Catherine Keener: 'At Some Point You've Got to Call Reality'

It's interesting, because in the last year you've played the mother of three troubled young people in Max [Where the Wild Things Are]. Percy Jackson [Percy Jackson and the Olympians] and now Abby in Please Give. She's more conventionally troubled than the others, I guess, but still: Is there a continuity in these choices?

God, you're right. And there was An American Crime, and there's another one now in The Oranges... Jesus. Honestly, I look at the writing, the director and the part. And those things are most important to me. And the DP for some reason. I always... I don't know. It's interesting to me who's going to shoot it. I'm not sure that's really a concern; I just want to know what the feel of it is. I want to make sure...

What it's going to look like?

Yeah! What they're going after. Everybody counts, obviously. But that's funny. I guess it's just what's interesting. Maybe it's because I was a troubled youth. [Laughs] I don't know! There might be something to that. There might be something to ironing out that kind of complexity in relationships, you know? Or not ironing them out, but exploring them. But if there were other parts that came? The reality is I do see other scripts with different characters, but they're probably not what I like.

The family in this film fascinates me. It's just right. I've been a fan of Sarah Steele's for a while--

Oh my God, she's f*cking... She's great. She's beautiful.

What was it like working with her? Is there a sense of mentorship that you feel with young actors?

Well, Sarah is great. She's on her feet, and she's going. But if I were to generalize with younger actors, you know, I have worked with a lot. And I'm being genuine here: It's an incredible learning experience for myself. I just realize that they risk so easily, and it's just fantastic. It's what you have to do. What I think they need from me is to respect it, and to be challenging to them. And to feel secure while challenging them -- to say, "Let's bring it up. Let's go." And I just have the best experiences with them. I love working with kids, young adults... I love it.

It shows.

Thank you! That's good to hear.

What can you tell me about The Oranges?

[Laughs] The Oranges. It's such a strange, great, well-written movie. It's odd and a really great cast, and this director, Julian Farino, it's his first feature, and we all really love him. He knows precisely what he wants and how to talk to actors, so it's been a really great experience. But Oliver Platt and Allison Janney are best friends of mine and Hugh Laurie's, and we live across the street from each other. And we both have daughters who are about 20. They were best friends until they got into high school, and then... that's Alia [Shawkat] and Leighton Meester. We're all very tight and very fond of each other, and that's why it's so good. But Leighton... I don't want to give too much away, but...

I know she sleeps with Hugh Laurie's character.

OK, good. Well, I go a little mental. And that's all I have to say.

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