in Hawaii, which is kind of my new work goal.”
When she told her friends about the role, “everyone was like, ‘ Are you playing a dinosaur?’ And I was like, ‘ No, I’m actually playing a person.’ And they were like, ‘ Cool, so do you get eaten by a dinosaur?’ And I’m like, ‘ I can’t tell you!’ But people were like, ‘ You do! You do!’ I couldn’t even really say no.”
ENTOURAGE
In the big- screen adaptation of the long- running bro comedy, which followed a movie star ( Adrian Grenier) and his pals for eight seasons on HBO, Greer appears in a brief scene as a casting director who shoots down Johnny “Drama” Chase ( Kevin Dillon) at an audition. The cameo was more or less an excuse for Greer to reunite with the film’s director, Doug Ellin, who gave her her first acting job out of college in 1998 comedy Kissing a Fool with David Schwimmer.
“He was like, ‘ Can you just come and do this thing for half a day? We’ll get you in and out in a couple hours,’ ” in time to get to another shoot Greer had that afternoon. “It was just really fun to see him after all these years. He got this whole ball rolling, and I was just like, ‘ Look! You made a really good choice! I’m working, you were right.’ ”
GRANDMA ( opens Aug. 21 in New York and Los Angeles)
In this upcoming dramatic comedy, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Greer plays the much younger girlfriend of Lily Tomlin’s tart- tongued lesbian poet. Now up for an Emmy Award for Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, Tomlin “has more energy than all of us put together,” Greer says. “She’s relentless in her drive for perfection and I just really appreciate that work ethic, because sometimes, I should have more of that.” Plus, “she got the best taco trucks for the crew I’ve ever had in my life one night, when we were shooting really late.”
And at 75, Tomlin smooches better than the rest of them. “It was awesome!” Greer says. “My favorite onscreen kiss that I’ve had so far, definitely.”
TOMORROWLAND
In a blink- or- you’ll- miss- it cameo, Greer plays the mom of a rebellious teen ( Britt Robertson, only 15 years her junior) who teams up with an inventor in Disney’s underperforming themepark adaptation. Although she shot for a couple weeks in Vancouver, “my role was never really that large, but they cut most of it,” Greer says. Luckily, the studio called ahead of time and told her, “which was really nice, because I’ve heard horror stories of when they don’t and ( you find out) after going to the premiere.”
But that didn’t stop her mom from driving an hour and a half to see the movie anyway. “I’m such a jerk,” Greer says. “She was like, ‘ Honey! You were great!’ And I was like, ‘ Oh, Mom, I forgot to tell you they cut me out of it!’ Worst daughter ever!”