Interview by} John Russo
Photographs by} Beau Nelson
Makeup by} Beau Nelson
Hair by} Bridget Brager
Styling by} Elizabeth Saltzman
Q: I am forever hearing the nicest things about you, everyone just seems to love you. In this
town that can be something quite rare to be honest. So obviously you are doing something
right. How do you maintain your aura of kindness in a sometimes unkind industry?
A: I care a lot about the work I do. I love the art of acting. We all have egos. Actors definitely have to have to be self possessed enough to say “out of the four hundred people you saw for this part, you should choose me!” But the older I get the easier it is to identify what has real value to me. And what is valuable to me is good material, good acting, and good collaborators. The “unkind” part of the industry I guess I would say is people’s insecurities and megalomania and the more I focus on the craft the less I battle with those qualities within myself.
Q: It’s the 10 million dollar question… What have you learned about yourself over the past
year and a half?
A: Oh boy, so much. I think I am still processing the last year. During the pandemic, I was also working on this show. For better or for worse, coronavirus and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist are linked for me. I will say I feel so fortunate to have had a job, and even more so one that touched, distracted, and moved people during this scary time. I learned that I am capable of A LOT and that many opposing things can exist at once.
Q: There have been so many success stories coming out of the pandemic, if you had to
take one silver lining from this pandemic what would it be?
A: I am hopeful that coming out of this pandemic we can learn to take care of one another more.
Q: In Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist you are literally singing your way thru life. Wouldn’t it be
amazing if we could apply this to everyday life?
A: I don’t know. It depends on how good of a singer you are. Kidding. Kind of. There are definitely many lessons to be learned from Zoey. One of them is: not everything should be experienced through processing in the frontal lobe in our brain! Life is full of mystery — something we just have to feel.
Q: How has playing Zoey Clarke changed your life? What have you learned about yourself thru
this amazing character?
A: I, like Zoey, am rather neurotic. I am a perfectionist. I am scared of “not knowing” something. Through the experience of playing Zoey I’ve realized that those are learned behaviors that kept me safe at some point in my life, but that my life could be much richer and revelatory if I allowed myself to NOT know, to explore and to sit and just listen to the music.
Q: Are there any similarities or parallels to your character’s life and your life?
A: I unfortunately don’t have any magical powers like Zoey. I am also a blonde, not a redhead! You asked for similarities and I’m giving differences. I’m definitely cooler than Zoey. HA!
Q: When talking to actors they always seem to have this dream role they want to play? What is
your dream role and who is your dream co-star?
A: Oh, I have many! But the best ones I must keep a secret. I have a list of actors I would love to work with: Olivia Colman, Maya Erskine, Chris Cooper, Macon Blair, Kyle Maclachlan, Jane Fonda, Sakura Ando….
Q: If you could go back in time and tell someone who has passed away one thing, who would it
be and what would you tell them?
A: That they were loved.
Yes, I met Jane Levy at a dinner party and I have to say she wouldn’t stop talking about…..
bread and butter.
To learn more about Jane Levy follow her at @janeclevy on instagram