Elisabeth Moss has long been a fan of Kate Hudson's work. So, starring alongside her in the genre film premiering in Toronto Shelldirected by Max Minghella, it was a pleasure for her, she said DAY.
But the female protagonists in this genre film that tackles issues of age and the importance of physical appearance had a different purpose and role in bringing to life the story of a down-on-his-luck actress, played by Moss, and the eccentric CEO of a beauty and wellness company, played by Hudson.
“One of the things that Max and I talked about a lot was that my character and my job was to make the film as concrete as possible,” Moss explained. “That's the difference… between Kate's role and mine. She kind of takes one end of the spectrum, and then my job was to make all the themes as concrete as possible and really take you on the journey, and not let the film overwhelm the concreteness of the story.”
The film is a self-aware drama, also designed to be a fun ride that plays with movie tropes and mixes the joys of thriller, horror and comedy. “It's a certain tone that's really hard to describe,” Moss said. DAY“It’s a drama, but there’s something painfully funny at times.” Plus, it has “a bigger thriller element.”
The atmosphere reminded the star of popular films of the past. “There's an element of those great 90s [films]Pleases Death pleases herthat particular type of comedy,” he said. “The tone was something I never got to do a lot of. So I really embraced [it].”
A painful scene to watch in Shell sees Moss's character go to a movie audition after having to sit in a waiting room surrounded by younger, prettier people. “I've done a million auditions in my life. I've been doing it since I was six,” the star recalls, joking, “I'm really bad at maths. I'm 42, so a long time. I've sat in a lot of waiting rooms and had the experience of looking around and going, 'Oh my god, there's no way I'm going to get this part.' I've definitely had that experience over and over again.”
Luckily for his fans, Moss has been able to bring his talents to hits like Mad Men AND The Handmaid's Taleamong many others. “It was the year I auditioned for Mad Men. And I remember there was another pilot that was casting at the time, and everyone was talking about it,” he said DAY. “There were two pilots in New York, and everyone was talking about them. I was like, 'Oh my God, you have to get one of these two.' And I remember one of them, who we won't name, was a little bit hotter. And I walked into that reading room, and everyone was just gorgeous. It was like everyone was a model. I was 23 at the time, and I was still like, 'There's no way.'”
In comparison, when she went to audition for Mad Men“I felt like I knew that character, I knew that role, I knew who Peggy was, and I felt so good,” Moss recalled. “I felt so good about myself in that audition. And I didn't get this other show, but I got Mad Menand here we are.”
His conclusion and how this influenced his work on Shell: “It's a great lesson in [how] your path sometimes may not be what's prescribed to you and what's expected of you,” Moss said. “So it was fun to bring all that experience into this film. I lived and breathed that experience. But most of us have the experience of feeling maybe a little bit like we're not living up to some sort of ideal that we're supposed to be living up to. And to be able to tap into that and represent that for an audience was [something] I really enjoyed it. It was something I embraced. After so many years of making sure I looked my best, making sure I did this and making sure I did that, it was fun to say, “I'm really going to represent almost everyone.”
Moss also said she enjoys the genre in general. “I love horror, I love sci-fi, I love action,” she said. DAY“It's definitely my field of action.”
Asked about the recent string of body horror films, including the Cannes hit The substance with Demi Moore, and what might be driving it, the star offered: “It always goes that way, doesn't it? Isn't there always a year where it enters the zeitgeist and people focus on similar things that year? Think about Armageddon AND Deep impact [in 1998]. Or Ants AND The life of an insect [also in 1998]. People seem to be on the same page at the same time. I think that's great. We haven't seen movies like this in a while, and they're still unique. It's great to bring back a genre that hasn't been done in a while and look at it through a new, modern lens.”