Parker Posey, named Queen of the Indies in 1997 by Time Magazine, excels at playing quirky, strong-willed characters, so it was only a matter of time before she collaborated with Woody Allen, a writer/director known for creating distinctive female characters.
The actor stars in Allen’s dark new comedy, Irrational Man, as a lonely professor, stuck in an unhappy marriage, who seduces her college’s new philosophy professor (Joaquin Phoenix) shortly after meeting him. Emma Stone co-stars as a young student also pining for the new faculty member’s affections.
To tout this Friday’s US release of Irrational Man, Posey stopped by New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center to take part in a talk moderated by Eugene Hernandez, deputy director of the Film Society. During the 45-minute chat, Posey discussed her reason for going blonde, how she bagged the part in Allen’s latest, and why she still has a fear of being fired.
Life as a new blonde
The discussion kicked off with Hernandez asking Posey about her new “’do”, which she debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where Irrational Man had its world premiere out of competition. Posey explained that she had her hair dyed blonde for the first time to match her red carpet dress, designed by a good friend. “I wanted to do something special because Cannes is a big deal – it’s the ultimate in cinema,” she said. “It’s not lost on me what it is to be an actress and go blonde,” she added, laughing. “I’m working a lot more now!”
How a difficult period led to her first Woody Allen film
Before being cast in Irrational Man, Posey served on the jury of a film festival in Poland, alongside Allen’s longtime casting director Juliet Taylor. Posey admitted to being in a “really bad, suffering period during that time”.
“I wasn’t a happy camper in Poland,” she said, “and the films were pretty depressing as well.” She bonded with Taylor after the two lost their bags after returning to New York. That led to Taylor thinking of Posey for the film.
Overcome with emotion after being cast
Posey recalled feeling good about her first meeting with Allen, before being cast. “They say if he’s three seconds, don’t worry about it – you could get the part,” she said. “I think Owen Wilson met him for, like, seven seconds and was cast in Midnight in Paris. I was in there for about three and a half minutes, which was a long time for him, and I heard after that he seemed very engaged.”
Still, she wasn’t prepared for what would happen the following day: “I get a phone call from my manager and she says, ‘What are you doing today?’ I said, ‘I’m going to Trader Joe’s to get my snacks and then I’m making these pants with a friend. She goes, ‘Because Woody Allen’s assistant wants to know when a good time is to drop off the pages for his film.’ And I burst in tears. I just walked around in a daze. I’m in a really tough business, so I was overcome with emotion.”
Fear of being fired
A week after being cast, Posey said she broke her wrist after falling off a ladder, “because some contractor bailed on the job”, which required her to undergo surgery soon before she was due on the Irrational Man set. “During the camera test, Woody came up to me and I thought for sure I was going to be fired. But he said, ‘Do you need anything? How’s your wrist? Do you want me to write it in?’ I didn’t want to intrude in his story. It was really painful, but it gave me something.”
Feeling out of place
Asked about the current state of the film industry, Posey said: “I just feel like we’re in a time of genre film-making. There are so few stories being produced that are human. I suffer with the loss of that. I feel kind of out of place, even though I’ve continued to work. As an artist you’re always going to be yearning and wanting, and never satisfied. I never feel like I’ve really achieved something.”
Rebel in college
Posey attended what she referred to as a “really tough [acting] conservatory program” at Suny Purchase College in Westchester, New York. “I was there for four years; I was on probation for three,” she said. “I had probation letters in the freezer for whatever reason. I didn’t like to rehearse. I was not good at rehearsing with the other actors.”
Not knowing what to expect from Woody Allen
Posey said Allen treated Irrational Man like it was a top-secret blockbuster, only allowing her to read pages from the script in which her character appeared. “I didn’t know if it was a light movie or a heavy movie,” she said, as a result. “But I became aware quickly that it was one of Woody Allen’s deep movies, which I love. I was thrown into the water quickly.”
The vibe
“I feel like I know so much,” Posey said, looking back on her varied and long career. “I work with directors who haven’t had the experience of being on sets as much as I have. I feel like in a way, if it’s an independent movie, I can teach the crew to kind of relax, or create a vibe. It really is about a vibe.”
