Interview: Andra Day on ‘Is This Thing On?’ and Doing Things That Scare You
In Maker’s Dozen, we ask folks in and around the film industry 12 questions and have them ask one of us.
Andra Day is a Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter who also earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for her lead role in The United States vs. Billie Holiday. She stars in the new Bradley Cooper film Is This Thing On? alongside Will Arnett and Laura Dern.
In this interview, we talked with Andra about what drew her to the part, working with a co-star who is also the director, advice to aspiring actors, and more!
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
1. What is the Andra Day origin story?
I grew up in San Diego. I have two parents who love music, love the arts. So I was blessed to be able to have two parents that have always supported my journey in the arts. And so I was able to go to a performing arts school, which had incredible instructors. It’s always been something I wanted to do. I was more focused on music, which I was making a career in, and then movies crashed into my world as the scariest thing I’d ever seen.
2. What motivated you to pursue acting alongside being a musician?
I think I like to live my life in a way where if it scares me and makes me uncomfortable, I should probably press into it because it’s probably the thing that’s going to grow me. So I think it’s been a series of that. And now I got to do a movie with Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, and Laura Dern.
3. What sold you on the role of Christine?
That’s easy: Bradley Cooper.
4. No kidding, right? What about Bradley made this an easy decision?
It’s so funny because he’s always like, “Oh, it’s not enough real estate.” And I’m just laughing because to be able to work with a creative and a storyteller of his caliber is enough for me. And then he goes, “Will Arnett.” And I’m like, “Oh my gosh.” And he goes, “Laura Dern.” I’m like, “Oh my gosh” squared. This is crazy. So that was really easy.
5. Aside from the amazing cast, what was it about the script that piqued your interest?
I got to know the script and I just thought, this is a really special movie. First of all, it’s an adult movie, which I love. It deals with these sort of crossroads and these paradigm shifts we experience in our lives and these questions that maybe we’re not really asking ourselves, but we are internally grappling with and we don’t realize it. I don’t know what happens in life, whether we’re married or we have kids or we’re just focused on our career, where we stop being as honest. You know what I mean? There’s a period of time where we think the stakes are too high, so we stop telling the truth. To learn about this character, John Bishop, this being his real-life story and how he was able to use this medium to start telling truth again and find his way back to his wife, I thought it was such a beautiful story about communication, transformation and friend groups and how we define ourselves through those relationships.
6. Was it intimidating, not only acting beside your director, but playing his wife?
There was so many layers of intimidation. They’re like, “OK, today’s the scene with you and Laura Dern.” And I’m like, “Oh fuck, great.” But I have to say, you should be intimidated by them. They have built up this body of work that I think is incredible and so admirable and has been culture changing in a lot of ways. But then you get on set with them and they’re incredibly generous with their time. Working with Bradley, of course it was intimidating because it’s not like he’s just my scene partner. We talked at length about these characters, but obviously he’s one person with only a certain amount of time and he’s got to make sure he gets the primary story together. He’s not just acting and he’s not just directing, but he’s also operating the camera. So that’s why you feel the intimacy you felt while watching the movie.
7. How would you describe Bradley as a director?
He just wants truth. He wants truth and requires truth in everything. So if we have to go left instead of going right to find it, we’re going to do that. And all of the actors and everyone on set, that’s sort of their process. It was actually really nice to get into that flow with them.
8. Is there a scene from the film that has stuck with you?
It was Laura Dern rediscovering her husband for the first time. What would have been so flat and lame is for her to just be like, “I’m shocked and offended.” But her ability to play the layered emotion makes it seem almost voyeuristic, like “that’s my husband who I’ve known my entire life and I’m intrigued and maybe a little offended…” You don’t know what to feel in that moment. So I just thought the way that was captured and the way she played that, I don’t think anyone else could have done that. All of them in that scene really hit it out of the park.
“There’s a period of time where we think the stakes are too high, so we stop telling the truth.”
9. Describe Laura Dern in 3 words.
Light. Generous. Powerhouse.
10. Describe Will Arnett in 3 words.
Funny as hell!
11. What’s next for you on the musical horizon?
We are working on new music that I’m excited about. I didn’t want to do another album because I just feel like I have multiple tastes that I need to purge right now. So I’m doing a series of EPs with artists and producers that I’ve been wanting to work with. We’ve been speaking about working together. So more music is coming.
12. What is your advice to other actors who dream of being Oscar-nominated?
The first thing I would say, honestly, is pray. I’m a spiritual person, so I always lead with that. To really move in faith, do the things that scare you. Actually go for the things that scare you and be willing to fall on your face and embarrass yourself. One of the first things I discovered and one of the hardest things to do is to just get rid of your preconceived ideas about the environment and circumstance. Be willing to be vulnerable, to go to those places and do the opposite of what you do in life, which is build up layers to protect yourself. Pull all of those layers back to get to the nucleus. Be incredibly transparent and honest with yourself and willing to share that.