Julia Louis-Dreyfus: 'I'm Back'

Two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is back. She shared her recovery with fans while simultaneously filming the final season of Veep — and in this interview she opens up about comedy, politics, and what it means to fight for relevance as a woman in Hollywood.

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I started crying,” she says of the moment in 2017 that upended her life.

It’s not easy to see a comedian in tears. But Dreyfus, having completed six rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, already sounds and looks like herself again. “The treatments were brutal. I felt sick to the depths of my soul, but I always knew I was going to get through it.”

“Cancer makes you think,” she continues. “We are not the same when we see the end right in front of our eyes. I saw death. Before the illness I was much more lighthearted, but it made me realize that lightheartedness is not something I can afford anymore. It’s not that I’m ‘heavy’ — I’m just much more awake and goal-oriented.”

Dreyfus, who documented her journey on social media, told Good Morning America: “I think I reached a lot of people. I raised a lot of money for women who underwent mastectomies and reconstruction. Everyone’s support helped me get through the chemo. And now, I’m completely back.”

Now she returns to the screen for the seventh and final season of Veep. “I never doubted for a second that this season would make it,” she says. “If anything, the cancer gave me motivation. They say humor is the best medicine — and it’s not a cliché. I needed the laughter in my life.”

The Art of the “Horrible” Character

Since bursting onto the scene as Elaine Benes in Seinfeld, Dreyfus has become one of the most decorated actresses in television history, holding a record number of Emmy Awards. After The New Adventures of Old Christine, she took on the role of ruthless politician Selina Meyer in Veep. In this final season, Meyer is once again running for the U.S. presidency — surrounded by her incompetent staff and armed with a cynical outlook on everything.

This season, Meyer fires off inappropriate jokes about people with disabilities, shooting victims, the lower class — anyone who crosses her path. All she cares about is the White House.

“You could say I’ve made a career out of playing horrible characters,” Dreyfus laughs when we meet at a New York hotel. “But even when Meyer is truly horrible, I don’t see it that way. She is determined and deeply frustrated. There’s something interesting about frustration — behind it, there’s sadness and ambition. It’s much deeper than just being ‘horrible.’ So she takes it out on everyone around her.”

“It cracks me up how she talks to people. For example, her line rebuking an employee who messed up: ‘That’s like using a croissant as a dildo — it doesn’t do the job and it leaves a mess!’” she bursts out laughing.

You talk about her as if she’s a real person.

“She exists. You see her everywhere around us. She’s a combination of many men and women in politics and other industries. This is a show about Hollywood just as much as it is about Washington — a show about selfish people trying to promote themselves in every possible way.”

How much are you like Selina?

“A lot,” she laughs. “I understand her frustration — being a woman who spends all day figuring out how to sell her brand. I do the same thing. There’s a lot of similarity between surviving in politics and surviving in showbiz. Being a middle-aged woman trying to remain relevant and influential — I understand that feeling completely. When people think you’ve lost your touch, or when they don’t take you seriously — it’s infuriating.”

Do you, in your position, still feel that way?

“Yes. I always felt like I had to fight. It was hard to get the ability to produce my own material. I fought very hard for creative control. There was a lot of pressure against me — but in the end, I won.”

Leadership and “The Sausage Factory”

Dreyfus is the undisputed boss of the show. The entire crew orbits around her — showering her with compliments and holding their breath when she walks on set. Yet she seems to work harder than anyone.

At the hotel where the interview takes place, she has been going since seven in the morning. Skipping between press from around the world, conferring with producers, and finalizing edits for the upcoming episodes.

At one point, Dreyfus kicks off her high heels and sits barefoot next to a producer in the hotel hallway, watching clips on a laptop. “I hear ‘uhm’ too many times,” she notes, suggesting a scene be trimmed. Then she’s back to her round of interviews, showing not a hint of fatigue.

“A good leader leads by example,” says Tony Hale, who plays her devoted aide Gary. “Julia is like that. She is never ‘off.’ She never has a bad day. And even if she does, you’ll never know. She just comes to work.”

Dreyfus deflects: “I think we all try to do the best we can. This is absolutely not just my show. Everyone works very hard.”

How does your role as a producer manifest itself?

“It’s a role that never ends. I’m involved in everything. At least I’ve changed — in the past, I used to watch every scene filmed on a given day, like a person possessed, but I learned to let go. When I’d watch myself, I’d be filled with self-criticism, loathing, and shame. Today, I’m no longer that hard on myself.”

Why are you ending it now?

“It was a decision made by me and the producers. The network was ready to let us continue, but I felt the show had run its course. We’re finishing where I think we should finish.”

Has reality become so satirical that it’s hard to outdo it in the scripts?

“Given the current climate, it’s much more challenging to break comedic boundaries. On the other hand, we’ve always operated the show without addressing the political identity of the characters. None of them are defined as being on a specific side of the aisle… Donald Trump isn’t funny to me. He could have been funny if he didn’t have the power he has.”

I understand you aren’t a big fan of the current president.

“To put it mildly. It’s reflected in everything he does. He’s a ‘make-believe’ president, pretending.”

The Legacy of Elaine and Beyond

She wasn’t originally supposed to be in Seinfeld at all. The idea was to make a show entirely about men, but NBC insisted on a female character — and at first, Elaine felt like an afterthought.

“It took me time to find my place,” she says. “For years I felt they didn’t give me jokes with real ‘meat.’ I had jokes, but they weren’t as strong as the men’s.” She admits that at times it felt like a boys’ club. “I often heard Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld say they write Elaine as if she were a guy.”

Today, Dreyfus is known as a mentor to comedians of the next generation — Amy Schumer, Abbi Jacobson of Broad City — though she downplays it.

“I don’t think I ‘held the door’ for anyone. Every woman earns her place honestly. But I do see progress. There are many more roles for women in comedy than there were 20 or 30 years ago — roles that aren’t just ‘the wife of’ or the pretty girlfriend.”

Jerry Seinfeld has said political correctness is nonsense and “anti-comedy.” Do you agree?

“Not at all. I’m in favor of political correctness. I’d say I’m even suspicious of people who oppose it. I think they’re basically saying it’s okay to tell racist jokes or jokes about violence against women. That is absolutely not okay.”

Wealth, Family, and Heritage

Louis-Dreyfus has long been labeled an heiress to a massive fortune — her father, William, managed the Louis Dreyfus Group from 1996 to 2006.

“The media reports about my father’s wealth are greatly exaggerated,” she says. “They love to write that he’s a billionaire, and that I’m an heiress to billions. That is absolutely not the case. Far from it.” Still, while her father may not have left behind billions when he passed away, there’s no denying it is a very wealthy family.

Her sister, Emma, passed away the previous summer at the age of 44. The cause of death was officially ruled a seizure, though reports surfaced of substances found in her system. Louis-Dreyfus kept silent out of respect. “It was a very, very difficult time for all of us — shocking, even. I didn’t feel it was right to talk about it with the media.”

What is your connection to Israel?

“I’ve never been, but I would very much like to visit. My grandfather was Jewish, but I don’t identify as Jewish. It’s part of my heritage — part of the mosaic that makes up my identity — but there are other parts too.”

Dreyfus insists she is less of a workaholic than Selina — but not by much. She recently finished filming a movie with Will Ferrell and is looking for her next challenge.

“There’s no TV on the horizon right now, but I’m open to suggestions,” she says with a smile. “I won’t say no to a good script.”

Would you do political comedy again?

“I don’t think so. I learned a lot about politics from this show. I realized that politicians are just people — that’s all. On one hand, it’s comforting. On the other, it’s terrifying, considering they have to run the show. It’s like visiting a sausage factory — you don’t really want to see how they’re made.”

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Source: Original article on Israel Hayom (Hebrew)