If you've seen Russian Doll, you'll have had Greta Lee's voice knocking around your head. "Sweet birthday baby!" trills her character, Maxine, an artist who's throwing her friend Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) a 36th birthday party. Unbeknownst to Maxine, she's doomed to say that line over and over (and over and over) again, because inside Nadia's head/purgatory/parallel universe, the night continually reboots until Nadia can figure out exactly what is happening to her.
Lee should win some kind of award for that line: Every time it comes out of her mouth, it sounds Maxine-ish yet subtly changed; anchoring, yet a little destabilizing. "I expressed a little bit of hesitation about taking on this role," she says over the phone, "because I felt like, This is gonna be actor suicide, to have to say the same line again and again, who would want to do this?"
But on set, each new loop of Nadia's was meticulously tracked, and that meant each new iteration of the birthday scene, including Lee's memorable line, did actually feel different. "Thank god, 'cause it would have been really boring," she says. "Or, maybe, actually, that's a shame. I could have just shot that scene once and they could have just copy/pasted me in."
ELLE.com spoke to Lee about Maxine's wild party outfit, the 2008 Balenciaga dress Lee wore to the Russian Doll premiere, and her obsession with roast chicken.
So you had to handle a raw chicken over and over again in your scene. Do you have a killer chicken recipe?
Greta Lee: Oh my god, how much time do we have? Yes. I'm embarrassed to reveal how much time I have spent in my life thinking about roasted chicken. I'm not kidding. There's a Thomas Keller recipe that is a classic, in my eyes. The key is you have to dry the shit out of the chicken. It could take two whole rolls of paper towels, but it's worth it. If you dry it inside out, that's what makes it roast evenly—and I know this is turning into a cooking program—but that's how you get the skin to crisp. I don't believe in using herbed butter and all that other stuff, like basting it. Just salt and pepper, dry the chicken, and you're good.
There's also a very good Buzzfeed article about how to roast a perfect chicken, where [they try] different classic recipes, which I've memorized by heart. I'm serious about roasted chicken.
Maxine's party outfit is so striking. What was it? Did you have any say in what it was going to be?
I'd worked with [costume designer] Jenn Rogien before on Girls, and she's a master at creating a full-fledged character with a little. She's really thinking about that character, in real life, how they would shop. Often I've been on sets where everyone is in the same AllSaints leather bomber, and I don't understand why, 'cause that's an expensive coat!
We talked about all the different directions we could go with Maxine. She's part of this art world, she's part of this New York crowd. And answering fundamental questions of: Where does she shop? What does she like to put on? If she's hosting a party, does she like to wear shoes? Or is she a shoes-off kind of person?
The clothes are actually fast fashion. I think the top is from H&M, and those crazy leggings, too. They're not fancy. But it reminds me of a time in my life...where you're throwing a party or going to one, and just kind of grabbing something, not making it such a precious affair. Like, "Oh, I love those annoying pants. I'm gonna wear those tonight."
Was there a lot of improvisation in Russian Doll? The plot is so specific.
Improvising was a huge part of the process. And I think for myself and Natasha and Leslye [Headland, co-creator of Russian Doll], that's just a natural part of working. Thankfully, the writing is excellent, so that's our home base. But there are certain things that can only happen because you feel the freedom to improvise. That comes from being secure and not having to ask for permission to make a horribly bad decision, or to try something that's so wrong.
I definitely think that has a lot to do with having an all-female team. There is something to be said about not having this ingrained consciousness of taking up space and asking for permission. I don't mean to male-bash, but there's a certain amount of handholding that sometimes can happen when there aren't a lot of women around. It can be exhausting, and it can get in the way of working. It's such a gift to be able to just skip all of that. This experience has completely ruined me for all future experiences.
You wore 2008 Balenciaga to the Russian Doll premiere. Are you a fashion nerd?
That was so special to me, wearing that dress. It was maybe for an audience of three other people. But yes, I like clothes. I'm thinking a lot about how everything is so fast right now, in terms of art, and that extends to TV, certainly, but also fashion and the pace that things move, this compulsion for newness. There's just something so nice about going backwards.
I don't know if the show did that to me, but...I worked with a stylist, with Danielle Nachmani, and I thought it would be so great to wear something old. Look back at something that was great, while continuing to appreciate innovation and newness. Something felt right in celebrating this show, of looking back to what felt so important to me at a different time in my life. That Balenciaga campaign was so major, for some of us.
Did you see Cardi B wearing that Thierry Mugler at the Grammys?
Yes, yes! Oh my god. Iconic. How incredible. And, not to racialize it, but to see Cardi B in that outfit is just monumental. It makes me emotional. I think it's so wonderful.
I know you're pregnant right now—how has that influenced your style?
You've caught me at a very strange point, in my life, in terms of that. I'm continuing to wear some of the designers I've always loved. I've always loved Rachel Comey. When I first moved to New York, her mule boots were...I remember standing in line at a sample sale for four hours just to get in. That's when I was waiting tables in the East Village. She'll always have a nostalgic quality for me.
I joke with her, that she's got an underground maternity line that people don't know about. You can just wear it! It's so weird. I think she would be the first one to admit it, but I don't even really need to change my size—somehow it works. I was wearing some Proenza the other day, that we just untied differently. People are being a little bit more democratic in terms of the silhouette, so that makes it possible to be pregnant and keep dressing the way I've always dressed.
I feel wary to attach myself to one sort of thing [in terms of style] because it is always changing. I don't want to chalk it up to the election, but my husband and I joke about pre-Trump versus post-Trump, and aesthetically what that's done to me. There's something about the performance of femininity that just doesn't exist for me anymore. Basically, pre-Trump—I'm just gonna call it—I had long, blonde, waist-length hair. I was never a hyper-femme girl. But there's a clear difference now. I mean, my hair is chin-length and black, and I dress totally differently. I feel like I can't help but yoke that together with my feelings about what's happening, and how women are being talked about.
Do you mean you think less about what other people think? Or is it a particular aesthetic?
Dressing has become a more selfish act. Which I'm happy about, I guess. It feels like an arena that I'm wanting to claim complete ownership of. Which feels rare, during these times. As a mom, too, I think being able to carve out whatever space I can for just myself. It's a challenge, and I think sometimes clothing can help with that. I do feel like it's empowering to reach an age where you don't feel like you're putting anything on for anyone other than yourself. That feels very different than my twenties.
Russian Doll is streaming on Netflix now.
