She had given up herself. After more than 20 years of career in Hollywood —“just hearing the number makes me feel exhausted,” she notes with a laugh—, dedicated to fighting against the lack of opportunities and the clichés of race and gender, the possibility of hearing her name as one of the essentials in the pools to be nominated for best actress at the next Oscars never ceases to surprise her. At the moment she is already among the final list of candidates for the Golden Globes, for best drama actress. “I think in some ways she had already assumed that she was never going to have the opportunity to play a character like this. Or, at least, until perhaps the end of my career, due to the different inequalities that exist in Hollywood. So I am very excited to be able to have this opportunity now,” she confesses on the other end of the phone Greta Lee (Los Angeles, 40 years old), the protagonist of one of the most acclaimed films of the year, Past lives (Past lives).
The surprise also dynamites the existence of Nora, her character in director Celine Song's debut feature, which narrates the reunion on the streets of New York between an aspiring playwright and a childhood friend from her native South Korea. A twist on the foundations of the romantic comedy in the vein of classics like Before dawn which highlights topics such as the sense of identity or the cultural shock that any migrant experiences. A circumstance that Lee, whose parents moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s, knows firsthand. “I had to appeal to that essence of what it means to live between two cultures, between two languages, between two very different worlds. What does it feel like for anyone who has moved far from home in search of a different life and to be able to fulfill their dreams,” evokes the actress.
This crossroads between opposing realities has also been a challenge for her, finding herself cornered, for example, between the different beauty conventions of the East and the West. “I was always the opposite of what was considered ideal: what if the color of my skin, what if the freckles on my face… I can point out many painful things that they said were not in line with that supposed ideal. That's why I'm so hopeful to see how times are changing.”
Lee herself claims to be reliable proof of this transformation by serving as the image of Loewe's new unisex fragrance, Aire Anthesis, belonging to the Botanical Rainbow collection. “I was excited that the brand wanted to show my freckles. Not wearing almost any makeup was something quite radical for me. At first I felt very exposed, naked… but also very proud,” and she continues, “at this moment in life, I am happy to finally be able to nest in my own skin.”
If the firm's latest campaign—in which she shares the spotlight with the Spanish Úrsula Corberó and the actor Stéphane Bak—reclaims the symbiotic connection with the natural world, Greta Lee materializes that bond every day. Far from being imbued by glamor dazzling Hollywood star, the actress, known for being a real scene-stealer in series like Girls, Russian doll either The Morning Show, She resides with her husband and two children on an old goat ranch in a rural neighborhood east of the city. She describes the presence of the natural environment in her lives as “essential.” “I'm kind of a crazy farmer and gardener. “I love replanting native species and, although we are dealing with a feral pig problem right now, I feel lucky to have flora and fauna so integrated into my daily life.”
Precisely because of that “pure happiness” that he says he is experiencing these months, Lee refuses to give in to the growing expectation that exists about his leading presence in the imminent awards season that is coming up. The success of Past Lives It is one more stone in the new path that films with a vocation for diversity and inclusion – both in front of and behind the cameras – are gradually tracing in the industry, but there is no room for complacency: “We must fight actively to ensure that there will continue to be opportunities for filmmakers and casts like these.” The two decades of work that critics and academics alike used to overlook prevent him from taking for granted anything that is yet to come on the horizon. “I never expected these kinds of things to happen to me. In some ways I had already said goodbye to this dream and found peace in the kind of career I could have, so I will embrace whatever happens. That, for example, the public in Madrid is watching Past Lives It is already a dream come true.” Just in case, and given the predicti
ons about her future accepting awards, it's better that no one wakes up Greta Lee yet.
#Greta #Lee #nominated #Golden #Globe #20year #career #goodbye #dream #peace
