Interview: Lili Taylor

Available as of yesterday on DVD is Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer’s adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s 1975 novel, Factotum. Factotum follows Bukowski’s literary alter ego, Henry Chinaski, as he drifts from one short term employment to the next (pickle factory worker, ice delivery truck driver, janitor, professional gambler), all the while drinking heavily and writing constantly. Lili Taylor (The Notorious Bettie Page, I Shot Andy Warhol, next year’s Quebec) stars as Jan, a fellow alcoholic who becomes the closest thing to true love Henry finds along the way.

Not included on the Factotum DVD is the following interview with Lili Taylor, which I was fortunate to participate in earlier this year, just prior to the theatrical release of the film.

Question: You’re great at playing these characters who throw caution to the wind, do you ever see yourself playing a princess?

Lili Taylor: Princess…. If she was complicated. The problem with princesses is that they’re usually one-dimensional and I’m just not that interested in the one-dimensional stuff. I feel like there’s enough of it, and that we need to show more.

Q: You’ve talked about doing things as a character, doing things in the film, that you don’t even realize you’re doing at the time. How much of an unconscious actress are you that you can just absorb the character and find yourself doing things that fit the character?

LT: Well I guess the thing is the preparation, whatever that is. And when I start to let it go and to be as open as possible, so that would mean… not getting locked into stuff. In fact I just finished something yesterday, a movie, John C. Reilly was in it, and he said one of the best pieces of advice his acting teacher gave him was to ‘stay loose in the saddle.’ And just being really loose and open I feel is… and that’s hard.

Q: Were you a fan of Bukowski before you started this project?

LT: I liked Bukowski a lot. I think like a lot of people at that time, I set it down, and I got to pick it back up again, which was great because I missed things…. The working class thing I missed the first time around with Bukowski. And I really appreciated that.

Q: Were you in your early twenties when you read it?

LT: Yeah. Exactly.

Q: Everyone else we’ve spoken to seems to have read Bukowski at that age.

LT: I think he sort of helps push you to find – gives you permission, gives one permission.

Q: What are some of the challenges of playing an alcoholic? Are there clichés you worry about falling into, how do you avoid those?

LT: I think the main thing is just to not be drunk, you know what I mean? And particularly with people that drink like that, it’s almost leveling them. And I think subtle is the best way to go with that, because we don’t need to see another stumbling drunk, we don’t need that slurring, we don’t need those general things. We need surprises.

Q: What do they use on set in place of alcohol? Or do they use real alcohol?

LT: I imagine on some sets it’s real. But… I feel like on our low budget we weren’t able to afford the right combination. There were times when Matt and I were like, ‘Can we just… I’ll throw in a twenty if we can get some nicer grape juice or something. [laughs] This is just not looking good.’ It was hard getting the right look, because they also had different drinks. There was the Bacardi, there was… anyway, so we came up with different concoctions.

Q: What is it about Harry that makes him so likeable?

LT: I think when an alcoholic finds another alcoholic that drinks like them, I think that’s a bond. And I think it’s fun when they’re like, ‘Ah, they drink like I drink.’ And I think just time and familiarity and the comfort of that. I think the drama. I think for a lot of people relationships thrive on that unhealthy stuff.

Q: I think Bukowski is an extreme example of someone who is so creative and so self-destructive at the same time, do you think all creative people have that self-destructive element?

LT: No, I don’t. I think creativity has a darkness to it that the artist has to be prepared for and respect, but I don’t think you have to actually destroy yourself while going in there.

Q: Bad grape juice aside, do you enjoy making smaller, independent films, films with smaller budgets opposed to films with very large budgets?

LT: The thing is when you have more money involved there’s going to be more guys in suits who are looking over and concerned, and that starts to get in the way. And with the independents it feels like the parents aren’t around and you’re free and you can do what you want to do. Now god bless the person who put up the five hundred grand, because to them that is a lot of money. I mean I’d be concerned if I put up money, so I really admire those who put it up and leave us alone.

Q: How was it working with Matt?

LT: Great. Matt’s great. I’ve know Matt a long time, and it’s almost like we’ve all known him a long time. And it’s so neat being with him at this time in his life, that I think is so exciting from him… as a man, as an actor… and so it was really great acting with him, because he’s just totally coming into himself.

Q: How did you feel about the scene where Harry hits Jan? A lot of people feel it should have been taken out.

LT: That’s where it’s like… expression of the truth. That stuff happens, and I feel that Bent was not commenting on it, he didn’t agree with the punch. And that’s my concern, if the director had agreed with the punch, then I would have had an issue with it. But he was just… ‘There’s men like that, there’s women like that.’ Did Matt tell you what happened when we were filming that scene?

Q: He mentioned someone put out the idea of Jan hitting Harry at some point, but he didn’t think that worked with Harry’s character.

LT: Yeah. [laughs]

Q: Did you do that scene? Is there a take out there somewhere of Jan hitting Hank?

LT: No…. And Bukowski probably would have felt the same way about him not being emasculated that way, and I understand that. But what’s funny is that when we were filming – because we were in a hardcore bar – and it was the end of the day, and the only way we could get the bar is if we let the patrons be in the bar and they could drink. And this is in the afternoon, and when Matt punched me one of the extras stood up and said, ‘You don’t do that to her! You don’t do that to her!’ And we said, ‘We’re acting, it’s a scene, please just let us go on.’ And we did it again, and each time he stood up, ‘You don’t do that to her!’ [laughs] That was funny. So he didn’t like it.

Q: He didn’t actually make a connection when hitting you?

LT: No.

Q: Because sometimes you hear about that…

LT: It’s uncomfortable stuff, but as long as it’s handled properly, I’ll do that.

Q: What does a non-Hollywood director like Bent bring to this? Is his style of direction better suited for this kind of story?

LT: The movie’s about moments, and a lot of the scenes are not going anywhere in particular, they’re just are. And that’s not really an American style, you know? So that. And just the look of the film and the poignancy and the tension and all that stuff. I mean there’s one scene where it felt like Bent just had three edits of cut to single — no one saying anything, single — no one saying anything, single — no one saying anything, single — no one saying anything, [laughs] and how many times do you just cut to people just in silence, and it’s not even about the setup for something.

Q: Do you know what you’re doing next?

LT: No I don’t. I just finished something last night, so I’m kind of, you know, on a break.

Q: What was the name of that film?

LT: Quebec.

Q: Who is the director of that?

LT: Steve Conrad.

Q: The writer?

LT: Yeah.

Q: What character are you playing in that?

LT: John C. Reilly and I are married, and I play a Scottswoman who’s trying to support him, he’s having trouble, and I just keep trying to support him.

Q: And the accent is obviously Scottish?

LT: Yeah, [laughs] they said it was. I wasn’t sure, but they said it was Scottish, or something like that.

Q: Was that hard?

LT: It was, and I didn’t have a dialect coach on there with me, so it’s hard. It’s like I needed a pitch for it, I needed a place to tune in, and I didn’t have that. So it was kind of scary. But the director said it was okay.

Q: Is there any character you feel is too complicated to take on, you mentioned you don’t like one-dimensional characters…

LT: I think Hitler would be a tough one. [laughs] And I’m not even being… Hitler would be tough, I don’t know if I’d want to take that on.