One is a tough, shrewd member of a crime family in Missouri; the other is the beloved younger sister of a troubled New Yorker.
For Julia Garner 鈥 the actress who embodies both Ruth in the crime drama Ozark and Ellie in the new dark comedy Maniac 鈥 they have one important thing in common: a sense of hope.
鈥淚 always carry that around in the back of my mind, subconsciously, playing Ruth, that she always has hope, and I think Ellie has the same thing,鈥 says Garner.
鈥淚 do notice it鈥檚 the one thing about every character that I鈥檝e played in the past, that all of them 鈥 have, like, a drive toward something. I鈥檓 always attracted to those kinds of characters, that they want something better.鈥
The 24-year-old Bronx-born actress was in 色色啦 promoting Maniac, a new Netflix series debuting Sept. 21 that鈥檚 getting lots of buzz for reuniting Superbad co-stars Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, as well as Ozark, another Netflix series for which Garner has gotten buzz of her own. It began its second season Aug. 31.
In Maniac, based on a Norwegian TV series of the same name, Hill and Stone play unhappy strangers who end up in the same pharmaceutical trial for a drug that its creator (Justin Theroux) claims can repair any sort of mental disorder. Hill鈥檚 Owen has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a finding he disputes, and feels at odds with his rich family, while Stone鈥檚 Annie is fixated on her broken relationship with her sister (Garner).
On Ozark, Garner has been the breakout star as Ruth, a teenager thrust into the role of matriarch to her family of small-time criminals, whose pragmatism and ferocity mask a yearning for a more respectable life. Ruth鈥檚 already fascinating story line gets even more compelling in Season 2 when her father is released from prison; she鈥檚 torn between him and Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), the accountant turned money launderer who has made her a key player in his business.
Garner says her main priority is to make sure the characters she plays are interesting. Ozark鈥檚 Ruth has become perhaps her best known role, but she鈥檚 also had memorable arcs as a sister-wife in the miniseries Waco and the duped daughter of a CIA agent in The Americans, plus indie movies like Martha Marcy May Marlene, Electrick Children and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
鈥淵ou really get to study people and it makes the job much more fun,鈥 Garner says of the roles she has played, which she says are not the 鈥渓ove interest, girl next door鈥 types. 鈥淚 always just try (to do) something different and I just want to do good work.鈥
Part of the study for Garner involves writing journals: not for herself but for her characters. 鈥淚 have a journal for every character that I鈥檝e ever played 鈥 so I can just kind of go back and really have an inner life, and not just rely on the writing.鈥
The writing on both Maniac and Ozark, she hastens to add, is 鈥渞eally good.鈥
The people involved in both projects were another lure. In Maniac, that includes Hill and Stone, director Cary Fukunaga, known for the first season of True Detective and Netflix film Beasts of No Nation; and creator Patrick Somerville, a novelist who has written for The Leftovers and The Bridge.
Garner worked closely with Stone, an Oscar winner for La La Land, which she described as an incredible experience. 鈥淓veryone knows that she鈥檚 so talented but, working with her firsthand, she鈥檚 just amazing.鈥
She also has high praise for her Ozark co-stars Laura Linney and Jason Bateman. Bateman received Emmy nominations for both directing and starring in the series.
鈥淚鈥檝e been very lucky that every production that I鈥檝e been on (the people) have been really nice and kind, and a lot of people can鈥檛 say that. And when I鈥檓 saying 鈥榚very,鈥 I actually mean every,鈥 she says.
Garner says her career goals are less about 鈥淲hat do I want to play next?鈥 and more about 鈥淲hat do I need to improve and let me see if there鈥檚 a part that will take me out of my comfort zone and I can learn from that.鈥
She admits to being tough on herself, 鈥渁 little too much sometimes 鈥 there鈥檚 an actor part of me that鈥檚 always like, 鈥業t鈥檚 not good enough. Do it again.鈥欌
Garner aspires to be what she calls 鈥渁 generous artist,鈥 which she says means being a good listener.
鈥淚f you feel like you鈥檙e doing terrible in a scene, that usually means that you鈥檙e not listening because you鈥檙e too preoccupied with yourself 鈥 you鈥檙e not listening to your scene partner. If you listen, you鈥檙e naturally going to get that response that the camera鈥檚 going to pick up because you just react,鈥 she says.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e doing a monologue, you have to listen to what you鈥檙e saying to imagine what you鈥檙e saying, and have it come through your face or eyes.鈥
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