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Interview: Amanda Peet
The Break of Noon actress talks to us about playing two characters in the same play, Neil LaBute and Jerry Seinfeld
Amanda Peet (Photo: SpreePiX – Berlin, via Flickr)
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(Republished from Encore’s October issue)
In Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon, which recently began performances at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, actress Amanda Peet plays two characters, Ginger and Jesse. While others might fail portraying two separate personalities, Peet should have no problem; after all, if someone can convincingly run away from exploding volcanoes in a blockbuster film like 2012 and make us laugh while roped to a chair in the underrated Saving Silverman, Ginger and Jesse should be a breeze.
Encore recently spoke to Peet while she was in Belfast about The Break of Noon, working with David Duchovny and whether she would take Jerry Seinfeld to the Tonys.
On the workshop process for The Break of Noon: We just kind of sat around reading it and making sure that everything was cracking, and just trying to figure out the best way to help Neil, if he wanted to make any changes.
On playing two characters: I’m not sure what I’m supposed to give away, but I play David Duchovny’s ex-wife and another woman that he’s close to. One of them believes that he’s had a revelation and one of them doesn’t.
On whether it’s tough to play two roles in the same play: No. I mean, I might be if I had to go from one to the other, but I have a little reprieve in the middle.
On what draws her to Neil’s work [Peet was also in 2005’s This is How It Goes]: He’s really funny, for one thing. He certainly makes me think about things and I also find his work to be really entertaining.
On the differences between Neil’s writing and Neil himself: He’s really gentle and lovely and understanding, and he’s very astute psychologically. Most of the people he writes about aren’t any of those things.
On whether her familiarity with David Duchovny (they both appeared in The X-Files: I Want to Believe) will help their performances: Yeah, I do. Since I’m so fond of him, I think it would have been okay anyway, but it’s nice to have that past because we spent some time together already.
On working in the New York theater community and her and David both being native New Yorkers: I really love New York. I love doing a show in New York and being a part of the New York theater world. I’m pretty sure this is David’s first time on stage. I think he’s really excited, and also terrified, which is good because I have the worst stage fright ever.
On when gets over her stage fright: No, there’s nothing to get me past it. I’ll throw up and run to the bathroom every five minutes. I usually lose about seven pounds. There’s nothing worse. You might ask, “Why do this?”
On why she does this, and how it long it takes for the fear to subside: Every time I do a play, I call my friend during previews and say, “Why the fuck did you let me do this?”… Not after a week, it’s much longer than that. I almost go straight from terror to boredom, and there are a couple of shows in-between that are really great.
On why she picked this role, after not appearing in a play since 2006’s Barefoot in the Park: I love Neil and really responded to the play. I thought it was really powerful and I love David Duchovny. Then, to top it all off, I have two babies and it’s the closest theater to my house that I could work at. I’ll put my babies down and then run over there.
On her first theater role: It was a play called Winter Wise that was on Theater Row with Bobby LuPone, who played my father. And then I did Awake and Sing! at Jewish Repertory. That was my first big thing, kind of.
On her role models: My two favorites, the ones that I’ve been obsessed with, are Emma Thompson and Edie Falco, who I just saw in This Wide Night. She was amazing in it. She’s not vain and so funny without trying to be funny.
On whether she’d invite Jerry Seinfeld to the Tonys if she got nominated, like he did in the “Summer of George” episode of Seinfeld: First of all, I’m not going to get nominated for a Tony. Second of all, I would take Jerry any time, anywhere, just not sexually.