Natasha Lyonne On Creativity For Greed And Giving Back Where It Matters

Natasha Lyonne greets us on a Wednesday afternoon from Los Angeles. On screen she is the familiar Natasha Lyonne we all know: hair a mass of curls, eyes large, brown and intelligent, and nails still done in the scarlet red, stiletto shape that was created for her photo shoot with Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore several days earlier. In Hollywood Lyonne’s face is a familiar one, having graced screens since the tender age of four, in shows like Pee-wee’s Playhouse. “I loved Paul Reuben,” she says of the late actor and comedian who played Pee-wee. As a teenager, I watched her in the American Pie series, her preternaturally wise and deadpan persona seemingly light years ahead of her hormonal peers. In person, Lyonne comes across as articulate and passionate. She doesn’t give one word answers, but long, considered responses along with being infinitely quotable.

Lyonne has many feelings about the SAG–Aftra (The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and WGA (The Writers Guild of America) strikes, the latter of which ended in September, and, in fact, has auctioned off the chance to solve the New York Times crossword puzzle with her (the winning bid was over US$6,000) to benefit the Union Solidarity Coalition Auction. Why a puzzle, we ask? “A few years ago, I actually built a crossword puzzle for the New York Times with Deb Amlen. I play the puzzle every day. And I wouldn’t say I’m fantastic, but, you know, I am consistent enough and I have actually spent time with the software building a puzzle that was published in the Times. This is my one clean joy in life that I have no reservations about… my love of the puzzle. So I really do look forward to spending time with the winner.”

Related article: Everything To Know About The SAG Strike That Will Shut Down Hollywood

Since her debut as a child, Lyonne has had a formidable second act in her career, coinciding with 2019’s Russian Doll, the Emmy-nominated series that she produced, wrote, directed and headlined. But today, we are not here to talk about her upcoming projects. Lyonne has her own thoughts about the strikes and what it portends for the creative set as well as for the hardworking crew who contribute to the industry. “I think that I’m half a businessman and half an artist, or certainly an artist first and an accidental businessman. So I am very disturbed that people at the top think it’s okay to take advantage of the people with the ideas and the talent again, and again. We’re in an interesting era of, hopefully, the final generation of gatekeepers, and I think it’s almost like watching a last gasp for power, and it’s a real curiosity and terror to see who’s gonna win.” 

It is clear that the arts are very important for Lyonne who says, “Creativity for greed is so upsetting. It’s like a real sad state of affairs because, for me, the arts are all that I’ve got—they’re all I had as a teenager trying to figure out existentially what life was all about.” Curious about her transition from actor to full-fledged director and producer, I ask her about her journey. Lyonne knew from a young age that she wanted to be a filmmaker—along with every other role in filmmaking. So she applied and was accepted to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts as a teenager, for the filmmaking programme. “I was going to be a film and philosophy double major, and I had a plan that I’d get all this Bergman information in my head. And then I would sort of like make all these Fellini movies that were some sort of comedic mash-up of philosophy. I wanted to be a writer–director. And I got into the school, and then all these kids who are older than me, who were 18, were watching Apocalypse Now. I was very confused that they expected me to give them my money, because I was like, ‘If you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, why are you in a film programme?’” 

In typical rebel fashion Lyonne dropped out. “I said, forget college, I’m just going to buy an apartment instead and teach myself what I need to know about being a filmmaker. And so I went to the film forum, and I would sit there and watch movies for eight hours a day. And I would read all the books that were based on the movies and I gave myself a very specific, bizarre, rabbit hole education about the things that I was interested in; Billy Wilder, noir cinema, Tarkovsky, Fassbender, Fellini and Bob Fosse.” And she would watch Scarface and want to be Brian De Palma, Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer all at once.  

Today directing remains one of her passions. Post-teen years, she started writing for herself and then it was very organic to start directing. “I realised that my teenage self was correct. In fact, I enjoyed it a great, great deal.” Stepping into the role of a producer is Lyonne's way of being of service to other young women so they can pursue their dreams all the way to the end. “Now when I’m acting I actually really love it because I have had the experience of directing. I actually don’t want to direct your movie—I’m relieved to just focus on my job.” However, with the current situation Lyonne jokes about the other alternative paths creatives have had to take. “But now with the strike, I’m mostly an Instagram influencer. I can safely say it was never a dream of mine for it to be the only way to make cash.” 

As a creative who seems to deeply appreciate the work of other creatives I ask Lyonne whose work or performances leave her spellbound. Her answers are eclectic. “Giulietta Masina in Nights of Cabiria. Bob Fosse in All that Jazz. Kendrick Lamar—the story that he’s telling blows my mind. I love it. Michaela Coel—I’m friends with her and I just adore her. I find her so inspiring and very life affirming. It’s a relief to me that she exists.”

When it comes to fashion, Lyonne admires the work of Schiaparelli under the creative direction of Daniel Roseberry and enjoys going to fashion events with her close friend Chloë Sevigny. Lyonne is also a reader. She is currently reading Catherine Lacey’s Biography of X that was recommended to her by writer Lauren Morelli. 

Related article: Cardi B Wore A Huge Feathered Cape And Velvet Gown To Schiaparelli

As for the dreams or ambitions she still has for herself, Lyonne is mostly focused on giving back. “More than anything, I think I’m driven by wanting other young people who felt like outsiders to know that there’s a path if you stick to being yourself. Eventually you’ll figure it out. I hope it encourages other people to know that even if you make mistakes in your life, you can keep going. And to trust your own point of view and be yourself, and not try to be like everybody else. I think there’s so much ‘compare and despair’ that happens in the world because of advertising and social media. I love that the era is finally catching up and we get to be autonomous and decide our own destiny, and not as it relates to fitting into a box of an old idea of what it means to succeed in life as a woman. It can also be a life of the mind. I love that this new generation is helping me feel more confident about being in the truth of my own story.” 

Editor-in-Chief: Kenneth Goh
Photographed by Andrew Arthur 
Producer: JD Martin
Styled by Cristina Ehrlich & Bridget Blacksten / The Only Agency
Assistant Stylist: Margaret Galvin
Makeup: James Karliadros / The Wall Group
Hair: Vernon Francois / The Visionaries
Manicure: Elle Gerstein / Opus Beauty
Set Design: Lauren Bahr
Illustrations: Ilias Walchshofer