PAST LIVES STAR GRETA LEE ON FATE, COMPLEX CHARACTERS, AND CONNECTIONS ACROSS TIME

NOTE: This interview is a republication- Source: Rotten Tomatoes (by Jacqueline Coley).

Comedic performers taking dramatic turns have fascinated and intrigued audiences since the earliest days of motion pictures, when the likes of Charlie Chaplin earnestly turned to break the fourth wall and warned viewers of the dangers of fascism in The Great Dictator. An actor making us cry after they’ve made us laugh is the stuff careers are made of, and if there’s any justice left in cinema this year, it should make Greta Lee a household name. The Korean American actress has been making waves and stealing scenes for over 15 years on screen, whether it be the hilarious BFF in Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll or her latest efforts as Lyla, the irreverent hologram in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Currently, Lee headlines writer-director Celine Song’s debut feature Past Lives. It’s fitting that, for her first time at the top of the call sheet, she portrays a character that not only hits close to home, it lives there, within unpublished chapters of her life that she now unveils to the world. That’s where Lee told us she found the character, and it has resulted in the best reviews of her career. Past Lives is currently Certified Fresh at 97% on the Tomatometer, with Trace Sauveur of the Austin Chronicle calling Lee and her co-star Teo Yoo “electric together, conveying an excess of feelings both unspoken and not fully understood through their graceful exchange of looks and dialogue.”

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