Melissa Leo on her two films, ‘Welcome to the Rileys’ and ‘The Fighter’

When I interviewed Melissa Leo a couple months back, it was an absolute thrill. She’d always been one of my favorite actresses since she was on Homicide and with her Oscar nominated performance in Frozen River, it seems like she’s been working non-stop – which is great! She’s finally getting her due.

She’s currentlly starring in Conviction and Welcome to the Rileys and about to be seen in The Fighter.

She talked to the New York Post about Rileys and the upcoming The Fighter.

PopWrap: What drew you to this film?
Melissa Leo: One of the things I really loved about it has nothing to do with me – but as I was reading the script, I turned every page expecting, “he’s gonna f*** that little girl, he’s gonna f*** that little girl, he’s gonna f*** that little girl.” And he didn’t. It’s so beautiful. What a statement to put out into the world, I gotta be a part of that!

PW: What about Lois?
Melissa: Well, it was also selfish — I wanted to do something so still and quiet and internal. I wanted to be her. I thought it was phenomenal that this director knew I had it in me. That in a very deep way fascinated me. Jake Scott’s trust in me as an actor made it very comfortable way to walk onto the project. Everyone says, ‘oh, you were my first choice,” but come on.

PW: I found it intriguing that most of your scenes in the first half of the film are just you and mostly dialogue free.
Melissa: It’s rare in film to get non-dialogue scenes. Yet I am a person who spends a surprising amount of time all alone – enough that I’ve had time to examine it in my life. And there’s something about being our truest selves when we are alone that was fun to explore. Seeing Lois finding her own true self again was wonderful. If you were able to hold your breath for three minutes, you would really notice breath when you started breathing again. And that’s kind of what happens to her.

PW: Given that ability for self-reflection, I’m curious what draws you to one character over another.
Melissa: It continues to primarily be that the director wants me and the producers have agreed to hire me. That’s what happened here and also with “The Fighter,” David O. Russell just believed in me. I’m not sure that I agree with him, but..

PW: Why not?
Melissa: Well, I’m not that much older than Christian and Mark [Melissa was born in 1960, Mark in 1971, Christian 1974] and I’m playing their mother. But his belief is what got me up to Massachusetts and to cut all my hair off for this part.

PW: David is a director that comes with a lot of industry baggage — does someone’s reputation ever factor in to your decision making?
Melissa: Of course I’ve heard tales, but I’m not going to buy the blue car because that’s the car people say I should buy. And let me tell you this, “The Fighter” might be the greatest film I’ve ever been in. Christian, Mark, Amy, the seven women who play my daughters – every element was right on. The production value, the producers, the years Mark poured his heart and soul and physical body into this movie, it’s spectacular. Spectacular.

PW: Are you aware that a lot of people are calling you a serious contender for this year’s Supporting Actress Oscar?
Melissa: When you ask me about it, I think about it. When the agents and managers read all the stuff I don’t, I hear about it. I really don’t think about it. I don’t mean to shun it in the least, I welcome it – but maybe my mother reading me “Great Expectations” as a child, or all those years of auditioning has prevented me from living a life in which I expect. It’s also completely out of my hands. I did the work, there it is – bring it on.

PW: How has life changed for you since the 2009 Oscar nomination for “Frozen River?”
Melissa: Well, I have a bank account now. It’s not big, but I finally had enough money to open one. It allowed me to continue to work back-to-back, which I like. And now people actually see the movies I make [laughs]!

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