At a screening and Q&A promoting her film “His Three Daughters,” Natasha Lyonne revealed she once auditioned for a lead role in the 1998 cult classic “Wild Things.” The erotic thriller directed by John McNaughton remains memorable for its lurid atmosphere, twisty plot and frank sexual scenes, including a threesome between characters played by Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.
Lyonne, who is currently starring in “His Three Daughters,” written and directed by Azazel Jacob and which hits Netflix Friday, appeared with castmates Carrie Coon, Elisabeth Olsen and Jovan Adepo at the LA event. The filmmaker wrote the story about three sisters who gather to care for their terminal father with all four of the actors in mind. The cast expressed surprise and gratitude upon having the roles penned for them and reflected upon a time when they weren’t so fortunate and had to endure a lot of auditions that went nowhere.
Lyonne spoke about how she would read for roles described as “a tough chick with black eyeliner” who’s been in juvie. But she would show up in character and realize that wasn’t what they were looking for at all. She cited as an example the audition for Campbell’s role in “Wild Things,” which she said the breakdowns told her to “dress like a Robert Palmer girl” from the music video. So Lyonne gelled her hair back and put on heavy makeup, only to discover they wanted something totally different than what they had asked for – instead the character was played more as an introverted outsider on the fringes of society.
The moment she stepped into the audition she knew they wanted something else. “I was nailing it,” she said. “But I was definitely not getting that part. It was not what they were looking for.” She went on to praise Campbell’s performance, stating, “Clearly, she’s a wonderful actress and the film holds up.” But she added that the audition should have specified more along the lines of: “A girl on the fringes, one who would try to hail a taxi in Los Angeles and not understand how it works.”
Lyonne went on to say that stepping behind the scenes and writing her own material – such as the Emmy-nominated Netflix hit “Russian Doll” – really gave her a new perspective on auditioning. “I would be crushed again and again,” she admitted. “And I discovered on the other side as a producer, a director, a writer [that] it’s so not personal. It was the oddest thing to discover – I’d spent literally 30 years of my life thinking I just needed to do a good enough job.”
While many actors dislike the audition process, Olsen said she actually misses it. “I love auditioning,” she said. “I know that’s not everyone’s feelings but, I mean, you get to go act for a day. You have something to do for 20 minutes, something to focus on. You’re going to fail potentially, but you get to try something. And if it works that the other person likes the thing, you’re kind of getting a vibe for one another.”
Coon added that she’s come to look at is as a mutual audition process, where she is scoping out the director. “I’ve also found myself in a situation where if I didn’t audition, a director maybe had an idea about me and I was like, ‘Oh, that idea is wrong, and now we’re not having a very good time.’ It hasn’t happened often. But I like them knowing what they’re getting and I like knowing what I’m getting, too,” she noted. “Like, I got kids. I’m not wasting my time. Something has to be special; I’m not working with jerks anymore.”
Adepo discussed how, coming from a football background, he’s naturally competitive. “When I first started, I had this really intense way of going about it,” he admitted. “I would get there 45 minutes early and just sit and lock myself in, like, a bathroom stall and listen to motivational speeches.”
He specifically utilized one from boxer Mike Tyson. “He has this quote where he’s talking about, in the prime of his career, how vicious he was. And how he was always terrified of the other person in the room, and he would spend his nights crying because he was nervous about having to confront this person and just thinking that God wanted him to lose,” Adepo recalled. “All these intense feelings that he was incredibly wrong about. But he would say these things to himself about how, ‘By the time we get to that last step, I’m the best person in the room. I’m a god; no one can beat me.’ He has this chant he says to himself, and that’s what I was listening to and to psych myself into not being nervous.”
This prompted Lyonne to recommend “Mike Tyson’s Masterclass on Auditions” to the audience, who laughed appreciatively at the suggestion.