Hi guys, Renee Pezzotta here, Acting My Age.
Welcome back! And if you're new to the channel,
be sure and hit subscribe and come back every
Wednesday for new videos.
This week, I sat down with actress and screen
writer, Kate Siegel. We talk about her journey,
body image, and how being a mother has changed
her acting. We also talked about what it's
like collaborating with her husband, director
Mike Flanagan. She stared in several of his
horror features, including Oculus, Ouija:
Origins of Evil, Gerald's Game, and Hush,
which she also co-wrote. But you may know
her best from her chilling turn as Theodora
Crain in the Netflix Series, The Haunting
of Hill House.
Where'd you get those, Allie?
At the mall.
Practically begged me, just to be like her
cool aunt Theo.
I did not!
Nope, you're finishing the brussel sprouts.
You're on fire today, mom.
Watch it, Captain Lame.
Both of you. They're delicious.
They smell like cat piss.
I said watch your tone.
Kate!
Hi!
Welcome!
Welcome.
Thank you so much for doing this. I really,
really appreciate it.
Oh, my pleasure. It's so funny. We were just
chatting before this started, and to see us
drop into like professional, on-camera mode.
We're like, "Hi, how are you?" Tell me, where
are you from?
I grew up outside of Washington, DC, in Rockville,
Maryland. And then I went to school in Syracuse,
New York. Got my BFA, went back to DC, did
some Shakespeare there. And then I had a total
burn, where I got cast in a play and then
fired after the table read. And it was heartbreaking.
It was like my second professional job. And
I remember thinking, "If I'm gonna get shit
on, I'm not getting shit on in Washington-fucking-DC."
And so I was like, flip a coin, and it was
LA.
Oh, that's great.
And then it was 13 years to an overnight success!
Right. People don't realize that.
It's crazy. It is this weird lottery where
it could be any amount of time. Some people,
it's like two weeks. Like Victoria Pedretti
who plays Nell, we were her first professional
job out of college.
That's great. And she was fabulous.
She was fantastic, and it's ... She's now
gonna be on You, she's like the new thing.
And so for her, it was a very short amount
of time.
And then for me, it just took a while for
me to settle into it. And I think it's ... I
don't know. I don't know which one is better.
You know, I don't regret the torture I put
myself through, 'cause I feel like it created
a less self-centered human being, but I do
wish that it didn't hurt as much getting here.
Yeah. So now you have two children?
I have two children. Two years and four months,
and four months.
How has it changed, acting for you?
Oh God. You know, I ... You know this, 'cause
we did an audition class together when I was
at peak crazy. Like I could not, I could not
find my grounded-ness. And people kept saying,
"You need to care a little bit less." And
I was like, "I can't! This is my whole everything."
In retrospect, I was coming across as a little
bit petulant because of desperation, and the
exhaustion of parenthood has made me give
zero fucks.
Because I have two things. One is, I now no
longer look to acting to make me feel loved,
which was something I really was suffering
from, that I didn't know. That the validation,
and it made me feel loved, and important,
and seen, and special. And now I have my family.
And my family loves me, and they see me, and
I'm important to them, and I feed them. With
my body. And so I don't need that from acting
anymore, and so if I fuck it up? And then,
that did all the thing my teachers told me
for years, which was it opened up this whole
world for me, where it didn't seem so precious
in the room, or on the day. But my problem
was always auditioning. On the set I was fine,
'cause it's collaborative, and it's fun.
And then this thing happens in your head.
Do I wanna be a star, or I do wanna be an
actress? And like, everyone watching this
is going, "Actress, obviously. You wanna be
an actress." But really, you sit with that
for a second, and go ... 'Cause I remember
the day when I accepted that being an ingénue
movie star, that window had closed for me.
That I was never gonna be a 23 year old like
Jennifer Lawrence, and that window was done,
that was not gonna be my path and having to
let that go. And I wonder, I wonder what would
happen. And then my whole life opened up,
because I stopped trying to be something I
clearly wasn't. But I wonder what would happen
if I just accepted, what does approaching
40 look like? What does a 40 year old face
look like? What does a approaching 40 year
old body? And just bring that into the room.
You know, it's interesting. I was watching
this great movie called The Wave, which is
a ... I think it's Norwegian. A horror film
about a disaster movie, but it's done like
a small family drama. Fabulous. And the mom,
who is probably in her mid-40s, had had no
work done. And I just couldn't stop staring
at her face, thinking it was so beautiful,
but that it was so revolutionary to be watching
a woman in her 40s who had had no work done.
And i just was like, I hated myself for thinking
it was brave. And I was just like ... But
I did. I did. I thought it was brave, and
beautiful, and I was like, "I hope I have
the cohones to do that." 'Cause I can't do
anything now, 'cause I'm breastfeeding. I
haven't done it yet, 'cause I can't.
Don't do it.
And I hope that I can-
You're a beautiful girl. Don't do it.
Thank you. I hope ... I'll never say never,
because I don't wanna see this tape in 10
years and be like, “Aw, man. I totally lied
to myself.” But I do hope that I can remember
that actress in The Wave, and be like, it
was so much more beautiful. Her performance
seemed so layered, it just was so nice to
see. I think people want that.
There's life. There's life lived on people's
faces. So when you take all that away, it's
just ... Yeah. It's beautiful, and it's a
flawless canvas, but there's no life.
It's such a weird thing. I think about it
every day, multiple times a day, my body in
the world. And I don't know why it seems like
such a scandalous thing for us to be sitting
here talking about it.
Yeah. It shouldn't be, though. It shouldn't
be.
Like my belly bothers me. But nobody ... A
good wardrobe person will put you in a bathing
suit that makes you feel beautiful. A good
wardrobe person's gonna put me in an outfit
that makes me feel beautiful. And it shouldn't
have anything to do with anything.
Yeah.
I don't, I can't. I can't comprehend it, and
it's really been on my mind quite a bit recently.
I guess, maybe that's one of the answers to
how has parenthood changed me as an actress.
I am heavier than I was before. And that should
be it, right? It should just stop there. But
instead, these actresses and actors walk around,
beating ourselves up about like, "My body
isn't this. My body isn't that. That's the
reason I didn't get the job." Which, none
of those things really are true.
And they say this, and this was impossible
for me to understand as an actor who wasn't
working. Like it's just your essence. You
just don't know. You just don't know what
they're looking for. And so anything you put
in front of you, between you and the role,
be it body image issues, or whatever bullshit
you're worrying about on the day, rent, wanting
to be loved. All of that stands in the way
of you getting a role, because you're obfuscating
the energy from coming through, in my opinion.
Absolutely. You studied at the Beverly Hills
Playhouse.
I did, yeah.
Yeah. How long were you there?
Oh gosh. Eight years.
Wow!
Yup!
Wow! I was there for three years, and thought
I was there for a long time.
Yes.
So I loved it. I loved going to ... You obviously
did too, or you were being held hostage. I
don't know which.
A little bit of both?
But I loved it. And it was so immersive. The
only problem I had with it is that I didn't
do anything outside of class. It was so all-encompassing
that I spent the first three years just doing
that. But I cultivated a lot of relationships,
people I'm still in touch with. I met my husband
there. You know? There's a lot of stuff that
came out of that. How important do you think
acting classes are?
Hugely important. For me, the BHP was a conservatory
style experience for the first four years.
Like you said, I didn't really do anything
else. I didn't have the time, because I was
so excited. I remember before I found it,
it felt like I was wandering in the desert
and I was really thirsty, and I found this
place where everybody was as obsessive about
scene work as I was. Which is where I would
send people who got their BFA, and are hearing
things like, “You're too big.” Or, “You're
too theater-y.” I'd be like, “Go to the
BHP, go work out that desire.” People build
entire sets for their scenes. People are deeply
committed to doing strange things, from like
Happy Days, and not the TV show, like the
woman who's up to her neck in sand.
Very obscure. And from anything. You could
do anything you wanted.
Anything you want.
You could write your own thing, whatever.
There was a whole theme of Elektra. Like we
did 12 Elektras in a row one month.
That's great.
And so, yeah. That was super important to
making me feel like I had a home base, and
I was understood, and a community. And I think
a good acting class does all of that.
Haunting of Hill House. That was a really
cool retelling of that story.
Yeah.
Did Mike write that?
Mike wrote it.
Okay. It was ... I did the play in the early
'90s, and I also played Theodora.
Theodora!
She's fabulous. I love her. Shout-out to the
Branchville Country Theater in New Jersey.
But you know, super fun role. And what I really
loved about this, as someone who knows the
source material really well, was that so much
of it was still true to the original story.
Like when Mrs. Dudley, when Annabeth Gish
comes in and she's like, “No one will hear
you in the night, in the dark.” I was like,
“This is my favorite!"
Ah, I'm like, “Annabeth, everything.”
You have no idea how hard that part was on
paper, and she just came in making it look
so good.
She's amazing.
She's amazing.
I think that is the genius of Mike Flanagan.
Is, he is somebody who can take a source material,
rework it, and make it still feel like you're
eating the same ingredients.
But you guys have got this really cool ensemble
of people.
I keep doing this, and give my husband a tongue-bath
in interviews. It's so annoying. It makes
his head big. But that's something he does.
Because you know, and anybody who's working
in film and TV knows, that the process of
making a TV show, or a movie is exhausting,
and terrifying, and traumatic. And it's also
all the other good stuff and fun. But it really
is very, very hard. And one bad banana can
ruin an experience. And Mike is very protective
of his sets, and very loyal to people who
show up ready to work, and fun to be around,
and easy to work with.
Those people are rare in this industry. People
who can leave their ego at the door, and who
are collaborative, and prepared, and talented.
And that's all the way from set PA to number
one on the call-sheet. When he finds them,
he keeps them. And that makes his sets, specifically,
a really exciting place to work. And so people
will turn down other jobs to get back on a
Flanagan set, because it is such a protected,
safe space. And when it's not working like
that, Mike takes it very personally.
How is it, working with your husband? I know
you've done it a lot.
Yeah. We love to work with each other. You
know? And it is ... I feel lucky that I got
to marry the most talented, and kindest person
I've ever met. I think he is ... If I wasn't
his wife, I would be a huge fan. Like a fangirl
fan.
Yeah, yeah. You'd be there stalking him.
Yeah, I would be a super-stalker. And so I
feel lucky that he felt similarly about me.
And then I get to be with him, and the family
travels, and ...
That's great, that's great.
Yeah. And I side-stepped my greatest fear,
which is auditioning.
Yay!
And dying alone!
That's amazing.
And there you go.
Two birds, one stone.
Yes.
Last question.
Yay.
What's up next for you?
So, I am going to get my child weaned, and
then I'm going to continue to audition until
somebody puts me in something I like. And
so I'm being pretty picky right now, because
working means I'm away from a newborn baby,
and so it does have to be exceptional. And
I'm not looking to play wives or mothers right
now. I'm looking to find something weird.
And so I told my reps to send me all of their
crazy shit no one else will do.
Okay.
And so, I'm looking for work right now, until
they decide who they want back for Haunting.
So that's coming back?
Haunting got its second season pickup.
Wow.
And it's gonna be anthology style. It is The
Haunting of Bly Manor, which is Turn of the
Screw by Henry James. And it will also pull
in a bunch of other Henry James short stories,
'cause he wrote a ton of gothic horror fiction.
Oh, that's amazing.
And so, there may be familiar faces, but the
cast hasn't been announced, so no one can
say anything for sure.
Cool, cool.
Well, that's it for this video. If you like
what you saw, give it thumbs up. Be sure to
subscribe, and come back every Wednesday for
a new video. I'm Renee Pezzotta, Acting My
Age.
You named your daughter Theo, didn't you?
I did.
Ah, that's amazing.
Theodora. 'Cause I got pregnant during shooting.
And because Theodora Flanagan has the same
number of syllables as Alexander Hamilton,
so there's so many good songs to be sung to
her. 'Cause there's a million things she hasn't
done! She's just a little baby!
Oh, I love it. I love it.
