EXCLUSIVE: Meryl Streep Chats President Orleans in Don’t Look Up
As President of the United States, you would hope to find someone you can trust and respect, that is not the cast of Meryl Streep’s President Orleans in Don’t Look Up. We got the chance to hear from Streep about her pompous character and her role in Adam McKay’s new political satire.
On who inspired her character. President Orleans: “My character? There was so many places to take, things from, because there’s so many preposterous people who’ve put themselves in public places recently. And shamelessly. It was kind of fun to put together this character that was in just pure id, just what her appetite wanted. And about amassing power, money, more power, and more money, and having nice hair and nails.”
On the high cost for public servants: “You really have to make a big sacrifice. Your family makes a sacrifice, and you have to be willing to do that. It’s amazing that we get good people ever to do it. But, we need them. We need them right now more than ever.”
On the scenes that made her most uncomfortable: “There are a lot of chilling moments. One that really hit me was the scene in the bar with Tyler [Perry] and Cate [Blanchett] when everything’s going to shit outside. And Cate says, ‘I just wanna get drunk and talk shit about people.’ I know lots of people would react this way. It kind of chilled my bones. And then the one where they’re in the car and Timothée Chalamet’s character proposes an idea to Jen’s [Lawrence’ and she goes, ‘Yeah’. It’s so clear, there’s just no way it’s ever gonna happen, but it’s just that glimmer of the human dream where we hope something good is gonna happen, even though we know something bad is. That’s sort of the kernel of truth of this is that we push this information away. Smart people, people who don’t have scientific background, everyone pushes it away, because it’s too painful.”
On what she would do if she only had one more day on Earth: “I’m sure I would just try to find my grandchildren and be with them. Yeah, my kids, they’ve had-they’ve had enough of me.”
Don’t Look Up will hit theaters tomorrow, December 10 and Netflix on December 24.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo Credit: NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX