Interview: April Grace on ‘Magnolia’, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Filming with Tom Cruise
In Maker’s Dozen, we ask folks in and around the film industry 12 questions and have them ask one of us.
April Grace is an actor who has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows including Joker, Whiplash, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Chicago Hope, and Sons of Anarchy—along with a crucial scene in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia.
As part of our celebration of Anderson’s filmography ahead of the release of One Battle After Another, we chatted with April about the importance of her Magnolia character, rehearsing and filming with Tom Cruise, how Hollywood has changed since the early ‘90s, and more!
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
1. What’s the April Grace origin story?
My dad was in the Air Force and was stationed in Saudi Arabia, but because there was only one American high school in Riyadh and it only went up to the 9th grade, my brother and I got to choose anywhere we wanted to go in Europe to go to high school. He went to Spain because he thought there would be lots of beautiful women there, and I went to England because I loved theater. I was gonna be a lawyer, and I got a solicitation from a school that said “Dear Negro student” on it. And I was like, I don’t know that I can go to institutions where they send these kinds of things out. So I just threw all caution to the wind and told my parents right then that I’m going to be an actor. I went back to Saudi Arabia, worked for Lockheed illegally at the age of 17 because women were not allowed to work there, saved a ton of money, gave some to my parents, and embarked to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where I started doing acting.
2. We’re chatting today because we’re celebrating the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. And after rewatching his films, your character Gwenovier in Magnolia is, in my opinion, one of the most pivotal characters in his entire filmography. What’s the story of how you got the part?
He had seen me in a movie called Chicago Cab, which John C. Reilly took him to see because he was in it. And Paul was sort of taken with me in that movie, so he read me for Boogie Nights but did not choose me. So then when Magnolia happened, I got a call from the casting person. She said, “I want to send you a script. It’s from Paul Thomas Anderson.” It came seemingly in the dead of night, and I had to read it and send it back in two days, and not tell anyone about it. “He’s interested in you playing the role of Gwenovier. Are you interested?” And I was like, “Yeah, of course I am.” Then we did a reading, but I hadn’t necessarily gotten the part yet. I had no idea when I went, but then all these people were there and in walks Tom Cruise. And I’m like, “Oh my God.” So I proceeded to do the reading of the film. Then I’m leaving on a high note and thought, “Just let me get out before I say something ridiculous.” A couple hours after I got home, Paul called and said, “You are so in my fucking movie.” And that was that.
3. Leading up to day one of shooting, what was going through your mind knowing you were there to go head-to-head with the biggest movie star on the planet?
Before we even started shooting, I had two or three meetings with Tom at Paul’s house. We were sitting around the table just the two of us kind of talking while Paul went off and wrote things and then brought the pages in and handed them to us and had us read them. And then he would disappear again and go do something else and come back. It was fantastic. So by the time we got to set, I was comfortable with Mr. Cruise and we did a couple of rehearsals in the space before we actually started shooting too.
4. Was filming the scene as intense as it plays in the film?
No. What I felt was that Tom was willing to do anything. He was so incredibly gracious the entire time. We just had a wonderful, wonderful time. Like in between takes, he found out that my father was in the Air Force and did the scheduling for the shuttles, and he was interested in all of that. When he was off camera, he was so cool to work with. He would literally smash his face up against the matte box so that I could just get a corner of his eye when we were together. I’ve worked with much, much lesser movie star people and they will just have a stand-in read their lines off camera. But it was nothing like that with Tom. There was no tension or stress between us in real life.
5. Once you wrapped filming, how did you feel about the experience?
I mean, I knew I wouldn’t get cut out of the film, which is one of those things that you don’t always know. But it seemed like a pretty big deal and you can’t just get rid of me as there’s only one other person in the scene. I never have felt more taken care of, I guess, and secure with Tom and the way that he was with me. And Paul just loves actors so much. So I don’t know if it was ever going to be any better than what just happened.
6. I say your character is one of the most pivotal characters in Paul’s filmography, because Tom’s character is very much the embodiment of a lot of the male characters that Paul creates. These sort of broken, emotionally repressed men hidden behind a disguise. And your character, perhaps more than any other, just quietly dismantles all of it. You play it so well and so convincingly, so I have to ask: How much of you is in Gwenovier?
That’s a good question. I’m not sure. Paul and I spent a lot of time talking about her, and I gave her a whole background where she was a smoker but she just quit. So there was this thing with her with the pen because I wanted a cigarette and I was craving that. We just did so much work and it was written so well. We did it sort of like a prize fight. That was kind of what was going on. You’re in the ring with this guy and you’re doing your rope-a-dope, you’re doing your thing, and then he thinks he’s got you on the ropes. And then you come out with this punch and just knock him out. I wish that I could be like that. I would hope that I could, but I don’t know.
7. Who was a more intimidating acting partner: Tom Cruise in Magnolia or Joaquin Phoenix in Joker?
Oh, wow. So Joaquin was also delightful, after the fact. Joaquin is in character. I thought about, “Should I make a little small talk?” And then I went, you know what, just leave Joaquin be and let him do his thing. But I didn’t feel too intimidated because I had heard that Todd Phillips had said that he really loved Magnolia and he loved me in it. That was lovely to hear and it kept me from being so nervous because it was just more about me being the best that I can be and staying out of his way as much as I possibly can. And that was just one day. I was there for four hours. It was the last thing they were shooting.
8. You also appear in Paul’s upcoming film One Battle After Another. How would you describe the difference between Paul then and Paul now as a director?
There wasn’t much for me. I just felt he loves to watch the actors do what the actors do. He facilitates anything you need. He is there for you. He’s very open, like, “Do you have any ideas about doing this?” or whatever. He just treats actors just, it was lovely. And I want to say his name’s Bob, I’m not sure—he was the boom operator and he was the only other person on One Battle After Another who had worked on Magnolia as well. But it was just like riding a bike, you just get right back on there. I told him, “I hope it’s not another 25 years before you call me again.”
“I never have felt more taken care of and secure with Tom and the way that he was with me. And Paul just loves actors so much.”
9. What’s a memory you have from the set of One Battle?
I play a nun in the movie, and at one point during shooting Paul just came over while they were doing lighting and stuff, and he just sort of laid his head on my shoulder and said, “I just really love working with you.” And I was incredibly moved by that, and so happy and so grateful that whatever it is about me and my work ethic or whatever, that he would say that in front of everybody.
10. Aside from Magnolia and One Battle, what is your favorite PTA movie and why?
There Will Be Blood just blew me away. I don’t know what it was exactly, other than maybe the performances that he got. I also really, really loved The Master. Maybe it’s because of Philip Seymour Hoffman—I did a little bit in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 and I worked with Philip in that a little bit. I also just love watching Boogie Nights. Oh man, it’s hard. I guess I’ll say There Will Be Blood.
11. You’ve been working steadily since the early 1990s. How has Hollywood and the craft of acting changed since then?
It’s difficult now. The biggest change for me was when the pandemic happened and we stopped doing in-person auditions. I am not a fan of the self-tape, mainly because it’s so stressful for me just deciding what choices to make. I love being in the room with someone that can say, “This is what we’re looking for” and can sort of guide me. What happens with me doing a self-tape is I end up trying to do like eight different things, but they’re not going to look at eight different things. So then I have to choose which one I’m going to send. And I spend the time going, “Oh no, is it going to be the right one? But if I only had sent this one, because I can do it that way…”
There’s also the fact that there’s so many non-creative people making movies and doing television now. Like the studios, you’ve got Netflix and Amazon and so on, and it feels like the craft sometimes takes a backseat to how many dollars we’re going to spend and how many eyes we can get on this. Because we don’t necessarily need to have a great actor—we’ll just keep these A-list names and then hire locally someone who can just get it done. And it’s not necessarily allowing the creative people who know what they’re doing to have the control. I remember Paul telling me when we did Magnolia that “This will be the last time I have complete creative control over anything.” And that seems to be the case more and more now.
12. What’s your go-to advice for aspiring actors?
You need to love it. You need to feel like there’s literally nothing else that you can do. There’s so much rejection. So much rejection. And what keeps you going is that it’s your bliss. I used to tell actors about doing theater—I wouldn’t necessarily say “You need to do theater,” although the ethics of theater are really good to have when you’re on set. Like knowing to deal with their own props and wardrobe, being on time, and knowing your lines. Take the craft seriously. But mostly just bliss, because you’re going to go through a lot of rough, rough, rough times. I did a short film called Definitely Not A Monster that I’m very proud of that is being shopped around now as a limited series. But other than that short film, I have not worked since we did One Battle After Another, and that was over a year ago. So you need to have a real strong constitution girding up your loins and the faith that even though it’s been that long, it will happen again. You will get another job. The fact that it is my bliss makes me not entertain any other possibilities.
+1. What’s your question for us?
How did all of this start? Someone told me that you were a musician?
Kevin: Wow, they did some research. Yeah, I am a musician, a singer-songwriter. I was friends with Chad, our managing editor, and we discovered we had a shared love of cinema. I’ve always loved movies and the conversation around movies, and I wanted my own outlet to engage with it. So one day I woke up and was like, “I’m going to start a website.” I reached out to Chad and he’s like, “I’m in.” It’s been three years now and it’s a really great creative outlet and a great way to talk to people we admire like yourself.