{"id":97919,"date":"2024-12-19T22:15:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T22:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=97919"},"modified":"2024-12-19T22:24:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T22:24:48","slug":"natasha-lyonne-grazia-usa-winter-2024-cover-story","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/natasha-lyonne-grazia-usa-winter-2024-cover-story\/","title":{"rendered":"GRAZIA USA Winter Cover Star: Natasha Lyonne, New York Doll"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Natasha
Loewe dress and shorts, Giuseppe Tella hat, Marc Jacobs shoes, Cartier jewelry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Words by Christopher Bollen<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

What is one of Natasha Lyonne\u2019s biggest fantasies? \u201cTo be a wallflower! The quiet mysterious woman in the corner who\u2019s almost on the verge of disappearing. That\u2019s always been my f\u2013ing fantasy!\u201d Unfortunately, the role of wallflower was never in the cards for the 45-year-old actress\u2014not by nature or by nurture. It\u2019s worth noting that she mentions this dream of going under the radar at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night wearing a sparkly poly-knit gray-and-white two-piece pajama set with ruffled sleeves and bell-bottom cuffs that she bought off Instagram because it reminded her of the wardrobe of her dead Hungarian grandmother. Add to it, her signature lion\u2019s mane of red-orange hair<\/a>\u2014a style more wildflower than wallflower\u2014and pepper it with arguably the most idiosyncratic voice working in film today\u2014coarse as Manhattan concrete, electric as a short burst of microphone interference\u2014and you\u2019ve got a woman who is so far from disappearing in a corner that you almost wonder how a human could be any more alive and awake to the moment. Her wit is so sharp and quick, always on, always running, you get the sense her energy could feed the entire downtown Manhattan grid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Natasha
Dior dress, 800-929-DIOR; Noel Stewart Millinery headpiece, noelstewart.com; Cartier earrings, bracelet, cartier.com; Paum\u00e9 Los Angeles gloves, boots, paumelosangeles.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cI\u2019VE BEEN ACTING FOR 40 YEARS. <\/i>I\u2019M A 360-MOVIE MACHINE. <\/i>I\u2019M MR. MOVIEFONE OVER HERE.\u201d<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lyonne needs every ounce of energy for the armada of projects she\u2019s taken on. She\u2019s currently filming the second season of her hit comedy-mystery show Poker Face<\/i>, where she serves as producer, star, and sometimes director (her lead role in season one as the street-smart human-lie detector Charlie Cale earned her a nomination for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at last year\u2019s Emmys). Her latest film, director Azazel Jacob\u2019s gloriously wrenching indie drama, His Three Daughters<\/i>, about three incompatible sisters gathering in their father\u2019s downtown New York apartment for his final days, was released this past September and is garnering award-season chatter for Lyonne in her unforgettable turn as the volatile black sheep. Lyonne also has a slew of upcoming projects in the works (including the next installment in the Marvel Fantastic Four universe). And it\u2019s nearly impossible to drive through Los Angeles or clomp around New York City without seeing Lyonne as a fashion muse<\/a> for brands like Warby Parker and Maison Schiaparelli. This flurry of attention usually swirls around some just-discovered ingenue in a blockbuster film franchise. Only Lyonne, all 5\u20193\u201d of her, has been in the bright, sometimes harsh lights of the entertainment industry almost as soon as she could walk. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Natasha
Herm\u00e8s dress, hat, cuffs, hermes.com; Cartier earrings, necklace, ring, watch, cartier.com; Christopher John Rogers sunglasses, christopherjohnrogers.com; Christian Louboutin shoes, christianlouboutin.com; Search & Destroy whip, (212) 358-1120.\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one who\u2019s heard Lyonne speak will be shocked to learn she was born in New York City. Encouraged by her parents\u2014Lyonne describes the encouragement more like \u201cbeing raised by wolves that turned into Lord of the Flies<\/i>\u201d\u2014she began working in commercials at age six and landed a gig on Pee-Wee\u2019s Playhouse<\/i> at seven. Lyonne, however, is quick to cast aside any claims of being a famous pre-adolescent. \u201cWhenever I see Macaulay Culkin or Drew Barrymore, there\u2019s an immediate bond between us,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I always remind them, \u2018You guys were childhood stars. I was a childhood character actor.\u2019 I was not the face of Home Alone<\/i> or E.T<\/i>. Which is to say all the money I made as a kid did not result in a Lamborghini, or a Lambo, which is all I wanted. My situation was very different than theirs.\u201d As her family\u2019s de facto breadwinner, Lyonne worked steadily from six to 16, when she was cast in Woody Allen\u2019s musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You<\/i>. For some, landing an Allen film would be the confirmation that she was on the right path, but Lyonne felt like she was coming to the end of that whole part of her life. \u201cI associated acting with child\u2019s play,\u201d she recalls. \u201cLike drinking a glass of Minute Maid and saying delicious over and over again. That was my parent\u2019s dream and I had conquered it.\u201d She went to college at NYU\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, studying film and philosophy, already thinking of a bigger-picture, cerebral career as a writer-director in line with the contemplative art-house masterpieces of Allen or Ingmar Bergman. Acting, however, didn\u2019t give up on Lyonne so easily. Projects kept coming. While she might not have been a child star, she certainly became one in her late teens, with defining performances in Slums of Beverly Hills, American Pie<\/i>, and But I\u2019m a Cheerleader. <\/i>In her early 20s, Lyonne had reached her ingenue moment, a gorgeous, gregarious actress with a dazzling talent. Opportunities abounded. What could go wrong?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Harris Reed dress, harrisreed.com; Cartier earrings, bracelet, cartier.com; Le Silla shoes, lesilla.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dates get hazy in addiction-land. How and when did Lyonne\u2019s demons begin to overwhelm her life? Probably in the early to mid-2000s. Eventually drugs took their toll, drained her savings, and wiped the opportunities dry. Eventually she found rehab and more than anything, a desire and determination to stay alive. Because Lyonne almost didn\u2019t survive her 20s. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to this sort of fucked-up origin story,\u201d she says, looking back on those dark years, \u201cbecause so much blossomed from that. Without that sort of dysfunction, what story would I have to tell?\u201d By the late aughts, Lyonne had found sobriety and her feet, but her starry-eyed ingenue days were over, Hollywood not being much of a forgiving place for second chances and false starts. \u201cHonestly for a while, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d go back to acting,\u201d she admits. \u201cI thought I\u2019d become a social worker. I was annoyed I didn\u2019t have the education to go work for NASA.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bottega Veneta dress, shoes, bottegaveneta.com; Cartier necklace, cartier.com; Hannah Freeke gloves, hannahfreeke.com; Nicholas Des Jardins whip, nicholasdesjardins.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cSOMETIMES I LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF <\/i>WORK I\u2019M DOING, AND I\u2019M LIKE, DO I HAVE <\/i>GAMBLING DEBTS I\u2019M NOT AWARE OF?\u201d<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lyonne\u2019s current fan base might be enormous, but it\u2019s her friend base that\u2019s been a constant of her life\u2014many of whom are fellow New Yorkers in the arts\u2014and she leaned on these solid friendships to get her through the uncertain years after getting clean. \u201cChlo\u00eb swept me up and took care of me,\u201d Lyonne says, of one of her most treasured and valuable friendships with actress Chlo\u00eb Sevigny. \u201cThat\u2019s just Chlo\u00eb, how good she is.\u201d (Flash forward a decade, and Sevigny would make cameos in both of Lyonne\u2019s hit television shows.) It was Sevigny who recommended Lyonne to director Mike Leigh when he was casting the 2008 New York stage production of his play Two Thousand Years<\/i>. \u201cI got very serious about it,\u201d she says. \u201cI watched every Mike Leigh movie, read everything, got the full British accent going, lived a block from the theater so I could just be there every day obsessively.\u201d Lyonne is the kind of actor who enters the mouth of the beast, heart and mind. When she takes a part, she\u2019s fully invested, and like the best actors, some of who she is melds with the character, fitting together like a bolt in a lock.<\/p>\n

\"Natasha
Luis De Javier top, thong, skirt, hat, luisdejavier.com; Cartier earrings, ring, cartier.com; Paula Rowan gloves, paularowan.com; YUME YUME shoes, yumeyume.eu.\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other early offerings were hardly so creative or glamorous (or even financially compensating). \u201cI did a Michael Madson movie where I had to fly myself to Atlanta and bring my own clothes,\u201d she recalls, referencing the forgettable backwoods torture horror Outrage: Born in Terror<\/i>. \u201cThey knew I was on a level that I couldn\u2019t argue the terms.\u201d Little by little, part by part, Lyonne remade a name for herself, rebuilding the house that had spectacularly blazed to ash. Without question, the job that marked the U-turn was her role as the tough-talking junkie on the long-running prison drama Orange Is the New Black.<\/i> The role of Nicky allowed her a showcase to prove her acting chops and create a character not just of wicked comic one-liners but of careful complexity and emotional depth. It also, tellingly, was a show that was primarily made by women. With the success of Orange,<\/i> Lyonne was back, really back, and yet it was also a totally new Natasha Lyonne, a career designed on her own terms and in her own making. She wouldn\u2019t just act out the lines written for her. She\u2019d control the page they were written on. Lyonne went from performer to ringleader, actress to multi-hyphenate mogul.<\/p>\n

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Schiaparelli jacket, hat, bag, schiaparelli.com; FIDAN NOVRUZOVA shorts, fidannovruzova.com; Falke tights, falke.com; Cartier earrings, rings, cartier.com; Paula Rowan gloves, paularowan.com; Marc Jacobs boots, marcjacobs.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in the present, where she\u2019s wearing the Las Vegas-y dead-grandmother sparkly pajama set, Lyonne is keeping her eye on the time. She needs to leave soon for the taping of Saturday Night Live<\/i>. Many of her friends are part of the cast for this episode\u2014including Maya Rudolph, with whom she began her production company Animal Pictures in 2018. (Rudolph eventually split off to explore other projects.) It\u2019s going to be a late night\u2014even later than usual because the clocks are turning back for daylight savings, and Lyonne has a packed day tomorrow, packed week really, with all the filming, packed eternity ahead of her. But a late night is music to Lyonne\u2019s ears. She\u2019s always been a night owl. In her younger days, that predilection meant bars or clubs or friends\u2019 crash-pad apartments, staying up to watch the dawn shuffle over the East River. That post-midnight urge to stay up is still a part of her routine a decade and a half into sobriety. She rarely falls asleep before 3 a.m. When she has an early call time on Poker Face<\/i>, she\u2019ll put herself to bed at 10 and just lie there, sleeplessly in the dark. \u201cI\u2019ll read a book, do my crosswords, play Wordle or Spelling Bee. I\u2019ll meditate. But I won\u2019t fall asleep. I can fall asleep at 2 in the afternoon, no problem. But 10 p.m.? Forget it. It\u2019s 3 a.m. now and I have to be up by 5, and now I\u2019m in trouble because I can\u2019t even call in an order for coffee because no one delivers in that window.\u201d In Lyonne\u2019s dream world (one that really is conducive to New York City), nothing should happen in the mornings. \u201cMy biggest goal as an actor is to never work in summer because I have too much hair. And to never work before noon.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yohji Yamamoto jacket, theshopyohjiyamamoto.com; FIDAN NOVRUZOVA shorts, fidannovruzova.com; Cartier earrings, cartier.com; Paum\u00e9 Los Angeles tights, gloves,paumelosangeles.com; Lidow Archive shoes, lidowarchive.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked if it\u2019s the intense pressure of all the work\u2014so much riding on these slender shoulders\u2014she shakes her head. She\u2019d be up until 3 a.m. in a convent with nothing to do the next day. And really, all of the multiple hat-wearing is a prison of her own making. \u201cSometimes I look at the amount of work I\u2019m doing, and I\u2019m like, do I have gambling debts I\u2019m not aware of? Am I paying child support that I don\u2019t know about? Why am I working this hard? Who\u2019s this for?\u201d It\u2019s a fair question, but it\u2019s also all the work that excites her, allows her roller-coaster mind to find a track and make incredible thrill rides on the screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019M VERY GRATEFUL TO THIS SORT OF <\/i>FUCKED-UP ORIGIN STORY, BECAUSE SO <\/i>MUCH BLOSSOMED FROM THAT.\u201d<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But why do these projects matter so much more to her than the ones she was making the first time around? In reply she offers up anecdote from her childhood auditioning days. \u201cI didn\u2019t get the role of Curly Sue [in the 1991 film about a con-artist drifter and a curly-haired redhead orphan]. I was devastated at the time. But looking back, I realize that I was never going to get that role, even though I was perfect for it. Same with Annie. The only way I\u2019m going to get to play Annie is if I write Annie. Then everyone will be like, holy shit, she\u2019s Annie!\u201d That claiming of her own character by creating it herself, all talent and ambition from start to finish, did manifest with her 2019 Netflix hit show Russian Doll<\/i>, which she created, wrote, produced, co-directed, and starred. \u201cIt was a radical tectonic shift because people understood it came from me.\u201d It was pure Natasha Lyonne, a smart, tough, vulnerable night urchin wandering around Manhattan\u2019s East Village, trying to solve the point\u2014or purposelessness\u2014of her own existence while the last day of her life (in season one) recurs on infinite loop. The brilliant metaphysical acid trip lasted for two seasons, much of it involving night shoots filmed in the blocks around her own apartment. (Lyonne was obviously in heaven.) She hopes Russian Doll<\/i> will continue on in some capacity, using Twin Peaks<\/i> as a model, sparking future films or follow-up seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Paula Einfalt bodysuit, bandeau, sleeve, pants, hat,\u00a0 <\/span>no website; Cartier necklace, bracelet, watch, rings, cartier.com; Women\u2019s History Museum shoes, womenshistorymuseum.co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If there is a similarity between Russian Doll<\/i> and Poker Face<\/i>\u2014aside from the lead\u2014it\u2019s the feeling that arises in each show that the rotating collection of actors are coming together to work on something strange and unique. In other words, they\u2019re each a piece of art rather than a quick means of paying the rent. There\u2019s the sense of something personal on the line with these projects, an act of vulnerability and sharing rather than the usual tendency of actors to disappear and hide their weak spots.. This approach has become something of a staple of Lyonne\u2019s process: bringing friends on board, making the set or writer\u2019s room into a community of like-minded souls. (Sevigny isn\u2019t the only actor who overlaps on both shows.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already talked about how important Lyonne\u2019s crew of New York friends is to her, and the community she\u2019s created in her work life isn\u2019t all that different. \u201cI love my family,\u201d she says. \u201cI love being with friends and getting things made together. I was just thinking in the shower this morning, trying to be Zen, trying to be George Harrison before going to the set, how lucky I am for each and every one of them.\u201d The Lyonne adopted family is forever expanding. One of her biggest collaborators in recent years is Glass Onion<\/i> director and producer Rian Johnson, who helped bring Poker Face<\/i> to life. \u201cI met Natasha through my wife [Karina Longworth, creator of the popular Hollywood podcast You Must Remember This<\/i>]. It was during the time that Russian Doll <\/i>came out and I just had a laser-focus of wanting to work with this person,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cRussian Doll<\/i> was the first thing Natasha had done that she\u2019d completely crafted for herself, and I couldn\u2019t take my eyes off her on the screen. There was an intelligence and magnetism, and something as singular about her performance as about Peter Falk [star of the late 1960s and \u201970s detective show Columbo<\/i>].\u201d Soon Poker Face<\/i> came into being, something of a joint effort between star and creator. \u201cWe both love getting our hands dirty. It might look very riffy as a show, but it\u2019s incredibly crafted, and it takes a lot of work. It\u2019s especially intense to be the lead where you\u2019re carrying every single episode.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Natasha
zomer jacket, skirt, zomerparis.com; Falke tights, falke.com; Giuseppe Tella hat, giuseppetella.com; Cartier earrings, rings, cartier.com; Lidow Archive shoes, lidowarchive.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI WAS ANNOYED <\/i>I DIDN\u2019T HAVE <\/i>THE EDUCATION <\/i>TO GO WORK <\/i>FOR NASA.\u201d<\/i><\/h3>\n

If Poker Face<\/i> is an homage to the star-studded-cameo days of Columbo, <\/i>the film His Three Daughters<\/i> harkens back to another of Lyonne\u2019s favorite genres: the intimate independent film. Lyonne is something of an indie film fanatic of the old-school writer-director vein, which has become something of an endangered species in the American cinema landscape. Jacobs wrote the script with Lyonne in mind for the thorny, chain-smoking character, and it didn\u2019t take much convincing to get her to agree. Part of the appeal was not simply the talent quotient of her costars (Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon), but Jacobs\u2019s personal, hands-on approach. \u201cThat was a real Lower East Side apartment we filmed in. I think Jacobs pasted up fliers looking for the perfect apartment himself. Az is the last analog filmmaker. He hand-delivered the scripts. That\u2019s what made working on it so incredible. We all synched up for 17 days and made a little family out of it.\u201d Beware of complimenting Lyonne on her performance. Don\u2019t lead with something like, \u201cGosh, that was unexpected from you. I always think of you as a comedian, but to be able to punch heavyweight in a drama? Wow.\u201d Lyonne is an autodidact, meaning she doesn\u2019t have formal training, but she has a life of experience in the trenches. \u201cI am at a weird point in my career,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve been acting for 40 years. I\u2019m a 360-movie machine. I\u2019m Mr. Moviefone over here. So, when people say, \u2018God, she\u2019s never been better. Who knew she could do that?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Are you guys insulting me? Why are you surprised?\u2019 I\u2019ve been doing this the whole time. Bring me a script by Merchant Ivory if you don\u2019t believe me! I just don\u2019t get those opportunities, so I have to make them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Natasha
Duran Lantink top, shorts, duranlantink.com; Luis De Javier tights, thong, luisdejavier.com; Cartier necklace, cartier.com; Lidow Archive shoes, lidowarchive.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s time to go. Lyonne slips into the bathroom and reappears in a black tank top and a black leather miniskirt with black tights and boots. She\u2019s changed out of the pajamas. She suggests coming by the set of Poker Face<\/i>, climbs into a waiting SUV and drives north into a loud New York Saturday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days later, on a soundstage located on the edge of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, shooting for season two of Poker Face<\/i> is underway. Two monitors off set catch the camera\u2019s POV of a pivotal scene starring Lyonne and one of her seasoned guest stars. This scene is just one of six that will be shot that day. First, they do their blocking and rehearsals, and a few takes later they\u2019re rolling. The camera homes in on Lyonne\u2019s face. It\u2019s a movie-star face, dynamic and bewitching with a universe of subtle messages being conveyed in every dart of the eyes and twitch of the mouth. The scene is repeated for a few more takes, and Lyonne\u2019s artistry is on full display\u2014offering subtle variations on her character\u2019s inner turmoil even when she isn\u2019t speaking any lines. Again, again, again, and that\u2019s a wrap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Luar top, shorts, belt, sunglasses, boots, luar.world; SKIMS bodysuit, skims.com; Cartier earrings, watch, cartier.com; Coach bag, coach.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two hours later there\u2019s a break, and Lyonne is back in her dressing room, a large white office-like space with a comfortable sofa. She\u2019s on her phone, texting back and forth with the casting director about actors for future episodes. During this short lunch, she\u2019s also scheduled for a meeting with a rep from the show\u2019s L.A. production company to go over scheduling before she has to get ready for the filming of her next scene. When asked how she handles \u201call this\u201d\u2014the acting in front of the screen, all the producing work behind it, the expectations and the artistry and the meetings, and even still managing a personal life, she pauses, slumps back on the sofa, and in a moment of solemnity before she dissolves into laughter, quotes Stormzy, quoting Shakespeare. \u201cHeavy is the head that wears the crown. OK, get out of here. See you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Words by Christopher Bollen<\/i>, Photography by Richie Shazam, Styling by Patti Wilson<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Set Design by Nicholas Des Jardins<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hair by John Novotny at Opus Beauty using Oribe, Hair Assistance by Miss Kam<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Make-Up by Mitch Yoshida, Nails by Sonya Meeshat Forward Artists, Tailoring by Cha Cha Zutic<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Production by @AGPNYC, Special thanks to Jonathan Baez, Dax Reedy, Emma Cabana, Elijah Hollingsworth, Jessica Ahialey<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read GRAZIA USA\u2019<\/em>s Winter Issue<\/a> featuring cover star Natasha Lyonne<\/a>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n