Julia Louis-Dreyfus Spreads Her Dramatic Wings

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is used to making people laugh. From Saturday Night Live to Seinfeld and Veep, the 63-year-old actor is best known for delivering dry one-liners and punchlines. But this year, she stepped into a very different role for Tuesday, Daina Oniunas-Pusić’s fantasy drama. In the film, Dreyfus plays Zora, a mother confronting the inevitable loss of her terminally ill 15-year-old daughter, Tuesday, played by Lola Petticrew. When Death, in the form of a macaw, visits Tuesday’s bedside, Zora must battle the exotic bird in order to keep her daughter alive. Here, Louis-Dreyfus talks about channeling loss and stepping into a magically surreal world.

Tuesday is definitely not a comedy. This would seem like a very unusual script to send to you, given your comedic background.

I did think, Why me? But I’m really grateful it was me, because it was an opportunity to do something completely outside my comfort zone. It was a very serious subject, although it has humor baked into it. The Eastern European fairy-tale quality of the script was very appealing. The thing that grabbed my heart was—spoiler alert!—the fact that the mother that I play would do anything to keep Death away, including eating Death. I love the symbolism of that.

Because you’re a fighter?

Yes, I am a fighter and I’m a mother.

Tonally, it must have felt like such a departure.

The tone was a challenge. I certainly made a lot of jokes between takes. But there’s an emotional investment that has to be in place. In my own life, I’ve had people very close to me die. I had to tap into all of that. There had to be a true dramatic authenticity while I was talking to this enormous bird. It was wacko.

What was it like having a bird as a scene partner?

The Bird of Death is played by Arinzé Kene. He is magnificent. He was on set with us when we were working, and he did a lot of the physicality of the bird. Then they animated around him. But I didn't think of the bird as a bird. I thought of it as a being. So when I was having scenes with it, I was negotiating with somebody who had power that I needed to take away.

Have you gotten other offers for sadder or more serious roles of this nature?

No, I really have not. People usually come to me with comedic bits. But I would argue that the films that I've made with Nicole Holofcener have melancholy. Certainly, there’s dramas baked into her stories.

When you started auditioning in college, did you concentrate on comedy?

I auditioned for everything. When I was in college, I was cast on Saturday Night Live. I did theater in Chicago, but the theater was improv at the Second City and Practical Theatre Co.. I sort of fell into the comedy stuff, and it went on from there.

Were you always funny? Did you feel like a funny person growing up?

Probably. Yeah.

Are you good at charades?

Very. I love to play charades. I also like Celebrity. It’s a great game.

When you were growing up, who was your cinematic crush?

When I was little, I loved Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews. As I got older, I loved Robert De Niro. I loved funny guys. I loved Gene Wilder, for Christ’s sake. Anyone funny.

Do you get starstruck?

Yes. What happens is, I retreat. I get overcome sometimes. The first time I saw Meryl Streep at one of those crazy Hollywood parties, I was just goo-goo-gaga.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Hair for portfolio by Paul Hanlon at Dawes & Co.; makeup for portfolio by Sam Visser at Art Partner; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders James. Set design by Gerard Santos at Lalaland.

Creative producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Leonard Cuinet-Petit at January Productions; producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Kevin Isabelle; produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; associate producer: Kimmy D’Ancona; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinators: Miranda Dos Santos, Susan Lucas; photography assistants: John Neate, Jed Barnes, Chris Whitaker, Kendall Peck; digital technician: Niccolo Pacilli; digital assistant: Cassian Gray; postproduction by Dreamer Post Production; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Molly Cody, Celeste Roh, Raea Palmieri, Tatiana Isshac, Haleigh Nickerson, Lauren Marron, Savannah Steilner, Sage McKee, Frankie Benkovic, Kaley Azambuja, Tatum Sanchez; production assistants: Gigi Rosenfield, Lily Cordingley, Eli Cash, Lex Vaughn, Anderson Renno, Kat Saravia, Kyle Dekker, Wyatt Noble, Brandon Martin, Moose Krupski, Josh Muwwakkil, Bradley Gonsalves, Drew Carter, Thomas Lynch, Alex Kofman, Jackson Schrader, Anatalia Zavaleta, Joseph Wride, Matt Flynn; first AD: Steve Kemp; location manager: Kyle Hollinger; hair assistants: Kim Garduno, Ben Gregory, Marco Iafrate, Hyacinthia Faustino, Chris Foster; makeup assistants: Shimu Takanori, Laura Dudley, Brian Dean, Beatrice Sandoval; manicure assistant: Cheyenne Vander Schuur; set design assistants: Seth Powsner, Denver Stoddard, Ryan Johnson; tailors: Irina Tshartaryan, Ripsime Vartanyan, Jackie Martirosyan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.