Chloe Sevigny has certainly made her mark on Hollywood, from controversial turns in Boys Don't Cry and The Brown Bunny to her continuing role as polygamist wife Nicolette on HBO's Big Love. One thing she hasn't done much of is straight-up comedy, an oversight she is looking to correct with her role in Barry Munday. Sevigny appears as Jennifer Farley, the overly flirty, golden-child sister to Judy Greer's Ginger. While she only spent a week or so shooting her part, Sevigny gives it her all, playing under-the-table footsie with Patrick Wilson's Barry during an awkward family dinner, working a stripper pole as a dancer who may or may not be Jennifer, and selling the affection for Ginger that hides underneath their continuous sniping and name-calling. During the Barry Munday press junket at SXSW, Chloe sat down with us to talk about the challenges of making your mark with a little screen time, the differences between feature and series work, and why Judy Greer should star in every Hollywood movie.
Your role of Jennifer seems like it would be a lot of fun to play. Is that what originally attracted you to the part or was there more to it?
I was just attracted to the project overall, and to the idea of working with Judy Greer, because I've been a big fan of hers since Jawbreaker. [Director] Chris [D'Arienzo] and his ideas of how he wanted to shoot the film, just the overall project, I was more attracted to that than the actual character. The character was fun. I've never been in a comedy before, so that really appealed to me. And I'm playing this kind of saucy girl who I think really loves Ginger, but she's envious of Judy's attention from Patrick's character. I don't think she'd act on her fantasies, I just think she wants to know that he desires her.
I like that they played the teasing nature of the sisters' relationship without just making you the default "evil sister."
Yeah, it seems a bit more real.
Was there any particular scene or moment in the script that really attracted you or that you were excited to play?
The dance sequence. [laughs] That I knew would be a challenge.
How did you approach the character once you'd decided to take the role?
I mean, she's a supporting character, a small part in the film, but I just tried to figure out what her relationship with the other people was in the film, with her father and with Judy's character. You just have fun with it and try to react how you think the character would react to the scenes.
How much freedom did you guys have as far as ad-libbing? Was it pretty straight off the script?
It was pretty straight. I think Patrick and Judy did a lot of that, but for most of us it was pretty straight off the script. Most of it was shot with pretty static wide shots, and it was pretty true.
Was there anything in the film or your performance that you thought worked better than you had anticipated?
Oh, I thought everything was terrible. I thought I was terrible. [laughs] I feel like I could have been bigger, I could have been broader. I tend to, in film, kind of play things smaller.
I thought that worked, though. Even when you were playing the broader moments, you still had the more subtle stuff going on as well.
I was really nervous, and I wish I had been more confident. When I watch my performance I can see I'm holding back. I wish I had been more at ease. I've been shooting Big Love for so long, this is the first film I've done in a while, so I was getting out of that comfort zone and I feel like I was a little shook up.
Yeah, it's definitely a stretch from Big Love. What have you picked up from working on that show that you were able to apply to this role?
I think it's given me more confidence in my comedic abilities. I feel like I've been stretched more as an actor on Big Love, and I feel like I have more confidence in general.
Do you think you'll want to do more series work after Big Love wraps up?
No, it's too grueling. If we shot in New York I wouldn't be opposed to it, but we shoot in Los Angeles, and I live in New York. It's really hard to be uprooted for six months, and I miss home a lot. I'd prefer to go back to film.
How is it different preparing for a series role that's day in, day out, as opposed to something like this where you have so little time involved?
I think it's just a lot more pressure to make the scenes work when you're doing a film, because when you're doing a series you feel like, I have so many scenes, so many episodes, so if I don't get it exactly right this time, I have another scene later. You feel less pressure. And of course I've been playing the character for so long, I feel very comfortable. There's so much to feed on and so much backstory and so much true-life experience to draw upon from other people's eyes. There's just so much information about the character and the people who live these lifestyles, so much to draw on. I find it much more difficult to play a supporting part like in this film. It's much more of a challenge to portray and to feel like you're bringing something.
When you're doing something small like this, what is your goal as an actor? Is it just to give the best possible performance in the time you have or do you have other little things you want to accomplish?
Maybe I should have pushed harder [laughs]. No, I just sort of do the best that I can to hopefully not disappoint the director and bring a certain something to the film, whatever it might be.
Since you haven't done much comedy in the past, is that something you'll actively pursue now, or something you've pursued in the past and it just hasn't panned out?
I audition for them all the time. I just haven't had the right project that's clicked yet. We'll see, maybe after this people will think of me.
What did you pick up or learn from this project?
I guess I learned just to try to relax and enjoy it more. I think I sometimes get too worked up over little things, and just to try to have more fun with the performances, especially in films like this.
You mentioned you were excited to work with Judy. What was that experience like?
We had a lot of fun. The more memorable moments have to be more private because we don't want to expose things about each other [laughs]. She was very tender, she was very sweet to me. I just think she's a great actress, and she should star in every Hollywood movie.
