Leighton Meester and Adam Brody in Conversation for Interview Magazine
“What’s your favorite cult?” Actress @itsmeleighton joins her husband Adam Brody to discuss cults, creepy fans, and her new Christmas movie, “EXmas” 🎄https://t.co/ypwThhHPEB pic.twitter.com/NYFjdaN7m7
- Interview Magazine (@InterviewMag) December 22, 2023
Leighton Meester was interviewed by her husband Adam Brody for Interview Magazine. Several excerpts are under the cut. To read the full piece, check out the link above.
MEESTER: The doorbell’s ringing. Oh, it’s our kids.
BRODY: Oh, boy.
MEESTER: We got interrupted by our children.
[...]
MEESTER: You’re so business.
BRODY: Me? I’m listening and I’m also looking at my questions. Would you like this to get more personal? It can.
MEESTER: No. [Laughs] This is one of the more funny things that I think we’ve ever done together. Only because of the presence of the recording device and how much we yearn to have a full conversation without interruption. It’s just hilarious that we can do this and try to cut through all the flirtation.
BRODY: Mhmm. What’s your favorite dessert?
MEESTER: Peach cobbler. A la mode.
BRODY: That’s crazy. That’s mine, too.
MEESTER: Yeah. Therefore, we were meant to be.
[...]
BRODY: You have very deep access to your emotions. Especially sadness. If I have to be really sad in something, I deprive myself of sleep and then I’m miserable.
MEESTER: Oh.
BRODY: Fortunately I don’t have to do it a lot, but it does make me unhappy. I’m just a little more vulnerable.
MEESTER: It’s a horrible feeling.
BRODY: I feel like I can tap into anger pretty easily.
MEESTER: I can’t do that. I mean, I’ve been able to find it a little bit more lately. But anger is one of those things.
BRODY: It’s true. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you fucking pissed on screen.
MEESTER: No. Have you ever seen me like that in real life? [Laughs]
BRODY: No.
MEESTER: I think if I had to, I would get there, only because there’s plenty to be angry about. I do freak out a lot about diminishing access to abortion and how fucking crazy our nation has become.
BRODY: You’re just not a yeller.
MEESTER: You’re not a yeller either. I mean, honestly, we’re adults. Who yells? That’s insane. But then again, being able to do it on screen, that’s a different thing than being like, I’m angry and I carry anger with me. It would be uncomfortable to have that kind of anger. But when I have to access it, I certainly don’t feel like I can point to any one thing and be like, “I’m angry.” But maybe it’s just I’ve denied access to that for so long that I can’t. Is this super personal to say?
BRODY: No, it’s good. What’s your favorite cult?
MEESTER: Oh god. There’s so many good ones.
BRODY: Can I say it? I feel like we’re a NXIVM family.
MEESTER: Yeah, we are a NXIVM household.
[...]
BRODY: Next question. How has motherhood changed your career?
MEESTER: Boy, oh boy. Buckle up. There’s probably a nice canned answer for this.
BRODY: We don’t do canned here. I want your hot take.
MEESTER: [Laughs] It’s inevitable that it’s changed it, and we’ve had these conversations endlessly. I wouldn’t change anything and I’m proud of the mom I am. But I also feel like I’m open to a lot of self-doubt and worry, and to more extreme hypervigilance and neurosis [Laughs]. So all I can do is take it a day at a time. But when I’m with my kids, our kids, I feel like all I can do is be present. Then when I’m working, I miss them like crazy. It’s hard not to feel as a mom that you’re not doing enough and I think that’s always going to be reinforced by our society.
BRODY: Right.
MEESTER: But I think that the sweet, canned answer is, it gave me a lot of compassion, and this whole other level of appreciation for other people and a sensitivity that I don’t think I ever had before. Particularly, when it comes to children. It’s not like a regular job. You work for 3 months, nonstop, day and night, and then not at all for the rest of the time. [Laughs] It’s preferable.
[...]
BRODY: How’d you like being on set with me for River Wild? Was it more challenging or less challenging than you thought?
MEESTER: Less.
BRODY: Less?
MEESTER: Less. You are the person I want to work with all the time. You’re my best friend, and the best acting partner that I could ever hope for. It was very familiar, so I felt very safe and comfortable to be doing all those pretty intense scenes.
[...]
BRODY: Hit me with your dream project.
MEESTER: I like singing. So if it was something-
BRODY: Ironically, you’re not a big fan of musicals.
MEESTER: I like watching them, but I just know that my strength isn’t in the musical theater register. I think a biopic, or just in general, a character who gets to sing and record. That, and also, I want to do more theater.
Source
the full thing is a charming read!