Rachel Brosnahan Talks Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Her New Western Film, and What Lies Ahead for Town & Country Magazine

Posted on September 27, 2022

Pin

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Bronahan covers the October 2022 issue of Town & Country magazine photographed by Pamela Hanson and styled by Anne Christensen.

 

 

Pin

Pin

On what inspired her to become an actor: “I became an actor because I didn’t want to be myself all the time. Being yourself takes a lot of hard work.”

On deciding to step out of the gilded cage of prestige comedy to do something unexpected: a western, set in 1897, called Dead for a Dollar with co-stars Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe and directed by Walter Hill: “I had to get curious about the west and that moment in time, and learn to shoot and ride and use a parasol,” she says. “A western was something I’ve never done, and a type of role that hasn’t been offered to me before. I wouldn’t have thought I was hungry for it, but it was in fact what I was looking for.”

On what Brosnahan wants her career to look like (she mentions Frances McDormand and Emma Thompson): “I admire how versatile they are and how they continue to push themselves and take risks,” she says. “It feels like they never do the same thing twice. I would be thrilled if my career gave me the same opportunity.”

On how the idea of striving is an insult for some actors but Brosnahan is wholly aware of how hard she tries: “I know it’s mostly used in a derogatory way, but I spent so many years wishing I could claim to be a theater kid,” she says. “I wanted to be in that crew and be a part of that, and I felt like the outsider.”

On how the past few years have been breakneck, and she’s looking forward to some post-Maisel time to let her mind wander: “I want to be curious again and absorb other artists’ work and go to the museum and travel and become a richer person again.”

On how she is eager, now, for the opportunity to show her range: “I feel like I’ve been told for a long time to pick a lane and stay in it.” Choosing her next parts, she says, is akin to stretching and reaching into corners she hasn’t been in before. It’s scary but enticing. “I’m utterly terrified and worried I’ll have an ulcer,” she says. But also, “I’m addicted to that feeling now.”

 

On Newsstands October 4th

 

[Photo Credit: Pamela Hanson for Town & Country Magazine]

Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus