cWhat keeps her grounded? «The imposter syndrome (that of those who fear they have usurped success, ed)! But most of all, amazing family and friends who give me a quick kick in the ass (actually he uses a more colorful expression, ed) if by chance I lose touch with reality. I have no alternatives!». And she laughs, Rachel Brosnahanwho would also have some reason to get excited: he is the co-star of Dead for a dollar by the cult director Walter Hill (streaming on the main platforms from 13 March); back in Midge’s 50s guise, The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselfor the final season, the fifth (coming soon on Prime Video); is at the theater in his New York alongside Oscar Isaac with the coolest pièce of the season, The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window by Lorraine Hansberry (the first African-American to see one of her plays performed on Broadway, in 1959).
Rachel Brosnahan (Getty Images).
“Full of fears”
He doesn’t bring up meditation or yoga as the secret of his balance (“I don’t practice them, I’d like to: any suggestions?” he jokes). Rather, she reveals a very personal mantra: «“ Be kind and be courageous ”. They are two of the foundations that guide me. Like many actresses I was – and am – so full of fears that that reminder (being courageous in the way of loving, living, working) is a valuable lesson to be re-learned every day. And then, in a world increasingly full of darkness, it costs so little to choose to be kind!
Play chess
However, “Gentile” is not the adjective that best fits his character in Dead for a dollar: Rachel, the wife of a wealthy businessman who, in 1897, is kidnapped and then released in a crescendo of shootouts between bounty hunters and outlaws of the caliber of Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe… «Nothing in this western is as it seems, and that was Hill’s aim: the evolution of the genre» explains Brosnahan with his slow and thoughtful speech, very far from Mrs. Maisel’s “machine guns” (“Midge’s lines require perfection: if you skip a word or a punctuation, you break the rhythm»).
«Up until now, Rachel’s behavior had only been seen in male characters: she puts herself on the line while aware that the choice is between life and death, determined to play the game of chess against men. She is continually two moves ahead of them. She exploits emotions, but only if it is to her advantage: at times she can appear impulsive, but she is a formidable calculator ». And she? Is she impulsive or reflective? «I believe that listening to instincts is precious. In certain periods I have been very controlled, little by little I have realized that this search for control is fruitless, especially in my professionand I’ve become smarter: I distinguish from case to case».
It all started at school
There is a common denominator between Rachel in the film and Midge in the TV series: being women ahead of her time. «They are somehow “scandalous” and the most gratifying challenge for an interpreter is to compete with something new, to go beyond the limits. But I don’t have a strategy in selecting roles: it happens that, in retrospect, people tell me that I was inspirational. I guess that’s the power of art.”
At 32, he has already opened a production company, the Scrap Paper Pictures. Why such a hurry? «I am privileged to have interesting opportunities, unfortunately this is not the case for all. And I want to collaborate with a creative team that I admire. I feel the need to “give back” the chances that were offered to me when I was still inexperienced».
She imagined herself a dancer
Rachel Brosnahan with Alex Borstein in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”.
Rachel Brosnahan was not born with a vocation in her DNA. Originally from Wisconsin, the daughter of parents engaged in children’s publishing, she imagined herself as a dancer as a child. «I was a voracious reader, quite shy and a tad bit strange. I am half British and I remember as a child traveling back and forth between America and England with a suitcase full of books: I left them at my maternal grandparents’ house and filled it with novelties when I returned. That’s where I fell in love with the characters, the stories, and that’s what prompted me to participate in school plays».
The actress does not pretend to be an intellectual. «As a family, we watched American comedies, not necessarily artistic films: Austin Powers, movies with Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler… Only when I was older, and already interested in acting, I saw the beautiful classics. In college, sitting at my desk, I devoured one after another i 100 Masterpieces in the History of Cinema according to the list of the American Film InstituteAnd».
“The Graduation Party”
Rachel Brosnahan with Christoph Waltz and Warren Burke in “Dead for a Dollar”.
On the most important meetings, he has no doubts. “The one with Emma Thompson. I missed my graduation party, at 21 (I was on the set of Beautiful Creatures) and she realized that I had lost something significant. She came to the makeup room, she hugged me: “I’m so glad you’re finally here!”. I’ll never forget it. And I won’t forget Francis McDormand: I had a bit part in Olive Kitteridge and “Fran” took me and another young actor out to dinner to explain how showbusiness works and make suggestions. She didn’t have to. It meant so much to me: both showed me that one can be extremely dedicated to one’s work without losing generosity. And I am also grateful to Laray Mayfield, the casting director who cast me ten years ago for House of Cards (played the high class prostitute, ed) and now for Dead for a dollar».
“I’m learning sign language”
Rachel Brosnahan with Oscar Isaac (photo Catalina Kulczar).
Perhaps it is useless to ask her what she does on her free days, given the current amount of commitments: «I have little room left for hobbies» he confirms. But one significant thing comes to mind: «I’m learning sign language. Originally she was for a film about Helen Keller (the American writer and activist of the first half of the twentieth century who was deaf and blind from birth, ed): the project foundered, but I continue to follow the lessons. I learned a lot by attending the deaf community».
How did you feel about saying goodbye to Mrs. Maisel? Maybe it was a liberation… «The sensation is bittersweet. I grew up with this show, I was 26 when we started: it was a central moment, a gift that changed my life».
What’s on your wish list today? “I never dare to dream: every time I’ve hoped for something it has turned out to be wrong, and what has come by itself has been better than I could have imagined…”.
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