Page 83 - S/ Fall 2022

shoulders, so to have somebody like Chloë there to feel that genuine ‘I love you, I got you, you’re my friend for life’ is [incredible].” Sevigny and Lyonne have been the closest of friends since back in the ’90s, when the two filmed Detroit Rock City in Toronto. “There’s something to be said for that chemistry and lived-in familiarity between actors—the camera really enjoys it because it makes everything more real,” she says of their frequent collaboration.
Sevigny was also on hand when her friend hosted the season finale of Saturday Night Live in May. “I was maybe the happiest I’ve been in my whole life while I was there,” Lyonne says of the experience, which had her shape- shifting from a ’50s sportscaster into an aging hippie. “SNL is like the arts on steroids: everything is happening [at once]. It’s almost like you’re going to get pushed out of a helicopter to go skydiving. There’s nothing else to do
but sort of laugh maniacally because the whole exercise is insane.” Hosting the sketch show has served as a long-standing rite of passage for Hollywood stars. “There was something about SNL that felt like an official marker of me not being able to claim the [underdog] spot anymore,” she says. “I think I might just be actually doing this for a living at this point.”
During the July weekend when we chat, another of Lyonne’s projects, the animated film DC League of Super-Pets, is number one at the box office, a feat she marvels at. “There was a solid decade in there where I was definitively the last person you’d cast in a mainstream family film. I’ll never lose perspective around that,” she says. She’s referring to a stretch of the aughts when she struggled with substance abuse. “It’s wild, but I’ll tell you this: they didn’t make it f--cking easy. It’s definitely the opposite of an overnight
Jacket by Dior; bra by Jean Paul Gaultier; skirt by ASHLYN; ring by Tabayer.
“What’s funny about being consistent of character
is that, sometimes, you’ll be on the right side of the wind and
83
other times you won’t, but as it continues to swirl, you’ll find your way because you stayed steady.”
sensation over here, so I don’t know that I’ll ever lose that bit of New York chip on my shoulder of, like, ‘Took you guys a while,’” she says. “It’s been a lot of years and a lot of work, but the bigger side of that double-edged [sword] is the truth, which is: holy s--t, I’m so grateful.”
For those who came of age during the ’90s, Lyonne has always been here, whether it was starring in a slew of cult classics like Slums of Beverly Hills and But I’m a Cheerleader or the blockbuster American Pie franchise, which made her a household name alongside early aughts stars like Tara Reid and Mena Suvari. Nostalgic millennials often resurface her work, specifically But I’m a Cheerleader, which deals with sexuality and gender norms through its satirical take on conversion therapy. “We all have a desire to contribute to people’s lives or happiness or ease their suffering or feel like their reality is being
reflected onscreen, and without question that’s the movie that people come up to me and say changed their lives,” she says.
Back in 1999, Lyonne starred on the cover of Interview magazine. In the feature, she says, “I’m definitely a flawed person who wears it on the outside. I don’t expect people to like me, and I don’t expect people to think, Wow, she’s so simple and great. I think I’m a weirdo who wears it with pride.” Reflecting back on this sage sentiment, she says, “If I had words of wisdom for young people, it would really be to pick your player and stick with it.” She laughs. “What’s funny about being consistent of character is that, sometimes, you’ll be on the right side of the wind and other times you won’t, but as it continues to swirl, you’ll find your way because you stayed steady.”
SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL.COM NATASHA LYONNE