Interview: Shanyn Leigh, 4:44 Last Day on Earth

At the end of the roundtable interview with Abel Ferrara, in came Shanyn Leigh, co-star of 4:44 Last Day on Earth. The two have been a couple for some time, and though the age difference is noticeable, they have this way of completing each other, or at least that’s what the assembled journalists had picked up on. Watching the two after a recent screening of the film, I noticed a little of how they strike a balance. There’s the youthful poise on Shanyn’s part, and then there’s Abel’s eccentric exuberance.

Perhaps that equilibrium makes sense in some way. In an interview with Experimental Conversations, Abel mentioned how Shanyn brought Buddhism into his life. “I’m a born again Buddhist. Through Shanyn,” he said. “If Shanyn’s a fascist, I’ll be wearing a moustache.”

Skye, her artist character in 4:44 Last Day on Earth, has a way of balancing out Willem Dafoe’s character Cisco as well. Again there’s an age difference, and again there’s a notable difference in personality, but she keeps him from getting too dour when she can. It made me wonder how much of what’s depicted in the film was like their actual relationship… minus the end of the world, of course. (Note that I reworded some questions and responses in the interview in order to avoid spoilers.)

You’ve worked with Abel before on Go Go Tales. How was the experience this time? I know both you and Abel are together and it’s a very close relationship. Was it tough or was it much easier?

Much easier. The first one was horrible. [laughs] Go Go Tales was a disaster. We were fighting all the time, we got thrown out of like five places, I broke two guitars. It was really difficult. I mean, it was egos and the first movie, it was a real rite of passage evolving through that. This time was so much easier because we grew as a couple and we grew as individuals. It was so much easier. It was fun, it was a wonderful experience. Go Go Tales on the other hand was horrible — I almost died, it was really dramatic.

This was your first major leading role. How did you prepare for it? Did you do any kind of research?

Yeah, well I work with acting directors — Susan Batson and Elizabeth Kemp — and I’m always in acting class, and I love going to class and working on different characters. I studied Frida Kahlo a lot because I was just in Mexico and I find her to be an incredible artist, first of all, and then just a strong woman who led a tortured life both physically and with her relationships. And I really related to her. So I studied with my acting teachers and did my own research.

Abel seems to be a very philosophical human being, a person who looks into things greatly and deeply.

Mmhmm.

How does that characteristic of his impact you as a creative person?

It helps me because I’m a very trusting person, and I just — maybe foolishly and naively — just accept truth. He really investigates, really goes to the underbelly and just understand where things come from. And it helps me, actually, because it makes me understand why I like something so much or why I don’t like something. He’s very philosophical. [pause] Does that help — I don’t know. [laughs]

Yeah. You did answer my question if that’s what you’re asking. [laughs]

Okay, good.

I approve. You’re lovely.

Being that you’re truthful and he’s more questioning and digging underneath layers, and you’re younger and he’s older, how do you personally feel about the end of the world? What is your philosophy at this early stage of your life?

Well, I think global warming does exist. For me it was the inspiration of wanting to make this movie. Just being in New York City on Thanksgiving and wearing shorts or having a snowstorm in October — just so many devastating environmental events, one after another. There’s just so many. I mean, the volcano [in Iceland] — it’s so overwhelming, all of these environmental disasters and calamities, and it’s devastating that the world is coming to an end because of us and our abuse of mother nature and mother earth. And there are people out there who don’t believe it. They just don’t want to accept the fact that we could go too far; like drilling in Alaska — I mean, I could go on for a while there. But it’s just devastating the amount of things we’ve done to the earth. That was a big inspiration for the movie.

Do you think the film helps to raise consciousness or make people aware of certain issues? If so, will that influence the films you choose to make?

I think it’s a beautiful outlet. To make movies is an honor, and I think it’s really beautiful because you can touch a lot of people potentially. I certainly would love to make movies that do inspire, or do challenge, or do provoke; I would love to continue doing things like that. I think it’s a responsibility, really.

So if you got an opportunity to play, for example, Catwoman, or–

I would take it! [laughs]

So how does Catwoman make people aware? [Editor’s note: I think at this point I made a funny face about that other journalist’s question, much like Tim from the UK version of The Office.]

[laughs] But you know what I mean.

I do know what you mean.

And the same is true of an X-Men character.

It’s actually very beautiful because the people in those movies — Transformers, X-Men, Superman — they’re all heroes. They are all who we want to be in one way or another. They’re superhuman. They get the girl, they get the car, they get the job, and they save the world, you know? That’s kind of amazing. And I think in a way, we all want that: we all want to save the world, we all want to help each other. Maybe not on a surface level, but deeply we all — well, maybe not all, I shouldn’t say that — have a desire innately to help each other. To be Superman. To [want to] get it all: you can have the car, you can have the girl, you can have the job, you can save the world. And I think maybe that’s why, on a very deep level, we like these movies and why the mass audiences are driven to them.

I think they just like to beat people up. [Editor’s note: Tim face.]

I mean, not to challenge you.

That, by the way, is not my idea. [It’s from] Geshe Michael [Roach], who’s in the movie speaking briefly. He’s my guru, he’s Abel’s guru, and he wrote a beautiful book called The Diamond Cutter, which is a New York Times bestseller. It just breaks down these ideas — Buddhist, Dali Lama, lineage of Buddhism — just breaks them down very beautifully and in a very easy way to digest these topics. But that’s why he loves these movies, because he thinks, you know, everyone wants to be a hero. And when I thought about it, I thought that maybe, on a deep level, they do. They may not know that they do. They may be obsessed with their anger and that’s a way for them to watch their anger manifest as violence in front of them. But if we all are pure souls at the end, and a lot of people do say that, then maybe that tiny part of us that does exist does bloom back. Maybe it’s tiny. [laughs]

How much of your creative input is in this film? Abel told us that your elements of the creative input are in the script.

That’s pretty generous of Abel to say that. I don’t necessarily agree. I think Abel is the creative genius for sure. But the figure in the painting was my idea. Abel was like, “You have to decide what you’re painting!” And I was like, “Oh my god, what am I going to paint?” And, you know, the start date was ticking and I thought, “It can’t be a flower, it can’t just be animals — what am I going to paint?”

[laughs]

And I was in a yoga class and the yoga teacher was talking about this pose and this symbol of samsara and of life; this cycle, and then the mini-cycles that we have within them: you wake up, you brush your teeth, you have to go to the bathroom, you have to eat. So everyday we have to do these cycles within this huge cycle of living and dying. And I thought that the final symbol in the painting was just beautiful, and it related to how I kept changing my own clothes and just evolving. We have a great capacity to evolve on this earth, demented as it is.

Talking about changing your clothes, you changed into a very–

A ballgown.

Why that character’s choice to change into that look toward the end of the earth? And did you have any say in what you got to wear for that last look?

I picked my outfits for the whole thing, actually. Those are my pajamas in the beginning, and actually those were all my clothes.

From your own personal wardrobe?

Yeah. People were like, “We’ll give you clothes from all these great designers.” And Abel was like, “Nothing’s as good as your own stuff.” And I disagreed and was like, “I’d be happy with that.” [laughs]

[laughs]

So we picked from my [my wardrobe]. I asked a lot of women and a lot of friends what they would do on the last day, and they said, “You know, just have a glass of champagne with my boyfriend and put on my favorite dress.” Just simply celebrate a little bit — celebrate the life that you’ve lived and being with the ones that you love.

You have an interesting conversation Skyping with your mother in the film where she says “You’re doing something that’s changing the world, I wish I’d done that.” Do you feel that you’re doing something now that’s changing the world or having an impact? Does your family see you that way?

That’s a beautiful question.

Well, how do you see yourself now juxtaposed against the character in that scene?

Going back to a previous question about if making movies is doing something to provoke the world, to challenge [ideas] or help with environmental awareness. I think art is very inspiring for me. I love looking at paintings and going to the museum and love movies. I mean, take away movies from me and I don’t know what will happen — I’d probably go into spasms or something since they inspire me so much. I think that’s a beautiful way [to help people], but I think in small ways you can really help people. I’m vegetarian and talk to some people about eating meat, or just thinking about eating meat and where it came from, and a lot of friends decided to become vegetarian. In small ways I can see my life changing [others for the better]. It’s not taking dead bodies from Calcutta in India, but I am doing small things to change the world.

That’s good.

There’s more to that, but I guess that’s a good example, just that we can all touch each other’s lives. I mean we all do, so much, and sometimes you just don’t know. You may never see the person again, but you can say one [lasting] thing. But that’s what’s beautiful about studying Buddhism. It changed my life and my relationship with Abel so much, so much. Dramatically so, in a very real way, which is why I latched onto Buddhism as opposed to Christianity and what I grew up with. [Buddhism] gave me an antidote to solve a problem in this life. You know, with Christianity, it’s [a solution] in heaven — later. And this life can be very long, and can be very painful.

Do you think that’s why Abel said your role in the film was sort of a poem to you? That you inspire him a lot.

Yeah, there’s a lot of me in that. A lot of Abel in it too.

How was the collaboration with Willem Dafoe?

Well, Abel worked with him on New Rose Hotel and on Go Go Tales, and we’re quite good friends with him and his wife, Giada [Colagrande], who’s a great film director. And also there’s an age difference [in their relationship] and we’re all artist. So, we’re close to each other, and Abel loves working with people who’re great actors who he loves, and I think every time he works with someone it get better and better.