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Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge opened up about the personal and professional struggles she has experienced throughout her 30-year career in Hollywood and shared her rules for success in front of a near-sellout crowd at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre on Saturday night.
The American Pie and Legally Blonde star also discussed why she initially turned down her now iconic role on HBO’s The White Lotus, which helped drive a career renaissance and was likely the single biggest reason behind why nearly 8000 Sydneysiders paid upwards of $90 to see her in conversation alongside the show’s creator Mike White and Good Weekend columnist Benjamin Law.
Mike White and Jennifer Coolidge, from The White Lotus TV during a Vivid Sydney press conference.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Coolidge has openly discussed her depression and how it contributed to her unwillingness to leave her house and accept roles. At Saturday night’s event, which was programmed as part of Vivid Sydney, she shared how she had initially rejected White’s offer to play Tanya McQuoid, the only character to feature in both seasons of The White Lotus, because she wasn’t feeling motivated and was worried about she would look in a bathing suit on the show’s Hawaiian set.
Thankfully White, who had a long-standing relationship with Coolidge, persisted. He said on Saturday night that he couldn’t envisage the show without her, and that it was largely designed as a vehicle for Coolidge.
After discussing her mental health challenges, Coolidge shared her advice for wannabe actors. Step one? “When you get up in the morning, leave your house,” she said, a suggestion that drew laughter but also pointed to her own personal struggles.
Jennifer Coolidge (left) has won a legion of new fans for her role in The White Lotus.Credit: HBO/Binge
In terms of how she maintains her physicality, Coolidge said: “There’s one thing that can keep you forever young and sexy ... pure denial.”
In response to an audience question about how to combat self-doubt, which both Coolidge and White acknowledged they regularly grapple with, the actor said: “One of the best things to cure self-doubt ... go to [see] really bad stuff. Plays that are really bad? Go to them. Shows that are bad? Watch them.”
She shared a story from early on in her career where she attended a particularly poor performance of Oliver that helped her realise that she could be a successful actress.