Greta Lee is recalling the “humiliation” of being confused with director Greta Gerwig.
The Past Lives actress, 40, revealed that she was initially passed over for her role in the A24 romantic drama — and a subsequent mix-up with the Barbie director, also 40, made the rejection sting that much more.
“This crazy thing happened that just added to the humiliation of it all,” Lee told actor Andrew Scott during the pair’s Variety “Actors on Actors” interview, published on Wednesday, December 13. “I got this phone call from this producer saying they needed to meet to discuss something really exciting and important and it was very urgent. For whatever reason I assumed I got the job [on Past Lives] … and then I listened to the voicemail again and it was for Greta Gerwig.”
Scott, 47, was shocked at the anecdote and exclaimed, “You’re joking me!”
“I’m not,” Lee replied. “I wish I was, but that really happened.”
She continued, “They just mixed us up. I don’t know if they just Googled our names and our phone numbers are out there.”
The Morning Show actress said the incident caused her to finally accept the fact that she would not be a part of Past Lives.
“It couldn’t have been clearer to me at that time … that it just wasn’t going to be mine,” Lee recalled.
After a second audition with writer and director Celine Song, however, Lee booked the role of Nora. Lee explained that she was asked to have a virtual meeting with Song one year after her first audition because casting producers were now “looking for older actors.”
“It really was one of those vulnerable and exposing moments because there was no time to engineer a brilliant performance,” Lee said of the last-minute meeting.
She then joked, “It was one of those rare moments where I felt like, ‘This job is already Greta Gerwig’s, so I’m just going to do exactly what I could do in my dreams.’”
After Lee read scenes with Song, 35, on a video call, the director offered her the role on the spot.
“It’s wild,” Lee recalled. “It’s too much.”
Past Lives, which is about two childhood friends who reconnect after many years apart, premiered in June and has received six 2024 Golden Globe nominations, including best drama film, fueling even more Oscar buzz. Lee was also nominated for her performance.
