Amy Madigan could use a little respite from the overwhelming (and unexpected) attention she received for her performance as bright stylish villain Aunt Gladys summer feeling of horror “Weapon”.
“I haven’t done this in a long time, so it’s a new experience for me, but I know very well what it’s like,” she says of the numerous interview requests and growing awards buzz. “It's a little scary sometimes, you know. I'll be honest with you.”
Beneath her colorful clothes, red wig, dentures and subtle makeup, Madigan, 75, is a mysterious woman who comes to stay with her niece's family just before an entire class of elementary school students disappears without explanation.
It turns out that Gladys, an avid occultist, is keeping these children in a trance to drain their energy and keep them alive. “She’s just a girl trying to get through life, and she’s got to do what she needs to do,” Madigan says with a slight chuckle.
“She is confident and glorious in her existence on this planet and in her movement forward: “I am a truly good person. I just have to do these things,” Madigan says. “Well, she doesn't do them, other people do things for her. She chose an interesting path.”
What about Gladys' mysterious backstory? “People will ask me certain questions about it, and I choose not to answer them because it was my personal work,” she says.
Zach Cregger, the writer and director of Guns, offered Madigan the role after first meeting her over lunch. The simplicity of the process surprised her, but Madigan is now convinced she was the perfect actress to play Gladys.
“I think everyone held their breath a little bit and was like, 'Oh, I hope she doesn't slip and hit something,'” Madigan says of doing her own stunts for “Guns.”
(Ian Spanier/For The Times)
“There's a bit of physicality and physical humor to it, and I've always done that in almost everything I've done,” she explains. “I love it, and it’s just part of who I was as a kid, and I’m still that person.”
The veteran actress only used a stunt double for her very last scene, in which the charmed children attack Gladys. But the precursor to this doom was all of Madigan. “I was running around and doing all these ridiculous things,” she says. “I think everyone held their breath a little bit and said, 'Oh, I hope she doesn't slip and hit something,' which I didn't. I'm proud of that.”
Aunt Gladys's unusual look was the result of a trial-and-error process with costume designer Trish Summerville, special makeup effects designer Jason Collins, and Cregger. The result, Madigan says, is a woman with “a certain joie de vivre” who doesn't care what others think of her.
“You have to do whatever you're really into,” she says. “I’m finally giving it to Gladys, and Gladys accepted me, so that’s nice.” The unabashed, quirky freedom that Gladys exudes is likely part of what endeared her to audiences.
“She's certainly been embraced by the gay community, the drag community, and the trans community,” Madigan says. “It's a big surprise and makes me feel really great given what's going on in politics right now.”
Horror fans have also fallen in love with Gladys: Madigan got a taste of their passion this summer at the film's premiere at the United Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
“They hadn't seen the film yet, but they were already there and wanted to talk to me,” she recalls. “I have to thank them because they really pushed the conversation on this topic a lot.”
Although Madigan hasn't kept up with recent horror, she remembers watching black-and-white midnight movies with her brother in Chicago: “I was very into all the Frankensteins and Nosferatus and stuff like that,” she says.
The film industry's positive response to her role in Guns is not the first time Madigan has won an award. For the role of a young woman in conflict with her stubborn father in 1985. “Twice in a Lifetime” Madigan was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role.
But, as she's quick to point out, awards season is much busier than it was 40 years ago.
“It wasn't like that. No one called me or the people I worked with and said, “We really need to talk to Amy Madigan, her performance, we really liked it.” That didn’t happen then,” she explains. “Of course, there was no social media. I went to Neiman Marcus, bought a dress and said, 'I hope it's fashionable enough.' I hope it's good enough.”
Madigan's campaign is the exact opposite of what she does. Often seen in independent productions and on the theatrical stage, Guns is the first “big movie” she has made in recent memory. However, she wants to see where the trip takes her.
“If it helps me talk about the business side of saying yes or no to making films, or if other directors who aren't thinking about me right now do it, then that will be interesting,” she says. “Maybe next year I could do something really fun, but nothing is real until it’s real.”
Just don't classify it. “Now, if someone wanted me to play a character that was sort of a mirror of Gladys or the same person, I wouldn’t be interested,” she adds.
