Julia Louis-Dreyfus has taken the challenge to test her acting skills beyond the comedy genre with her latest film, Tuesday. The fantasy drama, made in collaboration between A24, the British Film Institute, and BBC Film, presents the Seinfeld actress as a mother of a terminally ill daughter.
Daina O. Pusić’s directorial debut presented the comedian with a new challenge, but Dreyfus did not shy away from admitting that some part of it was emotionally harrowing for her.
The 63-year-old actress and comedian is known for her work on Saturday Night Live and critically acclaimed sitcoms like Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Veep. But Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ latest focuses on intense themes like death and loss.
Tuesday was a painful experience for Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Tuesday features Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lola Petticrew in the lead as a mother and a terminally ill daughter. One day, they encounter a size-altering magical talking parrot, who is nobody but Death itself, who takes them on a journey to help Dreyfus’ Zora cope with her daughter’s impending demise.
Talking about her experience while making the film, Variety asked her if she considered comedy to be a harder task than drama like the other actors. The Thunderbolts* actress commented that she does not compare comedy and drama but believes in focusing more on the approach. She added that the film was not at all easy but rather provided her with a difficult experience.
That moment with my daughter in the film was a very, very, very difficult scene to do. Because it was painful! It took a lot out of me. I was happy to do it, but it was very painful.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus continued that the experience was so impactful that it took her some time before she could “shake it off”. With the concept of love, loss, and grief, it is not surprising that the actress had a hard time in the A24 film and even started to feel homesick.
How did Julia Louis-Dreyfus prepare for her role in Tuesday?
Tuesday was a very different job for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Considering her previous works, everyone was keen to know about how she prepared for such an intense role. The comedy queen replied that it was a “ginormous leap of faith into the arms of my beloved director” and the concept.
On top of that, the Onward actress stated that her personal experience also came to a lot of use. Her bond with her two children and her life experiences helped her connect with the screenplay. Like Zora in the film, she also lost her close ones in life. All of these combined helped her stay true to the character.
Daina O. Pusić took a very unconventional route to present the concept of death and loss in Tuesday. Only an incredibly creative-minded filmmaker can imagine a giant CGI-generated Parrot as Death. As expected, the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 89%, makes it clear that the critics liked the film.
It will be exciting to see if the audience can also connect to the emotional core of the fantasy fable like the critics.
Tuesday is running in theaters near you.
