Carla Gugino's had great success as an actress -- she's a geek goddess after her Sin City cameo and her turn as Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, and she won raves on Broadway this year for Desire Under the Elms -- but she's thinking of starting a second career as a porn star. Just call her Elektra Luxx, the character she plays in boyfriend Sebastian Gutierrez's new movie Women in Trouble; it's a role that Gugino enjoyed so much that she's hoping to spin Luxx into a series of additional films. A little assertive, the slightest bit daffy, and rocked by news of an impending pregnancy, Luxx is a porn star on the brink -- and that's just where Gugino likes her.
I talked to the 38-year-old actress yesterday about Luxx's appeal, onscreen sex, and her much-anticipated reteaming with Watchmen director Zack Snyder on Sucker Punch, which Gugino was eager to discuss.
So you've actually shot a second Elektra Luxx film since this one?
We have! We actually just finished the second one.
And there's even a third film planned?
Yes, it's part of a trilogy.
Would you have expected all that from this character?
You know, it's funny, because when we were actually shooting it, Sebastian was like, "You know, I really think this story needs to continue." By the time we were done shooting, we knew we had a second one -- like, he actually had it written.
It's interesting the way she's introduced, in a nun's habit with lipstick. It's like she's conflating two extremes: Madonna and whore.
[Laughs] It's true! I had a crucifix and platform heels on and I was like, "Boy, am I in trouble." But it is true, and I kind of love that the character's deconstructed within thirty seconds. You're like, "Is she a nun? Oh God, is she a porn star?" And then her phone rings and the doctor's saying, "Come in, I need to meet you." It's a lot of life in four minutes of screen time.
There's a lot of sex appeal on display, but all the actresses look so comfortable. It's like they knew they had to take their clothes off, but they got to choose their lingerie first.
I know, it's true. I have to say, Emmanuelle Chriqui was like, "There is no one besides Sebastian Gutierrez who could have gotten us all in our underwear -- and we're happy about it!" I think it's really that foreign sensibility. He's South American, and I think it's that thing that certainly Pedro Almodovar does or Francois Ozon, those different European filmmakers. You can have that kind of sexuality -- if you think of Juliette Binoche or Charlotte Rampling or Penelope Cruz -- because in foreign films, sexuality often doesn't have to be separated from the character. It doesn't have to be, "Is she smart or is she sexy?" [Women in Trouble] is definitely about beautiful women in lingerie, but they actually have complex characters.
In other roles, have you felt like the director just wanted you to be sexy, but wasn't adding much else to the equation?
I think personally, sexuality is a pretty huge part of life for all of us. It's part of how we relate to each other. I've never minded if that's part of a character, but if that's the only purpose of the character, I'm like, "Hey, you guys are missing a big opportunity." I think eye candy is important, but I'm always looking for what's underneath there. I've been pretty fortunate that even in the roles that I've played that are pretty sexy characters, I've had something more to play. It's one of the good things that comes along with not being an ingenue anymore, you know? When you enter your "leading lady" years, you're expected to have something underneath, too. [Laughs]
Did you call in a lot of favors to get this cast?
It was really a family affair in that regard. Sebastian had written this one scene -- I think it's the one with Connie [Britton] and I in the elevator -- and he said, "I think I could either make this a short film, or I could put ten of them together, and in ten days, shoot a whole movie." We thought we'd do it with friends in between our regular jobs, and we'd get to do this little movie together. I mean, nobody worked more than four days, and we shot it in twelve, which was pretty crazy. We definitely had a lot of those actors in mind, and all of them are dear friends. Like, Connie Britton and I met on Spin City and she's one of my very best friends. Emmanuelle, I met on Entourage, and Malin Akerman, who's in the second film, I met on Watchmen. Joe Gordon-Levitt and I met when I did a few days on The Lookout, Simon Baker and I did a movie together with Sebastian called Judas Kiss...it's been crazy. Marley [Shelton] and I actually did a movie together that hasn't come out yet called The Mighty Macs, where she plays a nun and I play a basketball coach. We were like, let's mix it up!
Was the second Elektra Luxx film shot as quickly?
On that one, we had a little bit more time -- we shot that in about eighteen days. Some of the characters return, and then we have Timothy Olyphant, Vincent Kartheiser from Mad Men, Kathleen Quinlan, and some really wonderful cameos. It was definitely down and dirty still, but maybe even more ambitious.
Did Sebastian write this with you in mind? Did the two of you get to collaborate on this character?
Sebastian did write this with me in mind, and I had as much room for feedback and collaboration as I would want. The truth is, there were a couple of points where I was like, "Oh, I don't think the character would do this," or "I don't think she would give this breakdown yet," but for the most part, I loved the character so much that there wasn't a lot that I wanted to change. It's funny -- sometimes a part will seem like the best part you ever got to play, but you really have to give a lot of notes and have a lot of input. And then there are other ones, like the role I played on Entourage -- I literally read those first five episodes and I was like, "I don't want to change anything. I love this character exactly as she is." It was like that with Women in Trouble, too. Elektra really came to life for me in this movie. She has one of my favorite speeches that I've ever gotten to do near the end, where you really get a sense of who she is and how her life has brought her to this point.
You also reunited with Zack Snyder on Sucker Punch this year, where you play Mrs. Schultz. What can you tell me about her?
I'm actually in the middle of filming right now -- I go back tonight and shoot tomorrow morning. I play a dual character: this Polish, 1960s psychiatrist, and in the alternate world, I play a dominatrix-slash-madam of a brothel. The character's last name is now Gorski.
Zack Snyder really loves to make you Polish.
I know! [Laughs] I know, it's so funny. We kinew we wanted her to be Eastern European in some way, and I was exploring different things and found this Polish voice that felt right for her. Zach really loved the idea, and then we were like, "Oh my God, Sally Jupiter was Polish! How bizarre!"
Are you involved with all the weapons training and fight sequences for Sucker Punch?
No, unfortunately I'm not. I do have a really cool song-and-dance number that I've been working on. The truth is that I would love to have been involved, and I'm actually training with the Navy Seals [with the other actresses] because I'm there, and it's like, why not? So I've been working out with the girls, and they've been kicking ass. It's going to be like nothing you've ever seen, for sure.
Do you get to actually sing in your musical number?
Oscar Isaac and myself, we sing a duet. I don't know if I can say what the song is yet, but yes, I do sing and dance.
Have you done that onscreen before?
You know what's funny? I've just been terrified of singing for most of my life, and of late, I've done so much of it. I did a short film that Joe Gordon-Levitt directed me in where I play a rock singer, and in Elektra Luxx, there's a very small dream sequence where I sing and do a little dance. I'm like, I've gotta get my act together! This is a new chapter for me, and I love it. I love having my limits be pushed.