Interview: Elizabeth Lail on the Themes of Mack & Rita and Voice Acting

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Elizabeth Lail, who plays Mack in this year’s comedy film Mack & Rita. In the interview, Lail spoke about working with Diane Keaton and voicing Frozen‘s Anna. The film is now available digitally and on Blu-ray + Digital, DVD, and through video-on-demand from Lionsgate.

“When 30-year-old self-proclaimed homebody Mack Martin reluctantly joins a Palm Springs bachelorette trip for her best friend Carla, her inner 70-year-old is released — literally,” reads the synopsis. “The frustrated writer and influencer magically transforms into her future self: ‘Aunt Rita.’ Freed from the constraints of other people’s expectations, Rita comes into her own, becoming an unlikely social media sensation and sparking a tentative romance with Mack’s adorable dog-sitter, Jack. A sparkling comedy with a magical twist, Mack & Rita celebrates being true to yourself at any age.”

Tyler Treese: Mack and Rita is really fun. I love the theme of self-expression and sort of defying age norms and just being true to yourself. What about that theme really hit home with you and made you wanna be a part of this?

Elizabeth Lail: Oh my goodness. I mean, from the moment I read the script, I think I cried and I was like, “This is exactly what I needed to hear at this moment.” So I resonated with all of it, really. I resonated with … Mack really hides herself; she hides what she wants, what she needs, what she loves, in order to be easy and accommodating and fit in. And I definitely have a bit of a propensity towards that. And just the idea that the more true you can be to yourself, the more you allow yourself to be every part of you, and not just the parts you think people wanna see, the more your whole world opens up. Her career opens up, her love life opens up, and she realizes how important her friendships are. It’s a lesson, I think I’ll probably have to go back and watch it again and again as I get older and older because I think it just will forever continue to be a lesson I need to learn.

Wonderfully said. What really impressed me is that the film doesn’t really work if you and Diane Keaton aren’t really giving off the same energy, but you really do. So what kind of prep went into playing Mack, because you both gave out that same energy?

Oh, thank you. Well, I basically just studied Diane. I didn’t wanna do like, a straight imitation of her, but that’s exactly what I wanted it to be, was more of an energy and essence. And obviously, in the beginning of the movie, even though they are the same, Mack, in the beginning, is a lot more closed off, and not quite as expressive or shining her light. And I just watched all of Diane’s movies and I would watch her scenes. They would send me the dailies of the scenes from the movie and I would just keep checking back with Katie [Aselton], our director, and we would think of hand gestures and “isms” that she has that we could sprinkle out throughout my performance. So I was just trying to channel Diane. No big deal. [laughs].

That’s awesome. When you were watching the dailies back, what impressed you the most about Diane’s performance as the character? Because she seemed to be having so much fun.

Oh my goodness, she’s so incredible. I learned so much just by watching her. She’s the most present actor I think I’ve ever seen. Every take is different. Every moment is spontaneous, and that’s exactly right, she’s just having a ball while she’s doing it. Nothing is precious, but it’s all intentional, which is just … she’s phenomenal and she’s goals. I hope to turn into her one day for real.

And you know, the scenes with you and Taylour Paige are so much fun. How was she as a scene partner? Because you really exuded that energy of best friends.

Oh, thank you. Well, Taylour’s so soulful and open and warm as a person, and we get to work nice and early in the morning and it’s just us girls in the makeup trailer. And I think that kind of energy helps to establish a friendship. You’re playing music, you’re talking about what each other’s signs are, you’re talking about your love life. So we just kind of did that work off-screen. And so when we were working together, it was just fun, easy, and hopefully true.

There’s a lot of great fashion in the movie and we get to see you and Diane wearing the same outfits. How fun was that element and kind of being twins with Diane with the outfits. That had to be fun.

Oh, oh, it was surreal. Because a lot of the clothes that Diane wears in the movies are her personal pieces. And so I would get to wear, you know, her jeans that she’s probably wearing today right now. And I just kept thinking, I can’t believe this is my life. I can’t believe I can even fit into these jeans [laugh]. For some reason, though, I will say, when I have the high collar popped, I don’t look nearly as fashionable as she does. So I’ve gotta work on channeling her confidence and energy. But her fashion is just spectacular, and the beautiful thing about Diane is that Diane really represents the themes of the movie because she’s so unapologetically herself and that’s really what Mac is trying to get to.

I love that. And you so wonderfully played Anna from Frozen in Once Upon a Time, but more recently, you reprised that role for a small Robot Chicken sketch. How did that come about?

Elizabeth Lail: Oh, that was so fun. I think they just knew that I had done it for Once Upon a Time, and so they let me play a couple of parts. That was the first time I did any voiceover, and I just had a blast. It was so much fun, because you can be really silly and nobody can see because you’re in a booth. [laugh]

Are you looking to do more voice acting in the future?

Oh, I’d love to. I’d like to narrate a book. I think it looks like hard work, but I listen to Jeremy Irons do an audiobook and I’m just like, “Gosh, he’s good.” And so I’d like to do that as well.

We’ll put that out into the world, and let’s see it happen.

Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

You’ve had so many great roles in your career so far, and one of the ones that really resonated with me was in You, How is it working with Penn [Badgley]? Because he really transforms into that character. It’s remarkable.

It is remarkable because Penn is the nicest guy on earth. He’s the exact opposite of that character. Although they’re both very smart, very cerebral intellectuals, so they have that in common. I always would joke with Penn because, he plays that role so effortlessly, even though it’s so far from him. And it’s just honestly … it’s really magical to watch, and it’s just really lovely to play opposite with, and I can’t wait to see the next season.

Awesome. And then my last question for you, you have Gonzo Girl coming up, which is Patricia Arquette’s feature directorial debut. What really stood out about working with her?

You know what was crazy, actually, now that you bring it up. I had a particularly dramatic scene, and Patricia just came over to me and put her hand on my back and kind of held space because I was experiencing very heightened emotions. And I just remember thinking that was one of the most beautiful things any director has done for me. It was very caring, and I thanked her later and she said, “You know who did that for me? Diane Keaton.” And I just thought, “Wow.” So that’s just the beauty of this industry and the power of someone, you know, just taking time to pour into the next generation. And I felt like I was a part of a lineage in that moment from Diane to Patricia to me, which is just surreal.

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