Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon are back together in another noir-influenced dark comedy inLake George. The latter found her on-screen breakout with the Damon Lindelof-co-created supernatural dramaThe Leftoversand the movie adaptation ofGone Girl, following it up with celebrated turns in everything from Steven Spielberg’sThe Postto the most recentGhostbusterssequels and HBO’sThe Gilded Age. Whigham has been a supporting player in a number of acclaimed projects over the years, including the most recentMission: Impossiblemovies, Joaquin Phoenix’sJokerandFast & Furious, while also getting leadroles inBoardwalk Empire,Wacoand HBO’sPerry Masonreboot.
Coon and Whigham, who previously starred inFargoseason 3 together, lead theLake Georgecast as Don and Phyllis. Don is a freshly-released convict tasked by a mobster he previously owed money to with killing the woman he’s been dating, Phyllis, who has also served as his financial manager. When Don can’t bring himself to do it, however, Phyllis convinces him to go on a road trip to take all of the mobster’s money hidden in various safe houses, leading them on a unique bonding experience.
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Alongside Coon and Whigham,theLake Georgecastincludes fellowJokerandBarryalum Glenn Fleshler,Tulsa King’s Max Casella,Glee’s Ashley Fink,The Middle’s Troy Metcalf andKillers of the Flower Moon’s Joey Oglesby. Hailing fromHigh FidelityandThe Affairalum Jeffrey Reiner, the movie proves to be an engaging mix of buddy comedy and insightful character development led by two wonderful performances from its stars, currently holding an 89% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
In anticipation of the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed Carrie Coon and Shea Whigham to discussLake George, how the latter’s involvement convinced the former to join the project, getting to break away from their usual character types for their roles in the movie, why audiences should be excited forMission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’s release, and a progress update onThe Gilded Ageseason 3.
Coon’sLake GeorgeCasting & Interest “Was All Shea’s Doing”
Screen Rant: I loveLake George. I watched it earlier this morning, and it was very fun. It was also quite sweet. I love both of your characters. Carrie, if you’d like to start and then Shea, what about Jeffrey’s script really drew you to want to be a part of this film?
Carrie Coon: Well, it was all Shea’s doing. Jeffrey had offered Shea the part a couple of years prior, and then they got the money suddenly during the strike, and Shea actually just called me on the phone while they were in a meeting. It was like, “Hey, I got the script. You want to look at it?” [Chuckles] So, I read it in about an hour, and it’s a leading lady part, which I don’t get offered very frequently. It was so clearly playing with genre, you know, it’s a noir, but it’s also a road picture, it’s a buddy movie. And at the heart of it, it was about character, that was the crux of the biscuit.
So it was all the stuff you want, and she’s just a lot of fun. She’s maybe kind of a psychopath, really fun to play. And her, energetically, is actually a lot closer to me than some of the characters I’m asked to play, weirdly, unexpectedly. And of course, Shea and I, we got to be in Fargo together, and I relish the opportunity to work with him again, because he’s just one of the best. He’s just one of the greatest we have. Always in good hands.
Shea Whigham: Thank you. I mean, it’s her [Carrie], first and foremost. When we got her, I knew we had a chance. You never know. You know, you never know. You could have a writer/director that’s so precious with the material that it never really quite comes to life. But when I read it, I laughed in places that I didn’t [expect to]. It surprised me, you know what I mean? And it moved me. Ultimately, it moved me at the end. It scared me, I didn’t know if we were going to really be able to execute this, because it’s funnier in places — we continued to say, “This is really surprising us in places.”
And it was a chance, because Jeffrey wrote it, and he had me in mind, so you honor that. You don’t say yes to everything like that, but this one, I’m a sucker, man, for someone’s vision. you’re able to get me every time. Then, if I can get the right component, I brought Glenn [Fleshler] in. I called Glenn up, who I’d done Boardwalk Empire with, and Waco with Mike Shannon, and we had the right components, and then it was beautiful to do.
The Movie’s Unique Genre Balance Provided An Interesting Challenge For The Duo
“…certainly, we’re aware of the tropes of genre that we’re trafficking in…”
I’d love to touch on the fact that you both mentioned that the genre is such an interesting balance in this film. I’d love to hear, from the performance side of things, how that impacts the way you view your characters and the dialogue as you go into a scene?
Carrie Coon: Well, ultimately, I don’t think you’re able to think about that while you’re making something. You have to concentrate on just like, “What does a character want in a moment?” But certainly, we’re aware of the tropes of genre that we’re trafficking in, that we’re resistant to, how the story is either going along with those, or violating them at any given moment.
I would say the trickiest part for me was that there’s some very specific physical comedy being asked for in this film, which is not something that is usually required of me in my jobs, though it’s something I love, and I so appreciate in my own film education. Jeffrey’s inspiration was Lily Tomlin in The Late Show, just a very quirky kind of femme fatale. But it’s in the writing, it’s already in there, so the best you hope for is to do the scene with a great scene partner and hope it works.
But it’s a fine line, you don’t want to play comedy. You want to play the actual circumstances of a scene, and hope that it’s funny because of that. I found that you’d feel yourself going too far sometimes, and have to kind of pull back and make sure you were playing the reality of the situation, and not playing for laughs, I guess I would say. I think we found a good balance, more or less, and that was a really fun challenge that was hard to figure out.
Shea Whigham: I’ve said it for anyone who will listen to me, if you find a better performance of all-in than [Carrie as] Phyllis, I haven’t seen it. It requires a deft touch of understanding comedy and then, to go to those places, when she thinks I’m going to do what I’m asked to do to her, she has to go to a place that’s really tough. You’ve got to go to those places, I think. And then, we’re in the hotel room, and you need an A+ actress that can say, “I don’t have anything,” and really mean it.
She’s lying on the bottom of the pool when she says that. You can’t play at that, when you say, “I don’t have anything,” and I say,“Well, I’ll split it with you,” and then she’s truly moved. Those are the surprising parts of the script that I love. And then, like I said, ultimately, moves me somehow, in a piece. That’s what it did for me.
Coon Approached Playing Phyllis As A True Con Artist
“…there’s a feeling of authenticity behind it, that they actually do believe their own story.”
Carrie, that also brings me to a question I have about Phyllis, which is, just how sincere do you actually feel she is for so much of this film? Because she is something of a motormouth con artist, but at the same time, like Shea says here, she has those seemingly genuine moments.
Carrie Coon: I’ll tell you, a good con artist believes what they’re saying. I think we’ve seen the cost of that. If a grifter is really good at grifting, there’s a feeling of authenticity behind it, that they actually do believe their own story. They’ve said it enough, they absolutely believe it, and so I think she does. She does pinpoint in Don what he needs, you know, he needs a little energy in his life. He needs a little inspiration, and she finds, I think, the guilt and shame really useless.
Those are, ultimately, really useless emotions, and this is a redemption story. This is a story about how people actually do deserve redemption, ultimately, and they find it in an unexpected place. I like that the ending reveals more about the person who’s seeing the movie than it does about the characters themselves. What you believe about the ending says a lot about the kind of person you are.
Playing Don’s Vulnerabilities Required “A Lot Of Trust” For Whigham
“He comes in to this piece shell shocked.”
Shea, I’ll turn to you next, because one of the things I love about Don is he’s not this typical, cynical guy. He has vulnerabilities, he has a desire, like Carrie said, to redeem himself over the course of this film. What is it like capturing that side of him through this interesting genre lens?
Shea Whigham: Yeah, it required — I don’t know that I had it — trust. It’s a lot of trust involved. He comes into this piece shell shocked. He’s lost everything, and how do you build that back up? He has an enormous amount of guilt, and we talk about that. He does feel that, just by the nature of the beast. To me, these two people, they find each other, and they need each other, you know what I mean? I think she probably has a line on that. She’s a survivor, she’s got to be. Don has to be, by proxy, from the last decade of where he’s been. He’s had to survive.
And they find each other, and I think they touch each other more than they expect. She probably has a clear line. Without giving too much away, once something doesn’t go down that needs to go down, then she’s like, “You know what? I’m going to do this.” And then you know, “Uh oh, she’s moved by him, and he by her.” But what the piece does that I love is it keeps you off balance. You don’t really know. That’s the deft hand of a really good director, is they keep you off balance.
Carrie Coon: And it’s not a romance, it’s not really a traditional romance, though there is love in it.
I do love that it’s a far more platonic love, if anything.
Shea Whigham: A woman doesn’t do a cartwheel in front of someone unless she kind of digs him. [Laughs]
The Gilded AgeSeason 3 Is Well On Its Way To Coming Out Next Year
“…I’m having a ball doing it.”
So Carrie, I did want to ask you really quickly, as well.I loveThe Gilded Age, I can’t believe it’s already been a year since season 2 came out. I know season 3 is supposed to come in 2025, but have you heard a more specific window of when we might see it?
Carrie Coon: We’re shooting it right now, honey. So, hopefully, we’ll be wrapping up by January, and then they’ll do all their CGI business and get it out to the people. But we’re having a great time. It’s a great group of people, and I’m having a ball doing it. I’m headed to Newport next week for more mansion time. So it’s great.
Mission: Impossible — The Final ReckoningWill Succeed For One Key Reason
“…Cruise and McQuarrie are not hyperbolic.”
Shea, really quickly for you, theMission: Impossible — The Final Reckoningtrailerfinally dropped. I’m so excited about it, but I see Degas is teaming up with Ethan, and I’m curious, what are you allowed to share with me about how that impacts his and Jasper’s dynamic?
Shea Whigham: I’ve already gotten my hand slapped for saying things that I shouldn’t say, and someone on this call would be upset with me.I’ll tell you this, Cruise and McQuarrie are not hyperbolic. They love cinema, they’re both cinephiles. This thing is so good. This next one, it’s really, really good. It’s because it’s grounded in character, and that’s what McQ knows, McQuarrie knows, so well.
They give everyone a little slice, a little moment. We know that Tom is the sun, and we revolve around that, and we’re happy to do that, honestly, but they always give everyone a little bit. It’s very rewarding to do them. And Carrie, I’m going to bring her on to the next Mission, and she’s going to bring me into the Ghostbusters next.
AboutLake George
When ex-con Don (Shea Whigham), fresh out of prison, visits mobster Armen (Glenn Fleshler) to collect some money he’s owed, he’s instead assigned a final task: to take care of Phyllis (Carrie Coon). Don tries to carry out the job, but he finds he can’t pull the trigger. Instead, the pair of misfit oddballs set off on a road trip together, as their lives and standing with Armen become entangled. Phyllis soon reveals that she has designs of her own and proposes a little tag team action to Don: combine forces with the aim to steal money – a lot of money – from the people who want her dead. Don must decide whether his allegiance lies with Armen, or with the wily, charismatic woman he was supposed to kill.
Check out our previousLake Georgeinterview with the castat the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival!
Lake Georgehits theaters and digital platforms on December 6.
Lake George
Cast
Lake George follows a newly released white-collar criminal who is entangled in a dangerous task by his former boss. Tasked with silencing the boss’s girlfriend before she exposes their secrets, the film explores themes of crime, loyalty, and redemption.
