Tilda Swinton Loves Comedy and Pulling Pranks: 7 Highlights from Her Reddit AMA
This past Sunday, acting Goddess Tilda Swinton took to her comfy arm-chair to participate in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session in promotion of her latest film, “Snowpiercer.” This appearance comes right on the heels of “Snowpiercer” director Bong Joon-Ho‘s very own Reddit experience, in which he revealed his creative style and some of his favorite filmmakers. Already having an active year in which she appeared in the hits “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Only Lovers Left Alive,” Swinton is again making the rounds. Here, she curled up with her dog and fielded a slew of questions as broad as her range of work. We picked out some of the funniest, most charming and most informative excerpts.
Read More: Review of ‘Snowpiercer’ Asks Whether Creative Battle for Director’s Cut Was Worth It
She loves “Snowpiercer” director Bong Joon Ho.
When asked what inspired her to work on “Snowpiercer,” the actress emphatically declared “BONG JOON-HO.” Swinton said she is a fan of all of his work, especially making note of “Memories of Murder,” “The Host,” “Mother” and his debut feature “Barking Dogs Never Bite.” She also showed a great deal of respect for her fellow cast members, including Song Kang Ho, who she called “a proper film star in the best sense.”
For such a dramatic actress, she can’t do without comedy.
“Comedy = lifeblood,” said Swinton, leaving very little up to interpretation as to whether or not she was a fan of certain comedians. It appears too that the actress has a taste for popular stand-up acts including Bill Murray, Mitch Hedberg, Will Ferrell, Bill Hader and Amy Schumer. This begs the question: When will someone let this versatile star host “Saturday Night Live”?
She has some great stories about former co-stars.
After joking (maybe) that she has a stash of photographs from a time when she walked in on George Clooney wearing the Batsuit, Swinton told a very funny behind the scenes story from “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” There was one take on set where she and Brad Pitt “had arranged two potatoes and a carrot in a specific configuration on the kitchen table” and didn’t tell director David Fincher until the end of the take. No word yet on if this made the final cut, but you bet we’ll be looking for it.
Working with Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch is like going to camp.
While she adored working with both iconic auteurs, she said that these “summer camp of dream” experiences are very, very different. “Wes Camp” she wrote, “means all staying in a big house together and eating round one big table every night, none of that trailer stuff that big movies do, which tends to divide people out and make for lonely days (so I hear).” On the other hand, “Jim Camp is rock n’ roll camp, nocturnal, super mellow, like the endless morning after a crash-out sleep-over when no one really wants to go home.”
She is hoping to reprise her role as the White Witch in “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Put yourself together, nothing is in the works, but Swinton made note that “The Magician’s Nephew,” a prequel to “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” has always captivated her. The story tells of the creation of Narnia and could involve Swinton in an intoxicating action sequence in which the witch rides a coach around the streets of London at “breakneck speeds.”
One of her proudest films is one of her least seen.
To follow-up her Oscar for “Michael Clayton,” Swinton starred as the eponymous lead in “Julia,” in which she played a woman tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait. It was released by Magnolia to a small audience after it received exemplary reviews in Europe but never took off in the United States. Of the Erick Zonca directed film she said “PLEASE look for that one.. it is something else.. and I LOVE it.”
Lastly, a little insight into why she loves what she does for a living.
“The whole business of dressing up and playing is the greatest of fun for me,” said the actress. The dressing up component cannot be understated in Swinton’s recent films, especially “Snowpiercer” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” but she noted this is also exciting for playing everyday figures, such as her leading characters in “I am Love” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” “The look is, in a pretty big way, where I mainly do my work.. once we start shooting, then: I play..”
You can check out the full collection of Tilda Swinton’s responses on Reddit here. “Snowpiercer” is currently showing in limited release.
