Personal Connection to Addiction Recovery

This message comes from NPR sponsor Carvana, making buying a car one hundred percent online with real transparent pricing and customizable financing that fits your budget. Browse thousands of cars and get yours delivered. Visit cararvana. com today. Delivery fees and terms may apply Bullseye with Jesse Thorne is a production of maximumfund d. org and is distributed by NPR It's Bull'se eye, I'm Jesse Thorne. Quick heads up, there is a little swearing and talk about sex in this next interview Alison Jany says that in her twenties, she was always getting cast as a forty year old. It makes sense because she's just kind of elegant. In fact, she was about forty when she got the role that would make her career as the press secretary, CJ Craig, on the West Wing. It'll happen. I had root canal What happened to your cheeks I had root canal. Why are you talking like that? I had root canal. Yeah, I heard you the first time I was just amusing myself. I can suggest some other things you can do with yourself. Green pain. I had root canal. You're gonna need to stop saying that 'cause you just look sounds so ridiculous. I have to cancel the briefing. You can't cancel the briefing. Look at me. You'd be great. I can't do the briefing. Why not? I can't even say weriefing. You can't cancel the briefing, CJ. You gotta wrap up O'Leary, you gota move him back to the bill sign. Noual. I'm sorry,. Did you just say my name Janny won four Emmys for that part, which let her stretch her gifts She was by turns sharp and warm, maternal and sexy. When we talked in twenty fourteen, she was starring on two TV shows, Showtime's Masters of Sex and CBS's Mom In twenty eighteen, Janny earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in I Tona, the Tanya Harding Bioc She played Lavana Fe Golden Golden was the mother of Tanya Harding who was played by Margot Robby I when I was a Kid did you ever love me or Anything You think Sonja Henny's mother loved her or You I didn't stay home making apple brown bties. No. I made you a champion Noowing you'd hate me for it. That's the sacrifice a mother makes. I wish I'd had a mother like me instead of nice nice getitch. I didn't like my mother either. so what? I gave you a gift You cursed me Mister. Spilled milk, baby Earlier this year, Alice and Janny starred in Miss You Love You She plays Diane in the film. Diane just lost her husband and needs some help getting his affairs in order. She calls on her son, a successful globetotting journalist, but he's too busy, so he sends his assistant, Jamie Payed by Andrew Rynold You can watch it now on HBO Max Stayway This was And I'm absolutely being for real here, one of my favorite interviews of all time Allison Janny, let's listen. and welcome to Bulls.' great, you the show. Thanks Jessse. I'm happy to be here. I want to ask you a little bit about the beginning of your career There's not a lot of actors and actresses out there who can say that they were discovered in college by Paul Newman. That's pretty rock solid origin story. Yeah, that's a pretty cool A very cool beginnings of a career story. How did it happen? Well was I went to Kenyon College, which is where Paul Newman graduated and built a beautiful new theater there called the Bolton Theatater and to Christen it, they invited Pul to come and direct the first play that would be produced in the theater And that happened to be my freshman year And of course, everybody was auditioning for it. It didn't matter if you were interested in the theater at all. Everyone wanted to be and something that Paul Niimman directed. So there was a lot of competition for that. but I and they had people audition by just coming up on stage and talking to Paul for like a minute or you had like You know, you had a minute and that was it and you could get up. And I decided I would appeal to his his love of driving cars. So I bragged about how in my Chiracco I could drive from Dayton, Ohio to Gambier, Ohio in an hour and thirty two minutes if I took route twenty two I just I made up some, you know, of course, I really didn't drive that fast, but I kind of lied a little bit and made the story sound very exciting. And I was like, and that's how I got to Kenyan or you know, And I' sure that had nothing to do with why I got it. I probably just looked the part. I was you know, it was supposed to be a bunch of ragtag chorus girls just, you know, and there I was, you know, six feet tall probably got cast in that because of my height and I ridiculous u physicality next to the other chorus girls and I've always thought I looked otherworldly or nineteen forty, you know, I could easily be from that era I heard he gave you like a get out of jail free card Yeah, he said, um He said, if you ever need a favor business. He said has to be very specific, but I will I will do it for you and I So honored and thrilled that he said that to me. It was like a you know, a valium in my back pocket. but I never I never asked him for it because I could never think of the right one, but just knowing I had it. made me feel you know, morere confident and was It's really honored that he said that to me Ride and take advantage of it When you u got the script for Masters of Sx was it already called Masters of Sex Yes, the show name had already been Determined I did not know. I had already I knew at that point They wanted me to come on board. They had a character in mind. they hadn't written it yet. She was going to be the wife of the provrovost, played by Baow Bridges something I was actually a little afraid to take on and also when they suggested or you know, said they would be nudity most more than likely and I'd have to do a sex scene And I was like, well, let's talk about that because I'm sure that people really are going to want to see that you know, and they said, listen, it's going to be you are going to have to be completely comfortable with it and be able to not do anything that you're not comfortable with. and And I think had I not started on a crazy pilates workout not eating bread pasta routine, not even knowing that this was going to come my way. I might not have I don't know what I would have said, but fortunately, I was in pretty good shape for me. The best I'd been in a long time. So I thought, well All right, I'm not going to be afraid Let's it. Let's do it. And and then and then I got the first script and was just and every script thereafter was just I really looked forward to playing this character because of all the different layers that were going on with her one of the most rewarding I've played in a long time is so poignant to see U To see this woman in middle age Try and come to terms with stuff that people usually called upon to come to terms with when they're sixixteen She has to like get to know her sexuality And she has to like realize what a realize what a relationship with someone is Margaretly Yeah through this. ye, the the unraveling of her of someone's life and what they thought it was and everythingthing that Rug has just pulled out from under her and as she slowly goes down this this journey and here is a it's this silent taking in of information at the Majon games with the girlfriends and hearing about the sex study and hearing about what sex feels like and gosh, I don't feel that way. and trying to have my husband want me and he doesn't and then getting, you know, and then having falling into an ait like I love my mother so much, but I just thought about her being, you know, about that age you know, and she was she was like twenty in the fifties being I think she had just married my father in nineteen D us sixix or fifty seven. started having have three kids, an older brother, me and my younger brother I just thought of her finding this stuff out and and my mother So such a gracious woman and so polite and so concerned with manners and just imagined her going into master's office and going through that sex study, you know intake questionnaire thing. and It just became very easy for me to play her. she was deffinitely more like me than the character on and mom We'll be back in just a second. 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Ai slash nPR today Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Learn more at rwjf. org. As bullseye, I'm Jessse Thorne. My guest is actor Allison Jany. When you agreed to do M, was it a part that was created for you or was it something you had to audition for? I had to, I didn't have to audition. Well, they don't call it that when you're do, but definitely. Did you have to go go to lunch with some people? I went in just to have a chemistry meet and greet type thing with Anna and, you know in Chuck's office. Anna Fairr is the other star of the show. Yes. She and Chuck were the ones who were on board with this mom and they then called me to come in and meet with them and And I was excited because Chuck and I had tried to work together right after the West Wing. We had a development deal together and we were trying to think of a show to develop for me, and it didn't end up going. And I was a little disappointed because I really liked working with Chuck and So I was excited to go in on this one and I went in and I was really a big fan of Anna's work. just seen her in the house, bunny and thought she was hysterical, really think I think we're going get along fine just had a feeling. and we did Let's hear a clip from Mob. And so Alice, your character, Bonnie in this scene is explaining to her daughter, Christie, who's played by Anna Ferris. Why why she lied to her about her father who was was absent for most of her childhood And u She's in this scene, she's only basically just told her that I'm about to go over there and hear his side of the story. You sure you don't want to tell me yours first Oh I. I was sixteen I was living with my fifth set of foster parents and I Since I was losing their support, may have been related to a Trinitron TV that went missing. Anyway, I met your father shortly thereafter Timing was good. I was between hes. you had to winne Bago. So it wasn't a one night stand? No, no We were in love. lived together two years before I got pregnant He was so excited he was gonna be a dad. He brought me strawberry milkshakes every day. He made you a crib out of leather. And then you surprised us a couple weeks early at a blue oyster cult concert. My water broke right in the middle of Don't Far the Reaper. I never liked that song. Understandable. You were stuck in my pelvis the first time you heard it I was watching an episode of Mom earlier today and the storylines that were happening, I'll see if I can summarize them. Your granddaughter's character is pregnant looks like she's having the baby, but she's giving it up for adoption Y character's ex husband has just reappeared for the first time in forever in his daughter and grandaughter's life. U, It's prom U and the your grand your character's granddauer is trying to decide whether or not she's okay with going to prom pregnant Hh And you know, and the baseline that's running through all of this is your character and your daughter's character dealing with a recovery And meanwhile Every three seconds is a gut punch joke. You know, like a boom joke And that's just a lot. It's really it's a really intense viewing experience. It is. you know, you're right. There is there is a lot going on. a lot of different levels and and emotions and subject matters that aren't necesscessarily halfour comedy fair. but I don't know, I guess Pople seem to like it because we got ask back for season two, which is fantastic. What I think is interesting is that I think on a lot of sitcoms that deal with quote unquote serious topics, there is a sort of modal slash tonal switch back and forth. So you get a little bit of, okay, we're going to deal with the topic now through this thoughtful, introspective scene Yeah. And on mom, at least what I've seen There are hard what what you call hard jokes about every difficult subject that just go straight for it. I think that's the only way to do it. It just hit it head on and not get sentimental or I think the audience is responding to that. They like they like that, you know, dealing with cancer and just you know, Bonnie talking to Marjorie played by u, Mimi Kennedy just, you know straight on like, what we going to do about the hair? We' gott to get you a wig G got to do that, you know, just people like,, I can't believe she's going right there, but we're not afraid to go right there. and I think people People like that We're going to take a break when we come back even more with the lovely, charming, brilliant Alison Janning. It's Bullsye from maximumfund. org and NPR On Consider this, NPR's afternoon news podcast we cover everything from politics to the economy, to the world But every story starts with a question. NPR, we stand for your right to be curious Make sense of the biggest story of the day and what it means for you Follow, consider this wherever you get your podcasts This week on, wait, wait, don't tell me we ask comedy legend Robert Smidele about the moment he first knew he was funny When I was like four or five, I could draw really well. so I could draw Fred Flintstone and Snoopy. And then probably a couple of years later, I started drawing them having sex Listen to the Wight Waight Don't tell M me podcast in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts This week on Shortwave with the price of jet fuel soaring. The hunt is on for other ways to power air travel sustainably. We are working with companies that take post anaerobic digested human sewage and turn that into jet fuel. How scientists are considering every possibility, even poop to power the future of air travel This week on Shortwave, listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts Hey, it's John Moe and I host Deppress Me and Sleeping with Celebrities, and I'm here with MaxFun member of the mononth, Kara Barnett. Hi, John, It's great to talk to you. We appreciate your support, Kara. How long have you been listening to the show I've been listening to Depressed mode since the first promo came out. with Patton Oswald. I've been listening since the very first episode. Kara, as our maxFone member of the month, you'll be getting some some prizes here. A twenty five dollars gift card the Maximum Fund store, a special member of the month bumper sticker and get this a parking spot at Max Fund headquarters in Los Angeles just for you, just for a month or so Oh that's so exciting if only I lived in Los Angeles. but I got my eye on some stuff in the max one store. Kara Barnett, thank you for being a listener and congratulations on being this month's member of the month I hear the member of the mononth promos all the time And I can't wait for my friends who listen to MaxFun shows to hear me on the radio because I haven't told any of them. Support the shows you love, including this one. Check the show notes for a link or go to maximumfun. org slash join Welcome back to Bullseye. I'm Jessse Thorne. My guest is Allison Janny She starred in the CBS sitcom, Mom for eight years. Her character Bonnie, is not just a mom, also a recovering addict She earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her twenty seventeen performance in I Tona These days, you can catch her in the new movie Miss You Love You, as well as on the Netflix drama, The Diplomat Janny and I talked years ago in twenty fourteen Let's get back into our conversation. I know Chuck Glory has, you know, has a past that informs this desire to want to do work about about addiction and recovery Was that something that you talked to him about when you first went in there to meet with him and Anna Ferris, like why he wanted to do this I did not Ask him why he wanted to. It's a world that I U was not afraid to play in. I had a lot of friends and people close to me who who have tried to help get sober and I've been to many Alanon meetings, many open AA meetings. I've Unfortunately, I had to deal with it a lot. so I feel like everyone these days is is dealing with recovery, everybody I and anything that we can do to d stigmatize recovery and addiction is a good thing I know that I know that you lost your brother sort of not long after not long after West Wing A number of years ago now, but not that long ago. Yeah, three years ago I wonder and I know that that was also an issue for him. Oh yeah, it was a big issue. That was I mean, I think it was because of him losing him to addiction alcoholism that I I wanted to play Bonnie. I just I wanted to play a character who was dealing with that. and Not that that would be you know, not that it would be honoring him, but if somehow I could help someone out there by playing a character who was going through it and we put it out there and someone got better or seeing what they were going through on TV and didn't feel so lonely or felt like gosh, it feels good to have my life being put up on television, having people you know they're enjoying it, but to see it represented in a in a good way I wanted to do that, it also gave me the confidence to in that world because I was in it a lot A lot It must also be kind of kind of liberating for you as a performer to get to be someone who's in recovery and like trying to be in that sober space, but also gets to be kind of outrageous and fun and ridiculous and just like a happy next step version of that world. Yes. yeah, gratefully Bonnie is a Yeah, she's got bull in. notot that she's not that she's got everything under control Oh she does not She is the most unlike me. Almost any character I've ever played