Jennifer Jason Leigh was one of Hollywood's official it girls throughout much of the 1990s ("Single White Female," anyone?), yet you'd be hard pressed to find many millennials who know her face or are familiar with her large body of work, since she's been relatively dormant for the past several years now.
Fortunately, 2015 has changed that for the better.
In a pair of unforgettable performances — the tender voice of Lisa in Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa" and the ferocious outlaw Daisy Domergue in Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" — Leigh has firmly put herself back on top of the list of best actresses in the business, reminding audiences just how fearless she can be. Her turn in the latter has thrust her into the Best Supporting Actress Oscar race, and she owes it not only to Tarantino, but also to her crazy determination.
Leigh was in the audience the night Tarantino did his live reading of "The Hateful Eight" screenplay, in which Amber Tamblyn took on the role of Daisy. Falling in love with the role on the spot, Leigh made it her mission to secure the part and to convince Tarantino she was the only one who could bring Daisy to life on screen. Effortlessly stealing the movie from her co-stars with an unrivaled feral intensity, Leigh gives birth to one of 2015's craziest screen characters, and it seems like no one could've taken on the role with as much tenacity as her.
Below, Leigh joins Indiewire and Time Warner Cable's Awards Season Spotlight to discuss building her memorable character with Tarantino and to offer up her own teachable acting advice.
Sarah Fri Jan 22 16:31:27 EST 2016
100% agree with everything Lulu said. JJL and Laura Dern are my two favorite Hollywood actresses over 40 precisely because they're both doing such daring, bold, downright ORIGINAL work on screen. I doubt that Leigh will win the Oscar for The Hateful Eight, but that's a sure sign of her power and originality - Hollywood has never quite known what to do with her, and it doesn't understand her unusual talent. In a way it's surprising they even nominated her for such an uncompromising performance, but I'm happy it has raised popular and industry awareness of her talent so much. She's one of the greats, and a collaboration with David Lynch is long overdue.
lulu Fri Jan 22 03:22:37 EST 2016
Jennifer Jason Leigh, ditto Laura Dern, are taking actresses over forty to some exciting, diverse places, Leigh's Daisy D. was just incredible, and I'd say all the controversy was simply code for uncompromising and fearless work. Memo to David Lynch, I hear you, you want to keep Twin Peaks under wraps but if you haven't, as reported, hired both Leigh and Dern for TP, just know I'm prepared to wait till 2018 for you to get about writing them in.