Happy Sad Confused - Alicia Vikander, Vol. II

Episode Date: September 30, 2020

The last time Alicia Vikander was on this podcast things were just revving up for the actress. No Oscar, no big action franchise, no husband (who happens to also be one of the greatest acting talents alive, Michael Fassbender!). So there's a lot for Alicia and Josh to catch up on, including her role in "The Glorias", her plans to return as Lara Croft in the "Tomb Raider" sequel, and her love for "The Princess Bride". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, lease a 2026 X-E-90 plug-in hybrid from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions apply, visit your local Volvo retailer

or go to explorevolvo.com. Ontario, the weight is over. The gold standard of online casinos has arrived. Golden Nugget Online Casino is live. Bringing Vegas-style excitement and a world-class gaming experience right to your fingertips. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting, signing up is fast and simple. And in just a few clicks, you can have access to our exclusive library of the best slots and top-tier table games. Make the most of your downtime with unbeatable promotions and jackpots that can turn any mundane moment into a gold

Opportunity at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Take a spin on the slots, challenge yourself at the tables, or join a live dealer game to feel the thrill of real-time action, all from the comfort of your own devices. Why settle for less when you can go for the gold at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Gambling Problem Call Connects Ontario 1866531-260-19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly.

Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, Sad, Confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad, Confused, Alicia of the Cander on playing Gloria Steinem in her new film The Glorias and her comfort movie The Princess Bride. Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused,

with a returning guest, just her second appearance on the show. It's been a while, but so pleased to say that I caught up with Alicia Vikander, Oscar winner, Alicia Vikander. She didn't have one of those the first time I spoke to her way back when. Those were the days

of Ex Machina and a film called Testaments of Youth and then of course that all led to her Oscar winning role in the Danish girl and since then she's really had a varied and fascinating career from dramas to action movies,

like Tomb Raider and now in this historical biopic which you know to say it's a biopic is disingenuous because this is Julie Tamor this is directed by Julie Tamor the film that she's here to talk about today this is the Gloria's it is of course referring to Gloria Steinem the icon the feminist the woman that has been so influential uh to the feminist movement in the last 50 years and she you know she's uh it's tough to play an eye icon. It's tough to bring humanity to an icon, but I think Alicia did it, and I think Julianne Moore did it. This is a film in which Gloria Steinem is played by two accomplished actors, two Oscar-winning actors. They share the role at different points in Gloria

Steinem's life. And as I said, it's directed by Julie Tameor, so you know it's an interesting take on it, from the visionary director of Cross the Universe and the theatrical events like the Lion King. She definitely brings it her unique. visual flair to this important story. It's on Amazon Prime right now. You can check it out for free if you subscribe. So I highly recommend you do that. And I highly recommend you enjoy this conversation today I had with Alicia, who I always find endlessly charming and fascinating to chat with. I was really thrilled that she took the time out to chat with me for this. She really didn't do, honestly, that I can tell much press at all, just a couple interviews. So I thrilled

that she decided to catch up with me. We've always had a good time. together, fun to talk to her about, you know, talk to her about her life with Michael Fastbender. I mean, how cool a couple is that, guys? Come on. Is that the coolest couple known to man? She tells me that they were going off to see Tenet that night for the first time going to see a movie in theaters. I'm jealous. I still haven't done that myself. But then again, I'm in New York and it's not safe. And guys, I'm not ready. I don't think I'm seeing a movie in theaters this year, guys. I don't know about you. Which is crazy to say. crazy to think of, but weird times. What can I say? Beyond my chat with Alicia Vakander,

other things to mention, stir-crazy, new episode on Comedy Central's YouTube and Facebook pages as well as on my social media pages is with the wonderfully talented and charming Jessica Alba. She's promoting her TV show, LA's finest. I've always had fun interactions with Jessica over the year. She's always down for silliness. I've done like these weird sleepover, like slumber, kind of shoots with her, and she was down for some charades, some ASMR, some general shenanigans. So check that out. That was a fun one. And then two really cool events coming up very soon. I do want to mention I did these two events, or I'm doing these two events for Metaverse, which is the folks that, it's kind of in the stead of New York Comic-Con this year.

So it's the same weekend that New York Comic-Con would be. Obviously, we're not doing these things in person this year. but between October 8th and October 11th, they're putting together all these cool free events on YouTube, and I have two of them coming up, which I think you guys will be very, very interested in. One of them is a 10th anniversary retrospective, look back with Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Kuse,

the co-show runners of Lost. Maybe, I don't know, the best TV show ever? Is that crazy to say? I mean, top 10, I would say. So 10 years since the finale of lost, that is going to be fun. I highly recommend you guys checking that one out. And then for you Sam Hewin fans out there, and I know they're out there listening to this, a very special event, a Sam Huyn Graham McTavish trivia death match. I'm putting them to the test, testing their knowledge about each other and Scotland.

It's going to be a whole lot of fun. You know whenever I get together with Sam, it's bizarre and weird and fun in the best possible way. and this one will not disappoint. And this time, we're adding Graham to the mix. And I've never done anything with Graham, really. I think I did a small, I think I've interviewed him maybe once or twice at Comic-Con in a group setting, but certainly never like this.

So that's going to be cool. I don't have the dates and times off the top of my head right now. I know it's between October 8th and October 11th. If you go to Find the Metaverse.com, that's a listing of all of their events. And there are tons that have nothing to do with me that sound really awesome. and there are these two that I think you guys will really enjoy.

And they're free, so the price is right. Also free today, my conversation with Elisey Vakander, Josh Harowitz, Master of the Segway. I hope you guys enjoyed this chat. Remember to spread the good word for Happy Second Fused. Give us a rating, give us a review, and remember also to vote. Just vote.

Please. Can you hear the desperation in my voice? Vote in person if you can. can at all possible. If not, get your ballot ASAP. The future of my country is riding on it. No pressure. Anyway, onto more frivolous stuff. Here's my conversation with Alicia. Oh, one note. As always with these Zoom calls, this was recorded via Zoom. Sometimes the connection goes in and out. There might be a couple small hiccups. Nothing really notable. But you might hear a few seconds here and there of Alicia freezing up or even me. So just roll with it. I did. You can. We'll make it through

this. Here's me and Alicia the Cantor. Alicia, this is a bizarre time for a podcast, but we're going to do it anyway. Not quite my office, but it's good to reconnect nonetheless. I mean, it's amazing that what you can do nowadays, it's not, you know, like I've almost gone to the point now, and I'm so kind of zoomed in that I don't even. think about it so much anymore. I like that it actually works. It's pretty incredible.

It's pretty incredible what you can do nowadays, all the meetings that you can have and that, you know, that you don't have to travel as much as we all did maybe before. I'm curious of what we all look like coming out of this. Like, do we actually meet people in person anymore? Are we like, you know what? That was a nice try. I mean, we're fine.

I mean, I'm fine. I am becoming. I am becoming more of a hermit. Yeah. For those of us that have that instinct, this is enabling those hermitting instincts, and maybe it's not a good thing, but... Yeah. I didn't know I had them.

And they've, you know, I think, you know, in the beginning, like, you know, most people, knowing that we were going to be, you know, the idea of quarantining and being indoors and not going out was so foreign and scared all of us. but then, you know, it was really tough, but, you know, getting the chance to kind of also, especially the traveling, I've realized how much that, you know, took its toll on me, I think, and being able to just be in one place and that has been quite a nice revelation.

That being said, my sense from you over the years is, I mean, you just have to look at your resume in recent years to know that you've been working quite a bit. This is, I would guess, the longest stretch of you not working in maybe your entire adult life. So it sounds like you're, in some ways, cool, that. In some ways, do you feel the, you feel like, wait, what is my purpose on earth? I mean, sure, it's to have a nice family and enjoy friends, but part of my life is for work. It's, you know, it's kind of what it's, you know, drawled down to, those essential things. you know having time to you know to connect with my family and loved ones and be home and maybe you know realize um your own what you value in life i guess yeah um i think you know the kind of

fast-paced life and and people being you know you're your ambitious and you want to work hard and but also you know it's like i've been meditating a lot it's the kind of simple things of even like your ego of, you know, it kind of drills down to, you know, all the things that you should do and exceed and do well. And suddenly I'm like, I'm, I'm so happy with quite, you know, simple things or, you know, being, learning how to cook a new meal that I'd know how to do before. I was literally just going to say that, the satisfaction of making a nice meal, right? Isn't that like suddenly, it becomes like a real thing? Yeah, I've been, I've been cooking a lot.

I mean, for the first 10 weeks, because we ended up being in France when the lockdown got introduced. So then you couldn't, you know, leave the house, really. And there was no takeaway possibilities in that village. So I was cooking quite a bit. But then also, you know, actually having the time to kind of fall in love with the things that you love all over again. I've been watching so much, a lot of classics. I've been rewatched at our house and also working on, you know, developing projects. Writers are very busy at the moment.

It's been pretty, you know, great to kind of be able to connect people and bring people together and actually have time for all those ideas that you kind of threw out in the world, you know at dinner parties before now you're like should we actually do it and right so it's been it's been a time when you know uh that is the kind of work i've been able to focus on and and yeah you're speaking my language when you talk about you know going back to uh to movies that you love or tv that you love um we're going to get to your comfort movie as it were uh in in a second but before we get to that that seminal classic just give me a rundown. What have you, what have you been

watching? Have you been like going back to, it sounds like you've been revisiting things. Yeah, a lot of like, you know, double indemnity and like all about even, like, you know, a lot of old classics. Apocalypse Now the other day. I mean, it's, yeah, a whole range of, I mean, it feels like you've

gone through the entire list on iTunes and Netflix. you know by now but yeah it's um it's uh it's it's been nice to kind of have the chance to i'm like oh we're i was able to like go down to you know tv and in the evenings i'm like oh like we're a netflix couple now i can just say i'm always i was like it's the best is that a bad thing i'm like it's a good thing no this is this is happiness Yeah, so is there any, my wife and I, generally, we share a lot of interests. That's why we're married. That's why we get along. There are some films and TV shows we differ on, but for the most part, we're watching the same stuff.

So have you exposed Michael to anything that he was resistant to or vice versa? Is he making you watch bad 80s TV? I introduced him to Wally. I do love, like, animated films. such a beautiful film if you don't cry watching Wally yeah oh my god I think we both did yeah

um yeah that was that was a nice one is he making you watch bad 80s TV are you watching like Night Rider and like all these these bad

yes everything with a good soundtrack I guess yeah and then we try to mimic the sounds I've heard it I've heard it first time from him

he's a he's a good one. Oh, yeah, you have? Oh, yeah, yeah. He's good. I mean, is it good or is it? I mean, he's good, but it's also horrible at the same time. So before we get to the gloria's, which is an exceptional piece of work, a collaboration with the great Julie Tamor, I do want to talk about one film in particular because I asked you to pick a comfort movie. And it's, I think a lot of future guests are going to be jealous that you chose this one because it's a comfort movie for so many, including myself, tell us what you picked, Alicia, and why? Yeah, Princess, oh my God, I was going to say Prince's Diary.

Wait, that's a swerve. That's another film. Princess Bride. Any princess for you, yeah. Yeah. No, I chose it because it's, you know, I, you can, I watched it, the first time when I was like a young kid and then it was a great fairy tale

and then I actually think it was Michael who you know said oh you haven't seen I hadn't seen it in so many years that I you know I had almost forgotten what it was about and then I rewatched it and then kind of all the memories flooded back and and the fact that you know I love films that are just for all ages

there's so much in there There's, you know, I get the same joy of going back to that film or Duvali to kind of just leave the world behind and step into the land of fairy tales and giants and sword fights and princes and then, of course, I think it's just done so delicately because it honors those fairy tales, but it also, you know, not, yeah, it doesn't mock it, but it brings out the absurdity of those worlds and characters can be like. Yeah. And of course, you know, it's the reason it's one of the most quotable films, I guess, there is maybe. And it was so funny, because when I rewatched it again during lockdown, when it was like, this

is a kind of bomb I need for my soul at the moment. And then I just love that, you know, when he says, he was like, what? Why are you wearing a mask? Because it's very comfortable. I'm sure everyone will wear them in the future. I mean, so prescient. Amazing. Yeah, it's pretty incredible.

So it is definitely a film for quarantine life. Yeah, I didn't even think of that. That's amazing. You've hit upon many aspects of the film that I admire. I mean, everybody knows what the Princess Bride is, but for the two people in the audience that don't know it, It's, of course, the story of a farmhand name, Wesley, who's accompanied by companions, befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup from the odious

Prince Humperdink. I mean, the best names. Let's start there. Just the names of the characters, Humperdink. Who comes up? Unconceivable. It came out in 1987. So, yeah, as you said, you were obviously way too young.

You were barely alive when it came out. But I guess it's one of those films that is passed down. Robin Wright looks the same. Oh, my God. Robin Wright. Robin Wright is, I mean, was and is the most beautiful woman on the planet. She was, I think, 20 years old when she did this. Yeah. It's kind of remarkable to think about that.

I looked up the ages. Like, Carrie Elwis, I think, was 24. Robin Wright was 20. And sure, I mean, they're very youthful in it, but it's like, they're very sophisticated parts. They're very tough parts. And it's kind of amazing to see how they were. Yeah.

I think especially because they kind of have the right terms. It's like they give so much honesty and truth to their characters and wait. And it doesn't matter that it might be the silliest things that they, you know, say or verbalize. But it's always so kind of sincere and, you know, as the fairy tales should be. And the big questions that are brought up, you know. It's all about love and. compassion and, yeah, and isn't that something that there's, because in the film, for the people who don't know, it's the grandfather starts the whole film by starting to read this

bedtime story to his grandson, and that I think, you know, he interrupts the story a few times and he asks, and he asks, you know, he asks, but what, you have to help me in, and he's like, well, life isn't always, you know, easy or, you know, that's what it's all about. sometimes it just doesn't work out and then of course it gets upset because it's a fairy tale so then they have to go back and see what happens because he won't believe it

you won't believe that it won't end happily ever after it is an amazing like line this film toes because as you said it's kind of this classic fairy tale but it is self-aware it knows what it is it has kind of winks at the audience a little bit

and that can really go into like kind of lame parody and somehow it instead becomes, it's very earnest in many ways. It's the sweetest possible love story, but it's also has such a sharp wit. It's so, like, it's so clever. It's so clever. They must have had such a joy making that. You can just see how the actors are enjoying themselves. I'm a bit jealous. It's written by the great William Goldman, who's one of, like, the most esteemed screenwriters in the history of film, and it was based on his own book. It was

directed by Rob Reiner. This is the second Rob Reiner comfort movie. Somebody has chosen. Zoe Kravitz chose the American president. I love to. Yeah, he, there was like a six or seven year period when Rob Reiner especially was just nailing it time and time again. And, and, and yeah, those films just, I return to over and over again. You mentioned that it's probably one of the most quotable movies of all time. My name is Indigo Montoya. You'd call you. my father prepared to die, inconceivable. There must be a lot of those places where you can go and see this film with, like, fans, and they talk the whole movie.

I wonder if they do do the Rocky Horror kind of thing? They should if they don't. Yeah, I was taken to one of those and saw the film The Room for the first time, maybe like 14 years ago. Yes. In Denmark, and like 300 Danish people sat there and quoted the entire movie. It was so weird. Yeah, I had the same experience.

I've been hearing about the room for years and years and years and I finally was like, okay, let's see what it is. And thankfully, I saw it with a room of devotees. And that's the only way to see it. Yeah, that's the way to see it. Yeah. I love everything out of Andre the Giants' mouth in that film. You know, anybody want a peanut?

It's amazing. He's genius in it. Has one of the great sword fights of all time, I would say. Yeah. Between Enigo and the Dread Pirate. So, I mean, this is a movie that has so many great performances. I always like to give kind of silly arbitrary awards, Alicia. Is there a favorite performance you have in the film?

Is there a favorite one that you can pinpoint? Oh. I know. I mean, I think it's just, you know, I would probably, the child and me would just, you know, because that's where I learn about Robin. And I think when I was a little girl, I wanted to be her. So I think that was probably one of the most extraordinary performers at that scene and to go back and revisit her.

And like you say, really kind of acknowledge how, how kind of beautifully she handles the way to, you know, keep this and, you know, sincerity and realness of this performance as well. being a, you know, a crazy fairy tale. I think it's really admirable. And yeah, I will go with Bobbin. She, yeah, and she continues to kill it in every performance. Have you met or worked with Robin?

It's interesting. She actually, it's very close to a writer that I made a film with that I became very close with. And it was one of those things when I actually met the writer. I was like, oh my God, I know you work with Robin. I'm such a huge fan. And she, like, you know, promise me we were going to meet and we talked about it and tried to make it happen.

It still, you know, just haven't happened yet, but I'm sure it will. Yeah. Favorite, is there a favorite scene in the film? There's, I could pick a half dozen, if not more. Yeah, that's the thing. The beauty of this film is that you can just have it in the back of, you know, whatever you do,

you can just have it on. And it's like these are, Then you return and then, you know, I do think I really enjoy him climbing up the mountain before the sword fight. I think that's one of my absolute favorite. If somebody made the horrible idea to remake this movie, which should never happen because this is one of those. It's just why touch perfection. What role would you want to crack at? Is it the obvious?

Do you want to play Buttercup or is there a different one? No, I think, you know, if the world would allow me to play Spanish, and allow me to have a Spanish accent. You know, I do have one of my closest friends in Spanish. I will have, he has, like, you know, I will just have him teach me and say that, you know,

kind of give me the okay button to do it. But that, yeah, and I get to sword fight. I was going to say, how's your short fighting? I've always wanted to make a revenge movie, like action movies, so this might just be mine, you know? Arguably, you've done one kind of ginormous one already. So you could do, you could do another one. There's a, it's a long career.

Talk to me a little bit about, I'm curious, going back, who in your life, was it family or friends, like, influenced your taste in film most, do you think, growing up? Did you find your own way? My mom, I would say. Yeah, I mean, you know, she's an actress, and she, you know, we, it was, it was really, you know, I come from a quite humble background, but she gave me an enormous. kind of treasure and education in film and art. And what I give to her is that I didn't really know as a kid what she did and how much effort and time and what, you know, anything from, you know, being in school and we read about Shakespeare and I probably at 10 had already either seen movies or read, probably

all plays or she had read them for me or, you know, and. and she introduced me to a lot of European art house films. And then on my dad's side, I will give it to him because he's a big, you know, he's a doctor. I think it goes hand in hand. Actually, in his office, he has, half of his books are like science and then half of them are fantasy, science fiction.

And he says, it's the same thing. You know, it's what connects my different parts of my brain to do what I do. And so with dad, it was a lot of adventure movies and Star Wars and Tolkien and like Japanese books and so so you know actually I you know I give it to both my parents they've been pretty amazing at introducing me to a wide range of things that sounds like the perfect and the films that dad loved my mom maybe wouldn't take me to and vice versa no sure you get the populist kind of genre stuff from dad and kind

of the art house stuff from mom and that and it's perfect It's like when my dad came, um, uh, women to the Oscars. And, you know, we've been like saying hi to De Niro and Streep and like everyone, you know, and there's something like, hitting my arm, hitting my arm real hard. I was like, ow, I was like, wow, that man, he's like, wait a minute. Like, oh, that girl, like, that girl. Who is she? Who is she? She, I was like, yes, that's Daisy Ridley, dad.

She's like, I knew it. I knew it. And then in the green room, not R2D2, the new robot. Oh, the BB. Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Thank you. I can help on this respect, trust me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He came in, you know, in the, yeah, in the green room, pretty incredible. He was like, the robot was hanging around there for, like, yeah, quite a bit. My dad was very excited. You connect him to Donald and Oscar from X Machina, make his year, make his life. That was, no, that was actually the first film that my dad came and visited on set. So I think, you know, he had read that script and he had been quite thrilled about me doing this film. So he was like, yeah, no, I think that's the one. And it was pretty sweet because we shot some parts of it, the beautiful kind of exterior shots in Norway.

So he came there, we stayed in these little, like, wood. by the fjords and then we, he was there on the last day. So he kind of saw how emotional we were when we maybe had to say goodbye and finish up the film. And I think we ended up with the helicopter shot. That's the last one. And then we got in the car. We drove for like 12 hours back to Sweden. Amazing. Over the mountains. Yeah. So, so speaking of X Machina, it was around that time that, that I guess I probably first met you. I think I did. It was the first time I met you was you and Donald. And so that's about six years ago or so. And that was, as I recall, and you came in for the podcast. And you were, you had like five movies out that

year. It was like all, it was one of those, one of those things where it was all just kind of coming together for whatever reason. It just happens. It happens for certain actors at certain times. And that's when it happened for you. I'm just curious like looking back with like, we have a few years perspective now. What did that time feel like? And was it, was it intimidating to kind of suddenly go from somebody that was, you know, trying to make it in the business to suddenly somebody that that was getting opportunities and suddenly had to make choices. Yeah. I think it's hot and it might be a good thing too. Like it was, it was, I know now, looking back, but I did not reflect over it at the time and did not know that it was happening.

It was almost like my, you know, not, that doesn't mean that you're not, you know, aware because you're constantly, like, in your brain, saying, like, how can this all be happening? You know, because it was so far away from anything I thought I would ever do in my life. But it was also so intense. And, like, I just don't think I ever have the time to think. And then it was pretty tough

because then the feelings without having reflected over anything kind of came over me sometimes. And it was, I felt quite, you know, mixed with all the feelings of thinking that this should be the happiest time of my life. It was pretty intense and pretty, like, you know, it was, yeah, it was pretty overwhelming. I would imagine it's a bit of a mind fuck because, yeah, people like me on red carpets and everything, like every question, every other question is like, this must be the greatest time in your life. You must be loving this. And of course, you are, but it's like you're living a real life. and it's a lot.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's, and it's interesting, I've had that conversation, you know, after with a few other actors. And, you know,

it is a reality. That thing is, and it's that when you started to feel like, wait a minute, something is not making me happy or making me feel uneasy or something. And then it's because of that, because your brain,

knows that it's unbelievable what you're making and you are so happy but it's it's also other people's you know idea of this you are you but it's create it's very fast you you create a persona yeah out of yourself that other people see and and you even see it from an outside perspective and then it kind of sometimes don't go along with your own idea of your own self and then you need to come to terms with that and you don't have time to do that because it's just happening um so you know it's it's like yeah it was it was such you know I think making those films were the most amazing things but the kind of you know you don't have any training of being let out like because you know you don't know what that is I didn't

know getting out doing interviews and and and and the kind of press tours and everything. So, yeah. I imagine it goes back to what you were saying at the outset, part of the reason why you are where you are, why you're in Lisbon, why you're not in the middle of Hollywood and all of it. His perspective is to like retain some sense of normalcy and sanity and real life. Yeah. And I think, you know, with the time and kind of, you know, maturing into it as well, then then now I think I'm enjoying it much more. Like, you know, It's interesting. Like, so, you know, I'm not saying that it's bad.

I think it's just the unprepared, you know, version of it. Yes, and there's no rule book. There's no guidebook for it. Yeah, exactly. And after a while, you're like, oh, now I know what this is. And then you kind of see it for what it is. And then you start to enjoy it. And then, you know, it kind of narrows down to like, as we all know, living in a world

where everything's so fast and even not only celebrities have the, you know, experience of having comments throw at them or people have, you know, ideas of who they are. I mean, it's kind of an everyday life thing now. Every, you know, every kid growing up will have to do it. Yeah. So, you know, after a while, I think, you know, it's good. And now it's, I know the perfect balance. And I love being able to live here and, you know, have quite a separate private life and then really kind of, you know, go for it.

And I will look forward to, you know, hopefully with the films coming out next year, of course, with Gloria, it's a lot of Zooms. But it would be amazing to be able to do and, you know, go and actually, you know, release the film and talk about it and meet people. and do all of that. So for this one, you mentioned Gloria's, as I mentioned early on, for those that don't know, this does tell the story of the icon that is Gloria Steinem in a unique way as only Julie Tamor would tackle. Julie Tamer doesn't do things by the book,

and that's why I love her. You know, you share this role in a way with the great Jim Moore, kind of in a way with the great Gloria Steinem herself. Yeah. Talk to me about, is Tamor kind of like the deciding factor and something like this, like biopics are interesting, but a twist on a biopic. Julie and Gloria, I would say, you know, to be able to, I mean, for me, I was aware of Gloria was and had seen, you know, interviews and, you know, read certain, you know, articles that

I've come across with her in the news, but I don't think it had been as well introduced maybe to her as some of my American friends. So for me it was like a real joy and of course, a lot of women like my my girlfriends, even in Europe or their mothers and my own mother, you know, have relationships and, you know, with the ideal of loyalty and tears. So it was a joy to kind of pick up the memoirs

and of course get to meet her. Also by daunting. Yeah. And then and sharing a part with, I mean, of all people, that I thought I would share one role with. It's probably not Julianne Moore, but it's pretty incredible that we know.

And when I saw us in the end, I was like, we do look quite different, but it was almost like Gloria was in the middle of us and we were able to like meet somewhere in the middle. And then with Julie. And when I spoke to Julie the first time about her making this film, what I loved was that I had read first draft. And it's, of course, you know,

I don't want to know if it's a good, give away or not, but, you know, it is several glories in this film. And the beauty of it, I think, is that there's a simple idea that I think we all carry with us through a lot of ages thinking, what would I say if I met the younger version of myself? Or what would I ask if I met the 30-year-old version of myself? Who will I be? Can I be the same person? Can you change? And And that's something that is brought up in this film where those glories, these glories get to actually meet and have chats. It's a, you know, her story is a profound story. I mean, she, you know, you can't be a citizen of the planet Earth, especially in America. I mean, she was my college commencement speaker. She's always, I've interviewed her. It's always been a privilege to be around her.

She, and especially now, obviously, look, I mean, we're taping this as like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passes away a few days ago and like in the States I mean it feels like all the stuff that Gloria Steinem has fought for is like on the line more than ever it's uh it adds a real kind of profundity to to her story because it's it's a living breathing document the stuff she's fighting for is the stuff we're still fighting for um I don't have a question except it's it's a lot we're all dealing with a lot. This, you know, I mentioned the unique take on a biopic because I think it's smart because, I mean, you know, we, you know, if you've watched a lot of movies, you've seen a lot

of takes on biopics and, and they're tough to do. They, like, the cradle the grave kind of thing, like, is really tough. And, like, Madonna, I don't know if you heard this, Madonna is going to direct her own biopic. And I'm kind of like, yeah, I didn't know. Yeah, no, I think I read that. I think it's, I mean, that's a bold move, but it's like, I kind of admire because it's like how do you sum up somebody's life in a film? It's almost an impossible task. You have to kind

of take an impressionist. You have to definitely. And, you know, to know, it's, you know, even with a memoir, you have maybe four or five hundred pages and here you have two hours. Right. And I thought that the tool that she had come up with to tell the story was really interesting. And I think that really, you know, made it very unique and also gave it, you know, um, um, kind of justifies the story. Yeah. Uh, in a way, I think. Um, the memoir is my life on the road. This is a very famous memoir of Gloria's and, and indeed, we find you on the road at the start of this. Um, you know, a lot of people have had transformative journeys where, they connect with other parts of the world and culture and it can have a transformative effect on

them. Has that happened in your life? Did you do the backpacking in Europe thing? Did you do anything like that, you know? No, but I mean, one of the, I think, and it was interesting because it was actually one of the things that I think Gloria mentioned when I met her too, you know, because she had read some interview, I was so, you know, humble, but she had read an interview. And, you know, and she was like, yeah, I know you, you know, you've been living on the road, too. And I was like, yeah, you know, because I was, I was 15 when I moved away from my home, to go to ballet school and the capital in Sweden. And, you know, that's kind of when I started to rent, you know, second hand, third hand, you know,

always couch surfing. And then finally, when I actually, you know, got to get my own place several years later, I was never home. Right. So I, you know, I've never really been in one place. And it kind of was this connection I had with her when I read the book because she's such an, you know, adventurer and so kind of curious and still is. And it made me feel like I really treasured the beauty of the kind of life that I've had

because it's been tough, yes, of course, to not have a base. And like we talked about in the beginning, so I've really enjoyed being kind of forced to be at home for a bit. But, you know, the experience of traveling as I have and to see cultures and to meet people. And like I've realized that it's pretty spectacular. And part of me has sometimes thought, oh, it's not, you know, the way to do it or that's not a good.

thing to do but she was like no it's great you know treasure it and and i thought yeah yeah yeah i know it's kind of unconventional but it's um after a while you know when people ask me where my home is i it's pretty amazing because i i don't have one i think and i really mean it like i'm I was surprised when I came to that conclusion myself because it's, I, even, you know, I remember my mom kind of got a bit, you know, upset when I was 18, you know, I lived away from Gothenburg where I was born a few years and I said, oh, I'm going home, meant Stockholm. And she was like, what are you talking about? I'm like, well, you know, because I guess my new life and all my friends were there now.

But of course, my family home is in Gothenburg and when my parents, are my siblings, but then I moved to London and then that started, but we just, when I started to feel roots there, then I was just flying everywhere. And now I've realized that it's not the place, it's the people that make it home. Yes. And it's pretty cool. I do have quite a few homes now, I think. Yeah, as long as you have the people you love around you, that's home, definitely. Yeah. You, you, I think you have a couple movies that you've shot, that we haven't seen quite yet. I'm very excited about David Lowry's take

on The Green Night, and he's an interesting, interesting filmmaker. You worked with John David Washington recently, too. Is that right? Yeah, I did. I'm actually going to go and watch Tenet, I think, this evening. Oh, I'm so jealous.

I still haven't seen it. It's my first cinema experience in months, yeah. Oh, that's going to be exciting. Yeah, I'm jealous. New York hasn't quite gotten there yet, but he's a lot of it. a talent, yeah, I've chatted with him a bit. And popcorn. That's the real reason. That was the one thing I mentioned yesterday. I was like, well, we were thinking about going yesterday, but I had had such

a big meal. But I'm like, wait a minute. I was like, we can't go today. He was like, why? I was like, he was like, because I want popcorn. We're going to do it. We're going to do it right. Because he knows me. I was like, I want to get like a large one by myself and I'm going to like eat all of it. He was like, Okay, so let's do it tomorrow so you can plan. You can have an early lunch, so there's enough room. Oh, my God. Are you not a sharer? Are you one of those?

No. I don't think he is either. Neither am I. It's a pet peeve of my wife. I'm not a, I've had to adapt. Yeah. What's the future? Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, future. Yeah, and then I wasn't, yeah, and the last one was a blue bio. Right. Right. So three of them. And then what's the future hold for Tomb Raider? Ben Wheatley still attached? Is he still going to do it? Yes. Well, we, you know, we had hope to grow sometimes as he is, but that didn't happen. But we, you know, we were on a Zoom more than a week ago.

So we're still working our way, you know. In one way, it's kind of giving us the opportunity, you know, because films are pushed now, you know, now it might come out and, you know, four, five years off the first one. But it also gives us the opportunity of that thing of, you know, enough time has passed. So you can kind of enjoy what has achieved enough to during that time and kind of, you know, work on the script and, you know, really put more time and more ideas in and work on things. So in one way, I'm probably even more excited now than it was a few months ago. So I have been still on, and I really hope that we get going sometime next year.

I think on behalf of a lot of film fans, we're very curious what a Ben Wheatley, Tomb Raider movie even looks like. Me too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Going out of the first film, I mean, I'm sure their takeaways good and bad in the middle that you want to apply to this one. Is there like a main kind of thing you keep coming back to in your discussions about the sequel? I think, you know, with the first one, it was, you know, that kind of coming of age story of us getting introduced to Laura. And like I said, now we're going to meet her several years after and she will be able to have a whole new set of skills and, you know, I'm learning a lot of stuff. So I'm excited to kind of see a Lara that is kind of, that has bloomed.

Got it. Now, and then, and then also, you know, it's, you know, I love the survival elements that we had in the first film. They're, you know, are very much part of the games. But I've also, you know, part of me, you know, I do still go back and look at the early, you know, games and love the kind of wit that they have. I hope to want to incorporate, especially because in the time we'll live now, I think we just need to have a bit more fun. So that's my hope and aim for this film. And I think Ben is a great person to handle that kind of tone.

Yeah, I'm excited to see his new, his Rebecca, the film. Yeah, me too. I've actually come out just any time now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the trailer looks really good. Yeah. Yeah, so what's, does that fill your hero quota? What's all this talk about the Spider-Woman's stuff a few months back?

Was there anything to that? Have you talked to them about? Oh, I mean, no, it's only like, it's nothing. But, no, I'm, yeah, I'm a huge fan. It's nothing to look something, basically. Have you gotten into contact with Olivia Wilde? Now she's on board, apparently. She's the one.

Yeah, I read that, and I mean, she's pretty incredible. I know that she's making another film now first, and I'm already very excited to see. Oh, yeah, that's got an amazing cast, yeah. Yeah, it does. Very cool, very cool. Well, I always appreciate your time, Lisa. It's been fun to get to know you over the years. I hate that it had to happen in this way, of course, but I'm also sad that like...

It just means that we're going to have to do it, you know, all over again at some point. Exactly. And I will say, between you and my... when you and Michael, you probably deliver the best husband and wife happy, say I'm confused faces in my repertoire. I don't know if you've ever seen Michael, but they're pretty... No, I'm going to go in and look at it now. You guys might want to get into a competition because you're both clearly talented at pulling faces. Yeah, yeah, we do a lot of those.

Thanks again for the time, and again, I hope to see you soon. Yeah, thank you so much. Take care. edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. The Old West is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures whose names still resonate today. Like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Butch and Sundance, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo,

Wyatt Earp, Batmasterson, and Bass Reeves, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, the Texas Rangers, and many more. Hear all their stories on the Legends of the Old West podcast. We'll take you to Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City, to the plains, mountains, and deserts for battles between the U.S. Army and Native American Warriors, to dark corners for the disaster of the Donner Party and shining summits for achievements like the Transcontinental Railroad. We'll go back to the earliest days of explorers and mountain men and head up through notorious Pinkerton agents and gunmen like Tom Horn.

Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. I'm Chris Wimmer. Find Legends of the Old West, wherever you're listening now.