Julia Louis-Dreyfus Talks "Enough Said"
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ACTRESS: I'd like to thank our -- my family. Brad Hall and Henry Hall and Charlie Hall, my children are here this evening.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love them so much.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I love them so much.</s>KATE BOULDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. That is Julia Louis-Dreyfus taking home the best comedy actress Emmy for her hilarious turn as the vice president in HBO "Veep" -- even giving her acceptance speech in character. We sat down with her to talk about the show and about her surprising new role alongside the late James Gandolfini. It's being hailed as a breakthrough performance in the new film "Enough Said".</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Does your daughter live with you?</s>JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Half the time, it aggravates you sometimes but the thing is she and her mother are very, very neat. As a matter of fact their favorite store is that, I don't know, what is it, it's a store with all the empty boxes and storage.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Oh, the container store?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, container store, the store that sells crap so you can put your crap in so you can go out and buy some more crap.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: I love that store. I love crap.</s>BOLDUAN: All right. And joining us now, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is here to talk about it all.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: Welcome, welcome to</s>NEW DAY. LOUIS-DREYFUS: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me on this</s>NEW DAY. BOLDUAN: Thank you so much. So we had the chance to see "Enough Said".</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: It's very funny which you're known for. But also bittersweet, the characters are very complex as you kind of watched them throughout the -- throughout the film.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: Is that what interested you?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: There's a -- there's a lot of drama in this film as well as being comedic and -- and it's sort of rough and raw and it explores this character that I play Eva in a pretty deep way. She's -- I play a masseuse who is, whose only daughter is about to go off to college and so she has a lot of anxiety about this impending departure of her daughter. So much anxiety that she doesn't even realize it sort of overcomes her and as a result she does something absolutely terrible in this film and it's sort of -- she's a little bit out of control.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: So what was the dynamic with access with this character for you in terms of what comes out of you that is similar from your life experience versus just taking a character in a place that has no direction that's familiar?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Well, I have two children and my oldest son went off to college a couple years ago and that was horrible. I mean it was great for him and I'm thrilled and that's actually what's supposed to happen but the --</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: You handled it differently is what you're saying.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes, I mean, I -- I was pretty upset. I was very heartbroken and -- and I had a lot of anxiety leading up to it so I definitely understood. I didn't do anything as bad as Eva does in this film but the -- the anxiety about his leaving and as a parent I really have to say even though you know intellectually that you're raising children to one day leave you, you don't really know that emotionally and then when it happens, it's like getting hit by a Mack truck, at least it was for me, so I'm looking forward to the next one leaving.</s>BOLDUAN: It's going to be a great moment. But this was a very different role for you.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: But it was also a very different role for James Gandolfini.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: I think people will be surprised when they see the character and his softness that you really do see come out. What was it like working together?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Well exactly. I mean he really does play a thoughtful, kind endearing, very self-effacing man. This is what he plays in the movie and guess what that's really what he was like. So I think people will be amazed actually to see this performance. He's just as dear as dear can be. He really is.</s>PEREIRA: You miss him?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: I mean it was clearly significant to be able to work together even at the time but then after his passing that time together and the film itself takes on a whole different significance.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: It really does. It's -- it's just something I treasure, always will for sure, always will.</s>CUOMO: So here on NEW DAY, CNN, you know we can't let you go without being newsy. You played vice president. Need your take on Syria. No what I want to know is what --</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: What?</s>CUOMO: -- when you're deciding, when you're playing politics, right? How much do you look at politics in the world around you and say oh I think this would be an interesting part, you know, to do with my character or do it differently. You know how do you reflect or try to be different from what you see around?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Oh well yes I do definitely watch news and the political world with a different eye. There's no doubt about that.</s>BOLDUAN: But "Veep" you don't even know if she's left or right.</s>CUOMO: That's right.</s>PEREIRA: I appreciate that about the show.</s>BOLDUAN: Right.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes you don't although you're going to get more of a sense of that this season. Having said that, though she's a straddler and I think she's somebody who --</s>CUOMO: Good, it's so unfamiliar in today's politics.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Exactly.</s>BOLDUAN: What?</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: So I really could see a situation where she might switch parties and then switch back again just to sort of stay alive politically.</s>CUOMO: You're living the dream, you're on the big screen, life is good, kid went to college, and haven't had to cover him in the news for anything. So it's all stuff.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: We call you first before we go.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Thank you, thank you very much. Yes I got to remember that, that's right, it's all good. It's all good.</s>PEREIRA: Thanks for having you here with us.</s>LOUIS-DREYFUS: Thank you for having me.</s>BOLDUAN: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Welcome to</s>NEW DAY. LOUIS-DREYFUS: Thank you.</s>BOLDUAN: Thank you so much. Julia's film "Enough Said" is in theaters right now. We'll be right back.</s>CUOMO: It was good to have her on NEW DAY. Coming up, check out this crazy canine. They love the leaves don't they but he's so good, he's part of the award of the day. But he's not the only one. Stay with us.