Jamie Lee Curtiss secret to getting more screen time: hang around the set
I didn’t realize Jamie Lee Curtis’ supporting nomination for Everything Everywhere All at Once was the first Oscar nomination of her career. She’s been recognized by the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes, but never the Academy. It surprises me is because Jamie’s been so casual throughout her campaign. I’m sure she doesn’t think she’ll get it, but I also don’t think she cares that much. Because despite how long she’s been a working actress, despite being one of the most successful and respected Nepo Babies, and despite having an actual English title to fall back on, for Jamie it’s all about the work. Like when she attended the Santa Barbara Film Festival and told reporters her secret to getting more screen time was to hang out on set. She said that while filming Knives Out, she never went back to her trailer. And by always being present, Rian Johnson ended up putting her in many scenes she hadn’t been written in.
Jamie Lee Curtis has a secret to getting more on-screen time in movies, even in busy ensemble films like 2019’s “Knives Out.”
“Here’s the deal,” Curtis told Insider at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Saturday. “It’s my secret sauce. Don’t go back to your trailers. Trailers are not your friend. Jonathan Wang, our producer of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ will tell you I never left the set. I don’t believe in it.”
When director Rian Johnson filmed 2019’s “Knives Out,” for instance, he incorporated Curtis into more scenes than he had originally planned, simply because she was hanging around on set all the time.
“He once called me his MVP on ‘Knives Out,’ and when he was asked why, he said, ‘Because she was always on set,'” Curtis said, “‘She never left the set.’ He ended up using me in shots he wasn’t going to use me in because I was on set.”
I’m getting PTSD from my school yard days reading this. Reason number 342 why I wouldn’t make it as an actress: I’d be so insecure that no one would talk to me, I’d run back to my trailer the minute they yelled cut. But I am not Jamie Lee Curtis, who is not at a wont for attention or friends. I love her for this. I love that she is who she is and still hustling. She’s also setting a good example for newer members of the cast and crew. I’m sure Jamie made herself available for them if they needed it. It’s also solid advice. If an actor is visible but not getting in the way, a director would be likely to send them in when a scene needed an extra body. Not to mention they’d be the first thought for any additional lines because being ever present means always being on the director’s mind.
Going back to Jamie’s Oscar campaign, which is for EEAaO, as I said, she’s pretty relaxed about it. When asked about her historic achievement of finally getting the nomination, Jamie responded, “I’m the only Oscar nominee who has ever sold yogurt that makes you sh*t.” This is my new favorite Oscar fact and I hope they use it when announcing Jamie during the ceremony. And I hope she takes a big ol’ swig of Activia as they do it.
Photo credit: Cover Images and PAP and Xavier Collin/Avalon
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWhkaoB0e8mapKKdj6GypqvCrqmtoaOorLSxwqucrZekpKyosdOtoKefj6K8s7G%2BrJqrnZWjrLW1zJ6WoZmenKyivs6upZ2XpJ2yoL%2FErWY%3D