Actor Carrie Coon has appeared in TV series such as “The Leftovers”, “Fargo” and “The Gilded Age,” as well as movies such as “Gone Girl.”
But here in Chicago, she is perhaps best known as an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre, alongside her husband, the actor and writer Tracy Letts. Coon, who splits her time between New York and Chicago, appeared in Steppenwolf productions “Bug” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (the latter netted her a Tony Award nomination for her rol in the Broadway production).
Currently, Coon stars in the third season of Mike White’s award-winning HBO anthology The White Lotus.” Her character is one in a trio of middle-aged women who take a girls’ trip to Thailand. While they are ostensibly vacationing, each character’s secrets lurk under an otherwise placid surface. It’s the type of layered, complex character that has attracted Coon throughout her career.
Coon talked with WBEZ about “The White Lotus,” working with White on character development and the perennial pull of theater.
Q. In this current season of “The White Lotus,” you play Laurie Duffy, a character that, as the season is unfolding, still feels like a mystery in a lot of ways. What drew you to her?
A. What drew me to the role is Mike White. I’m a fan of “Chuck & Buck.” I love the show “Enlightened,” which he did a number of years ago on HBO with Laura Dern. It’s thematically similar to “The White Lotus.” It deals with spirituality, death and enlightenment. So, I’ve always wanted to work with Mike.
Q. What was it like working with Mike White? People say he’s very hands-on and has a clear vision for story and character.
A. I mean, look, if you’ve been doing this long enough, you know that the worst kind of director is one that’s making arbitrary decisions. Nothing Mike does is arbitrary. He knows his characters inside and out. He’s written all the episodes and he’s directing them. He has a lot of creative control. And what’s wonderful about Mike is not only is the writing excellent, but he is not precious about the writing. So, he is willing to make changes on the fly if something doesn’t sound right, or he’s willing to pursue a quality in an actor that he enjoys, throw out another joke, shift a joke slightly. He’s open to your suggestions. It’s very playful to be on set with Mike.
He also is very compassionate and generous and wants to make sure that everybody feels included in the collaboration — which, in my experience, is much more akin to theater. He wants the other artists who are working on hair, makeup or camera to feel like they are included in the process and respected. I appreciate him leading that way as well, because he knows that the conditions he’s putting us actors in are challenging. You know, we’re far from home. We’re moving [locations] around a lot. We moved about 12 times, and the heat was really extreme. He said at our premiere that everybody knows this was not an easy job, which I think is the misperception about something like this — that it’s somehow easy when it’s really not. It’s quite extreme.
Q. For better or for worse, we all watch TV with social media now. We’re watching this trio of women who seem to be regarded by audiences as the show’s most relatable characters. How much of that dynamic is Mike’s script and how much of that is the three of you (Coon with actresses Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb) having really good chemistry with each other?
A. I would say 75% Mike and 25% chemistry, because Mike knows exactly what he’s doing. He has very intentionally put a relatable storyline in a season that has some very Greek, very transgressive themes that can be alienating for some viewers. But this dynamic is very recognizable for people, and it is a great entry into the show — a sort of soft landing place for people who feel challenged by some of the other things and other questions Mike is raising in the show. It’s good writing, that’s what it is.
And Mike will tell you he saw three women on vacation. He called them a “blonde blob,” and they were at the table together, and he’s like, “I couldn’t really tell them apart. They looked exactly the same. But then one of them would get up and leave, and the other two would start talking about the one who left.” So, he actually saw this in action. He loves the women. He understands them. He could play any of us in the show better than we’re playing them ourselves. And so, he just had so much compassion for what these women are going through at this place in their lives, where they’re examining the life choices they’ve made in relationship to their friends.
Q. What is it like to film this series? It’s an anthology, so a lot of actors and characters are just coming into the story now. But it’s also set and filmed in Thailand.
A. It’s interesting because, of course, we have a couple of actors who have been through it before, so they’ve experienced the world of “The White Lotus” in each place. But, they will tell you, in every iteration, there is some form of extremity in the location, whether it’s weather or COVID. And you know, it’s like a new show every season for everybody, because they have a new crew, an entirely different location, language and weather.
For us, the group of ladies, we were the first team up for the first couple of weeks. They shot all of our scenes in the villa, so we were part of that learning curve. And so, in that way, it just feels like you’re making a new show, even if the structure of it is similar. And this season opens with a real banger, literally, where it feels like a much more extreme version of that murder mystery is unfolding. If Mike has his way, it will just continue to get bigger and more international and more chaotic.
So, it’s intense. That region of the world experienced the most extreme temperatures we’ve ever had since keeping track, and now they’re ahead of that record this year. So, it was not easy. It was 115 degrees and incredibly humid. The UV index is very high. I mean, I did not go outside from 9 to 5 on days when I wasn’t shooting, because that’s how dangerous being in the sun is there. There are villages in Thailand that don’t have any water, even as the resorts have infinite amounts of water for the tourists who are coming through. So, you see that exploitation firsthand. And of course, while Mike is glamorizing and glorifying that kind of vacation, he is well aware of the dark side and exploitation that’s occurring in that system as well.
Q. What is it like for you as an artist, juggling theater, television and film? And at this point in your career, do you feel more natural in either of those areas?
A. I’m certainly spending more time on camera these days than I am on the stage. But I had historically been able to get back on stage every two or three years. But I think I’m over three years now. I’ve been trying very hard to get some things going. We would love to get “Bug” done in New York. We did it in Chicago right before the pandemic and right after the pandemic. But it’s hard to get that kind of art made, because people don’t want to do political theater. They don’t want to do theater that’s confrontational sometimes. And also, because of the commodification of art, you also need bigger and bigger stars to get plays done in New York.
Now, in Chicago, we still have a real grassroots, ensemble-based theater scene. That is not true in New York. It’s very much a star system. And so, for somebody like me, I have to be on, you know, a wildly successful show like “The White Lotus” before anybody will put me into play, because they have to worry about their bottom line.
I like getting back to the theater. One of the reasons is because we actually get to tell a story in order. You know, on “The White Lotus,” on my first day of work, I shot from three or four episodes. That’s really hard. You haven’t even walked around yet as this [character] or opened your mouth, and then suddenly, you’re shooting the end of the season on day one — which makes it feel like it’s a miracle anything is good and that it could all be better.
That said, a theater schedule is in some ways tough. When you have young children like I have, you work on the weekends in the theater. You rehearse during the day and then it flip-flops, and you work at night and you work all weekend. And that’s not a great schedule for little kids. So, I have to say it’s actually harder to get back on stage as a mom than it is to do TV and film, which is weird. You might think it’s the other way around. But I feel so grateful to be doing any of it. It is not easy to succeed.
Q. I recently spoke with the artistic directors at Steppenwolf, and they have an ensemble season planned for the theater’s 50th anniversary starting this fall. They said there would be some surprise appearances, Are you one of the surprises?
A. I mean, it’s not that we didn’t try. We’re always trying. I’m always trying to get back. But again, I will reiterate that my kids are small. I’m in New York for The Gilded Age. There’s a world where we get to come back to the Midwest, which is where my heart absolutely is. Tracy and I are going to do our best to support the theater this year and hopefully get back for the gala.
Q. You mentioned your husband, Tracy Letts, who’s also a fixture in Chicago’s theater scene. You have a reputation for playing complex characters. Is your selection of roles related to having a husband who also has a keen eye for storytelling? Are your selections a team effort?
A. Well, I’ll say that we are snobs when it comes to material. Like, we understand the expression “If it’s not on the page, it’s not on the stage,” and that’s true for film as well. So, if I’m on the fence about a script, I will make Tracy read it if I just don’t know if everything’s there or what needs to change. And so, I will involve him often in those decisions.
And we’re balancing two careers: Tracy’s also doing a lot of film acting right now and television acting. He’s not just writing. We sort of came up through TV and film at the same time, even though we’re 15 years apart. And so, I’m also balancing his career. So, we are always asking, “What is the undeniable job and how can we make it work?” “The White Lotus was an example of one of those undeniable jobs.”