Ms. Falco stars in Freedomland opposite of Sam.

Question:

The thing that really struck me about your character in the film is the physicality. And I’m wondering whether or not you deliberately tried to find somebody who is as far removed from that character, but still physically distinctive from her as you can.

Edie:

No, not really. I read it and I thought the writing was great and I thought the character was interesting, mysterious, complicated. As far as what she ended up looking like, I actually had very little to do with that. That was the designers-hair, makeup, and Joe Roth, of course, the director, had his say as well. But as far as what she looked like, I really had nothing to do with it.

Question:

What was the particular appeal of this character?

Edie:

Um, the original appeal was the script-how good it is, how smart it is, how the writing and the dialogue feels real, so true. But the character I thought was compelling because she is so driven and it doesn’t become clear until a bit into the film what’s driving her. So up until then, I found myself trying to figure out what she was about as a reader. And I thought that was an exciting prospect to play someone like that.

Question:

You mentioned the dialogue. I thought it was an intriguing contrast. Brenda has pages and pages of dialogue and at least at first, Karen has a lot of stillness to her character. How do you find the balance? Are the words as important to reading the character as what you are able to do without words early on?

Edie:

I’m sure that different actors have different techniques for working and I have no idea what mine is, if I have one in fact. But all I really have to go by is the words. You know, you read the script and see what it does to my insides, what kind of reaction I have emotionally. So as far as what happens in the words and the stillness, I often don’t know until I see the movie what ended up happening, what it looks like. But you know, if you’re lucky, listening is as involving as when you’re speaking.

Question:

You know in that one breakdown scene where it’s almost all Julianne but you’re still there. Was that like doing a play when you have them?

Edie:

Oh yeah, absolutely. You can’t sort of wander off in your imagination while someone else is speaking, unless that’s what the scene is about. You need to be really listening, and in listening, and if you’re really involved, you’ll see in your real life, you know your fate changes according to what you’re hearing. It is hopefully as compelling as when you’re blabbing on and on.

Question:

How did the scene impact you personally?

Edie:

You know, there isn’t really heavier subject matter than this. So there needed to be a certain amount of levity I think while shooting it. You can’t really stay there too long. I felt like you needed to be able to get there to do the work and I needed to be able to leave there as quickly as possible. There’s nothing worse, it’s heavy stuff. So for that reason, I was compelled to do the movie, because I think it’s important and intense, and luckily I’ve learned at this point how to walk away from it at the end of the day.

Question:

Could you talk a little bit about Matt Meyer listening where you do break Brenda’s character down, and your character breaks Brenda down. The approaches, what they did, what was rehearsal like? You know, the technicality of that, how you eventually did bring that about. I thought it was just beautiful.

Edie:

Aw thank you, thank you. I don’t know, the one thing I knew was that there were a lot of words, and all I really can ever do with these things, technically, that I’m aware of, is to make absolutely sure the lines are there. That’s the last thing I want to be worrying about, having not memorized something well enough. So the only thing I know for sure that I technically did was learn the lines.

Question:

Were there a lot of takes?

Edie:

Um, it was not rehearsed. We just sat down at that bench and ran it. And then we started filming the rehearsals, basically and he shot it from lots of different angles. We didn’t shoot it and inordinate number of times, which I was thrilled for. Cuz you know a number of times, a director can panic that they don’t get all the right stuff and they shoot it a million of times, but scenes like that, I think it’s important to keep them as fresh as possible, I mean any scene as far as I’m concerned, really. You can’t belabor the point. Julianne is so good also. I’m sitting next to this woman who is so deeply into the space that her character is into, it’s so easy, so much easier to do one’s work when you’re working opposite of somebody so good.

Question:

You and Sam were great too.

Edie:

Oh good, he’s great. You know, I’ve been a fan of both of these people for so long it was hard to step out of that sort of that fan mode and realize, “Oh no, I’m actually working with them now. I gotta take it seriously as a peer.” And the realize, you’re working with the best. It’s intoxicating. You know, I feel the same way honestly, if I may switch gears for a moment, about Jim Gandolfini. You are working with somebody who’s best at what they do and you can’t help but do your best to show up for it.

Question:

How surprised are you that Soprano’s has become almost entrenched in American popular culture as it has, it seems to have infected so many people in so many ways. Are you shocked by that?

Edie:

Um the shock has worn off a little bit because we’ve been at it for a while. But you know, I’m as shocked by that as I am by the fact that some pilots that I did will never pick up. You know, I never understand this business. I have to say, what people respond to and what they don’t. I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse, if you know what I mean.

Question:

You’ve approached the final episodes of the show with an enormous bittersweetness and…

Edie:

Oh well you know, we’re already a bunch of sad saps, you know we still have another year of shooting ahead of us and the reality of walking away from this is starting to hit. We know how good we’ve had it.

Question:

And the gap between seasons won’t be as long…

Edie:

Well, you know, your guess is as good as mine. But theoretically, no. It will just be a couple months.

Question:

It’s funny, we had a session like this with Drea not too long after the episode when Adrianna got iced, and she was so surprised at how that affected people that it didn’t really, Is it something where you’re not aware of the impact until you’re out meeting people who and away the production?

Edie:

Well, often times yes, cuz you know you’re too deep into it to have a lot of objectivity but I’ve also grown attached to these characters as well as growing attached to the actual people which is a separate thing, but one of the things I love about the show is that there doesn’t seem to be any rules. Nobody is safe in that family, in this community and you can’t sort of assume that you’ve seen something like this before and this is how it goes because you haven’t. And I can’t believe that they actually killed her. I thought it was like a dream episode or something, right? She’s actually gone, but you know they weren’t kidding.

Question:

Is there anything relating to the rumors of a film?

Edie:

I don’t think so. David Chase was asked that recently and he, we have 20 more episodes that haven’t aired yet and we’re about halfway through shooting those right now. And he said, “By the end, it’s done.” By the end of the story, everything he has to say about these people will have been said. So he said he doesn’t know what the point of the film would be. There’d be nothing left to say at that point.

Question:

Do you know, do you have any idea what’s going to happen?

Edie:

I absolutely will. Adrianna may come back for all I know in the last episode. I have no idea. I’m sure David Chase knows. He’s told none of us and I prefer it that way.

Question:

How hard is that? I mean it happens in a lot of shows. People are constantly asking “what’s going to happen?” But I think as a fantasy based, I would prefer not to know. But how hard is it when you DO know to not say anything?

Edie:

Not hard at all. I’ve been doing it a long time. I mean, I still have my parents trying to trick me into saying something. But you know, it’s not going to happen. And also because I know as a fan of 6 feet under, you know part of me wants to ask these actors but then a bigger part of me really doesn’t want to know until I’m seeing it.

Question:

What role does stage play? I mean the great experience that you’ve had is time to do a play, and you have some wonderful response to Frankie and Johnny. Is that something that is always going to be a part of your acting life?

Edie:

If I am lucky, it will always be a part of my acting life. I feel it, I really feel it when I haven’t done a play for a long time. I had planned on going into a play now which I had to drop out of since Soprano’s is continuing, 3 Penny Opera, which I was heartbroken about. But it’s one of the side effects to doing a television show, but it’s going to be time soon. I really miss it profoundly if too long a period goes by.

Question:

What is that? because it’s a different kind of work. 8 shows a week..

Edie:

Completely different. It feels like a different career. I’ve never known harder work than doing a run of show. In the time commitment of 4 or 5 months, 6 months, it’s hard to fathom but there’s nothing like it in the whole world. It’s what you dream about, what I dreamed about as a young actor. You know, doing theater, doing good plays in front of people who are excited about seeing it. You know, it’s not like doing a tv show, which I also love, but it’s just not like that.

Question:

Soprano’s had over a 2 ½ year hiatus, at what point during that process did you come to see it as an opportunity to do other projects, to suddenly have the time to branch out and do other things.

Edie:

Well, we’ve had a number of hiatuses, so I’ve always had the opportunity to work on projects in there although I never know how long a period of time it’s going to be. It’s hard to be able to commit to that, but I always get a ball park of when we’re going to finish and try to see what’s happening during that period of time. SO I’m always a couple of steps ahead of the game, trying to find out what I’m able to do. The fact that it’s sort of unpredictable is kind of hard, like to try to commit to something like 3 Penny Opera and then drop out does nobody any good. But what could be better than having a chunk of time where you can do something, or not, and know that you have something coming up in April? So there are great things and frustrating things about it.

Question:

Is there a dream role for you? Someone you’d like to portray?

Edie:

No, not really. I mean I love the idea that I would read something that nobody’s ever done before and you know, I keep doing Kathy Bates roles, which was never my intention, and she does them so well that it’s kind of hard to go in there and step into those shoes, but the idea of reading something great, a great play, that hasn’t been originated by someone else is an exciting prospect.

Question:

Not too long ago I saw Dominic Chianese,

Edie:

Oh really the singing stuff?

Question:

Does he do that? Does he play around the set?

Edie:

No, not too much on the set but we’ve all gone to see him sing anywhere where he performs. But there was that one scene where Dominic sang something from the bench or something.

Question:

One aspect of being in the public light is that sometimes intensely personal issues wind up getting played out in the spotlight. But in your case, as a survivor, how important is it for you to let people know that it’s something that can be survived, that cancer is not the death sentence that our parents thought it was?

Edie:

You know what, I think I may very well get to that place where I sort of what to take on that role as a sort of spokes person kind of thing but I’m not there yet. I think it has been more important for me to learn what I need to do to get through something and I’m an intensely private person so I have needed to keep a very low profile in regard to that, and other things, other personal things until and if I ever get to a place where I can sort of maybe get more distance and say, “This is what I’ve been through, this is what it’s like.” And I think anybody in this room has dealt with somebody who’s dealt with cancer so it’s not like it’s something that people don’t already know about. So I think people, a lot of celebrity types, do themselves a disturbance by assuming that, “Oh I went through this so I have to talk about it.” And you don’t, you really don’t. You have to take care of yourself first, and that’s sort of where I am with that.

Question:

You hosted an independent film festival in New York a few years ago with the Sony Studios. I don’t know if you remember doing it. Have you, I was there and I have a picture,

Edie:

Oh really? Oh goodness…

Question:

I don’t know if you remember…

Edie:

Yes I did

Question:

I’m curious if that interests you, if you would want to do that again.

Edie:

I really don’t remember doing that but I tried that a couple of times, that hosting thing, and I think I’m not very good at it. It makes me very uncomfortable and unless I know the movie and I know who’s in it, or I know the film maker, I think I find it sort of difficult. I don’t think I’m really the hosting type. Like, I sort of like to go to these awards shows and present an award here and there but I’m not Ellen Degeneres or somebody who can do this stuff really well.

Question:

Do you find it difficult to be in the circle of the public eye? I mean is that a role or would you rather just be doing your job as an actor and not having to do this sort of thing?

Edie:

Um, I know it’s part of the job and I think the longer I do it, the easier it gets. Because you really can still remain a private person and have sort of a public persona that you portray when you do these kinds of things. I also know that the person that is written about is not actually me, it is in fact that sort of persona. So it’s a talent like any other that you have to learn as you move through this business. In the beginning it was pretty jarring.

Question:

How do you learn something like that?

Edie:

By doing a lot of things wrong. Then you realize, “Ok that’s not how I want to do that anymore”.

Question:

You used the word “Important” before in describing the issues in Freedomland. I think also the Great New Wonderful which I think finally has distribution now…

Edie:

that’s how you learn things. I would be thrilled if that was the case.

Question:

But I wonder about choices like that where you’ve been upfront about your politics and were very active in the presidential campaign. Can you afford to include or choose projects that reflect that or does that sort of get in the way of creating a character, because after all it’s not you, it’s the character that they’re seeing.

Edie:

I don’t know sometimes there are things that are fun about playing characters that feel differently than I do. In an ideal world, for an actor, you get to really discover what it feels like to be all kinds of people. I don’t think that’s ever played much of a part in the choices I made. Carmella, for heaven’s sake, I couldn’t feel more differently from here in almost everything and it’s been nothing but a joy. I’ve been surprised on that part.

Question:

When you start on a series that basically changes everything, something that most people think is the best thing on television. Would you think you’d even want to go back to TV?

Edie:

I’d go back to TV in a heart beat. I’d have to say cuz just as an actor, I spent so many more years unemployed than employed. And it dies hard. I still walk by restaurants and think “Oh they’ve got a good lunch crowd; I bet I could probably get a halfway decent job here.” It doesn’t really go away so the idea of having a regular job and a regular paycheck and stuff is still very appealing. And there are also lovely things about doing a series. You get to know the character very well. It becomes second nature. Then when you get a script it’s just more about doing a scene instead of “Who is this woman?” Um, most things pale in comparison to the writing that I get to do every week. I don’t’ know, who knows. I’m going to play the whole thing by ear. I’ve been lucky to have found stuff that I’ve enjoyed doing during the hiatus times. I’m hoping that will continue to happen, whatever the venue. But TV is not out of the question at all.

Question:

When you talk about the work you do on the Sopranos they said it’s not like doing a conventional TV show, it’s like doing a movie. SO do you think that other television projects would not afford you that kind of luxury and time to…

Edie:

I dunno, I’ve never really, I mean I’ve done guest stuff on tv shows but this is the only experience I’ve had. I don’t know what that would feel like. I tend to accommodate quickly to whatever new situation I’m in. So, I don’t know, I would have to see. But I do know that people who have worked on other shows say that Sopranos is pretty unique in a lot of good ways so I don’t know.

Question:

I think that more than ever there’s a lot of movies stars on television series. Do you think that stigma has gone away, that you can just run back and forth?

Edie:

Oh yeah. I think it kind of has. I mean I know certainly when I was starting out that it was the kiss of death to be on tv because that was the end of your potential movie career. But yeah, it definitely seems like there’s all kinda of movement back and forth between them and everything. And I’m grateful for that, I have to say.

Question:

Way back when, you had a recurring role on the original Law and Order and Sam was in here, mentioned that he had a role on one of the early shows as well and it makes you wonder what has Law and Order meant to New York actors? Because it seems like everybody, you can go through playbills and check off…

Edie:

Well for actors it’s a right of passage. That you’re sort or really only put in your time in New York if you’ve done a Law and Order episode. I mean people have been like, “They haven’t even done Law and Order yet!” It’s like a measure some amount of success. Even just being able to stick it out long enough to have done some sort of an episodic thing. And it’s been a Godsend cuz a lot of these actors are just scraping by doing theater jobs here and there and TV money is great. You know, even a day player thing on one of the 18 Law and Order series’, it’s just huge. Financially and otherwise, a huge help for an actor.

Question:

The fact that it’s produced here as opposed to having to fly out to LA.

Edie:

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely right.

Question:

Working with Donna, did that help to break into the role that was on screen?

Edie:

I’m sure it did. I never really know what or how, but it’s sort of complicated like when they said to me, “Oh, we want you to go meet the woman that the character I based on.” I had a real aversion to that because I felt “Well am I going to be her or am I going to be my version of her?” I didn’t want to feel pressured, I also didn’t know what this woman would be like. Is she going to be like horrified like “I don’t look like you”, or who knows what she was going to be like. And she just, personality wise, ended up being exactly what I needed in order to really just get what I needed from her, the information about what she does. She was excited about the movie, she was open, available, accessible, completely stayed out of my way if I didn’t have questions, jumped in immediately if I did. So it was a huge luxury having her around and to a large degree because of the actual person she that she is, that was the case. Someone else who might have been more guarded or something, might not have been so helpful but Donna, the actual individual, was exceedingly helpful.

Question:

When you saw the final cut of the movie and there’s that scene with you and Julianne, were you happy to see that he stuck with just the basic camera on you, because I thought that was so much better than throwing in movie tricks or cuts, or anything like that. Was that something that you were relieved by?

Edie:

I haven’t seen the final cut. This isn’t on, right? So I didn’t know for sure how that scene would end up. God knows we shot it lots of different ways with her coverage and my coverage, so I wasn’t sure how it would end up playing out, so..

Question:

I think you’re going to be very happy with it, how still it is. It’s just about you and her.

Edie:

Great, ok.

Question:

Have you done much work in a Sesame Street costume?

Edie:

Oh, I’ve done all kinds of crazy stuff, as I’m sure a lot of actors can tell ya. Yes, I did. I was dressed as a Cookie Monster, it was horrifying. At a wedding, I was supposed to get people out on the dance floor and I feel like I dreamt it because it was such a nightmare, but it DID in fact happen.

Question:

But you use the expression, “Right of Passage” before talking about Law and Order. How hard is it for an actor, because actors very often will say that they’ve had these horrifying experiences and skeletons in the closet. How important is that, how informative is to have to go through that?

Edie:

I would NEVER want to go through it again. However I’m so grateful that I did. I see some of these people, like I sometimes worry about even the kids on my show, where they get right out of school but then in Robert Iler case, they’re still in school and they are suddenly on a successful television show. I know that that’s going to change they way they approach the rest of their life. To have gone through what I went through, to get to where I am now, whatever that is, has helped inform me as a person beyond anything else has made me realize how much I appreciate, I mean I’m grateful constantly any chance I get to say about how happy I am with my life and what I get to do and that I love it more than anything. And I think it’s because I know what it’s like to have to do other things in order to do this.

Question:

Are you able to impart that within Robert Iler and to Jamie-Lynn?

Edie:

Uh, you know what, they have their parents. They have real parents so I don’t want to get in their face about that, you know they have so many people trying to tell them what to do. I live my life and they see me live my life. And if that’s helpful to them then I’m thrilled but I don’t want to get in their face about it.

Question:

Is there anyone who you’re hoping will win an Oscar this year? Are there any films that really moved you or really touched you?

Edie:

You know what, I’m right in the midst of all of the stuff that was taped. It’s such an exciting year for this stuff. I’m so hard to please at this point but I saw the shows that were nominated, I saw the performances that were nominated, I’m just beside myself with Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Walking Phoenix and Heath ledger and these guys and then Michele Williams just did a spectacular job. So I am more than anything else just excited to see them do more stuff in the future but as far as picking among them, it’s just too hard for me. But I’m thrilled that I agree with the choices.

Question:

One thing that struck me though, looking at the nominations, is that 12 of the 20 acting nominees are under the age of 40 and 5 of them are under 30. And I wonder if we’re coming around a bend in terms of young actors getting the opportunity to play Oscar-worthy roles. Do you think that there’s a sense that maybe there’s a confidence that you can handle it?

Edie:

Huh. Gosh I don’t know. That’s more thinking than I’ve done in a long time but I don’t know. I just know, or this could just be a crop of particularly talented young actors. It could just be the wave of things at the moment.