“In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast” features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and awards editor Jack Smart for this guide on how to live the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
Mike Mills is a screenwriter and director, but he could be considered first and foremost an actor’s collaborator. His films have produced some of the most naturalistic performances in recent memory; he’s the kind of filmmaker who follows actors’ leads, centering them at every step of the page-to-screen process.
“I want to employ the whole being of the person, the actor,” says Mills, who considers casting the most important step in filmmaking. “I’m not just asking, ‘Do my lines, and put your hand here,’ and all this kind of stuff. I’m sort of like, ‘What do you think, or what do you feel like is wrong, or what do you feel like [your character] would do here?’ Whatever feels real and alive to them, that’s where I’m gonna go. If it’s something completely different than what I anticipated, I’m usually kind of excited. Because I know it’s like: I’m onto something.”
In his revealing podcast interview, Mills sings the praises of on-camera muses like Christopher Plummer, whose performance in “Beginners” earned him an Academy Award, or Annette Bening in “20th Century Women,” which earned Mills accolades aplenty, including an Oscar nod for original screenplay. “It’s such a codependent relationship,” he says of working with actors. “I can’t do what they do at all. I need them so bad—especially me, because my whole thing is people and people’s interior lives.”
That those interior lives are largely drawn from Mills’ own makes for fascinating insights into the film development process. After studying visual art at New York City’s Cooper Union, he transitioned to directing music videos—which he calls his “film school”—and began turning elements of his personal life into autobiographically inspired stories. The latest is Telluride Film Festival breakout “C’mon C’mon” from A24, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, and child actor Woody Norman.
48th Telluride Film Festival Premieres Early Oscar Contenders For Mills, the storytelling process is profoundly mysterious. “As a director-writer person, one would think you know everything about your movie,” he says. “And you don’t!” He passes on both practical and philosophical advice he’s heard from his biggest inspiration, legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini: “I increasingly believe films have their own sort of psychic powers. And they summon different people, opportunities, moods, situations. And it’s like inviting this ghost [into] your life, and they don’t listen to you—or they kind of listen to you, if you’re lucky.”
That’s partly why Mills encourages improvisation among his actors. For example, the relationship in “C’mon C’mon” between Phoenix and Norman, playing an uncle and nephew, is one thing on the page, and another thing entirely on a set that allows for spontaneity.
“As you start writing, they leave reality,” Mills says of his characters, especially those that were initially inspired by real families. “They get fictionalized, bent; they get woven. But the seed is really from reality. It’s hard for me to understand. It’s interesting—people say, ‘Is it autobiographical or not?’ And I’m sort of like, ‘I don’t know! I don’t know anymore. I’m a little confused at what they are.’ ”
Mills also offers advice to actors who audition for him—“Always, I think, people try to do too much”—and to filmmakers at all career levels. “So many people I really admire, they totally struggle; they never master it,” he says, remembering a formative conversation with director Spike Jonze. “I was like, ‘Spike, does it get easier next time [you film]?’ And he goes, ‘No.’ I was like, ‘What? It doesn’t get easier? You’ve done more films!’ ‘Yeah, but each film is different. Each film has its own beast and demons and good things. So no, it’s not easier.’
“It’s like, oh, fuck, that is such bad news,” says Mills with a laugh. “But it’s kind of good to know not to take it personally.”
Listen to Mills’ “In the Envelope” interview in full wherever you tune into podcasts. Also in this episode, senior staff writer Casey Mink highlights recent features on other award-winning directors. Click here for more inspiration!
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