Darren Johnston ‏@DarrenEdward

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Darren Johnston ‏@DarrenEdward

I love this woman, this actress. Amy Ryan is an acting machine. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/theat ... sting.html … #LLLplay

Amy Ryan Says ‘Glamorous Parts are Not Interesting’


By ALEXIS SOLOSKI SEPT. 15, 2016


Amy Ryan didn’t want to do another play. “Oh god no,” she said on a recent morning in a cafe near her Brooklyn Heights home. “Too expensive. Too much hard work. It costs me a fortune in babysitters.” But when she read Mike Bartlett’s “Love, Love, Love,” which begins performances at the Roundabout Theater Company’s Laura Pels Theater on Thursday, Sept. 22, she succumbed.

Ms. Ryan, 48, is a consummate character actress. Almost unrecognizable from one role to the next, she can disappear into a part, emerging tentative or assertive, goofy or astute, prey or predator. Twice nominated for the Tony Award for featured actress in a play, she is best known for her television work (“The Office,” “In Treatment”) and for her Academy Award-nominated turn as the monstrous mother of “Gone Baby Gone.” In Mr. Bartlett’s “Love, Love, Love” (the title is a sly riff on the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”), she plays Sandra, a rapacious woman who ages from 19 to 64 in the course of the drama, exemplifying the egotism of the Me Generation, often at the expense of her children. (Mr. Bartlett’s New York breakthrough was as the writer of “King Charles III,” on Broadway last season.)

Over mint tea and croissants, Ms. Ryan spoke about the great fun of playing bad mothers and the limited appeal of glamour roles. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How do you play the same character over the course of more than 40 years?

I’m not fooling anybody. There’s not a person alive who’s going to think I’m 19. A lot is done with wigs and costumes. And it’s about rhythms. I’m playing around with the subtleties of that. But I do have to say a line in the first act, “I look in the mirror, there’s not a wrinkle on my face.” That just makes me laugh.

Is Sandra a bad mother?

I’m a better mother than she is. A much better mother! There’s some stuff that’s so shocking that she does. But it’s really her version of love, harsh love. She’s admirable because she’s so passionate. Sandra is one of those people who’s really the life of the party. I’m more of an observer. I like watching the people at the party. It’s the plague of being an actor — you’re never really living life, just taking notes. I’m always playing these bad mothers. They’re more fun.

The play questions the wisdom of following your dream. You had been working for almost 20 years before your career took off. Did you ever doubt yourself?

My career took off later, it’s true. People suddenly knew who I was. But from the time I was 18, I always worked, I always paid my own bills. I never had to have another job. So even though I was living in obscurity, I had this confidence that I could support myself. I would save money so I could take the jobs that weren’t paying, the roles that I think will make me a better actor.

Why are you so often cast as wives and mothers?

There’s just not a lot of variety. Wives. Ex-wives. Ex-wives who are understanding. I’m bored of the wifey-poos. I’d like to see the reverse. Let the men hold the laundry basket, listen to the problems and be the sounding board.

You can look gorgeous or plain. Are you able to turn your beauty on and off?

I feel like I can turn my whole self off. I can blend in, and that helps me. I feel most proud when people say, “I didn’t realize that was you!” If you took all the characters I played and lined up their photographs, I don’t think many of them would look alike. I knew I was going to be a character actor when I started. I knew that would mean longevity. The glamorous parts are not interesting. They look great, but that means nothing at the end of the day. Where are all those glamour actresses now?

Der Schreiber meint es vermutlich positiv.

@ianbrown @thestoneroses Hi I'm Zoe, trying to reach out about using one of your songs for a theatrical production. Would love to discuss X

Darren Johnston@DarrenEdward

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Life is better when your stage manager's wife is a baker. #lllplay #tech