In Character: Lili Taylor

Lili Taylor is one of film’s best living character actors, a distinction she’s held since she began appearing in films in the late ‘80s. She helped make the ’90s American independent film movement so iconic. When that movement dried up, Taylor moved to TV, delivering some of the best work of her career. In fact, her recent stint on the second season of American Crime is right up there with her best work. I love that Taylor is still going so strong; she makes everything she’s in that much more interesting.

Five Essential Roles

Mystic Pizza (1988)

as Jojo

“It’s the ’80s - why would I marry an asshole?!”

The most humorous arc in Mystic Pizza is the relationship between Jojo and her kind but dim fiancé, Bill (Vincent D’Onofrio). Jojo and Bill are never on the same page. When the movie begins, Jojo passes out at the alter, unable to go through with her marriage to Bill. They try to get things back on track, but Jojo’s insecurity, matched with Bill’s poor sense of timing/humor, are destined to keep the couple apart.

Jojo was Taylor’s first major movie role, and I love how strong of an announcement it is. Jojo is a fierce woman who won’t take shit from anyone; a great foreshadow of the types of characters that would come to define Taylor.

Say Anything… (1989)

as Corey

If you’ve seen Say Anything, you know that Joe lies. Joe lies, Joe lies, Joe lies. “Joe lies” is a hilarious bit the film keeps circling back to, in which Taylor’s character, Corey, sings that her ex, Joe, is a lying scumbag. And while the Corey/Joe “romance” is amusing, my favorite moment of Taylor’s in the film is when she asks two of her girlfriends, “If you are Diane Court, would you honestly fall for Lloyd?” Here we have three women genuinely wondering if their friend, Lloyd (John Cusack), has a shot with Ms. Popular, Diane Court (Ione Skye). The simple, earnest reaction of Corey and her friends sets Say Anything on a course of pure romantic comedy joy. Corey is a small role for Taylor, but one that is an essential part of her filmography.

The Addiction (1995)

as Kathleen Conklin

The Addiction is a brazen, obscure hip-hop drama from controversial filmmaker, Abel Ferrara. It’s 82 minutes long, in black and white, and not beholden to any Hollywood convention. The film is about Kathleen, an idealistic NYU student, who is attacked one night and subsequently starts to turn into a vampire. But, this being a Ferrara flick, the story isn’t nearly as clear as it seems. The movie can be viewed as a metaphor for heroin addiction, as well as a philosophical study on sin. As Kathleen, Taylor embodies the rapid descent of emotional, physical and spiritual madness in a way I’ve never seen.

The Addiction contains some of Taylor and Ferrara’s best respective work. Finding movies like The Addiction, and discovering performances like Taylor’s within it, makes writing these In Character posts worth it.

Six Feet Under (2002-2005)

as Lisa

We first meet Lisa early in Season 2 of Six Feet Under, when Nate (Peter Krause) visits her in Seattle. A few episodes later, Lisa is in LA and is (surprise!) pregnant with Nate’s child. In Season 3 (where Taylor really shines), Nate and Lisa are happily married and caring for their baby. But with each passing episode, we gain insight into Lisa and Nate’s troubled marriage. The slow, sinking demise of their relationship makes for one of Six Feet Under’s most melancholic arcs, and Taylor is expert at playing such a woman in despair. I don’t want to reveal why Lisa leaves the show, but, much like Taylor herself, once her character is gone, you can’t stop thinking about her.

American Crime, Season 2 (2016)

as Anne Blaine

A great actor puts you in their character’s shoes. You feel for them. You empathize and understand. And when Taylor puts us in Anne Blaine’s shoes, we live in her horror. Just imagine. Imagine if your son told you he was sexually assaulted by another male student at a party. What would you do? Perhaps, like Anne, you’d spin into a controlled frenzy, reaching out to the school, the police, and finally the press. What would you do if you received help from none of them? The levels of panic, turmoil, confusion and frustration that Taylor brings to Anne helps make American Crime’s second season utterly compelling.

At the end of the season’s second episode, a therapists asks Anne, “How are you holding up?” And we realize, along with Anne herself, that this is the first time someone has asked her this question since the ordeal began. “I’m fine,” she manages to get out. “Well, I’m not fine, but I’m okay.” Pair such exacting dialogue with such a fine actress, and you’re bound to produce greatness.

The Best of the Best

I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

as Valerie Solanas

Lili Taylor’s work in I Shot Andy Warhol is the kind of full-tilt performance I absolutely love. Valerie Solanas was a complicated woman. Manic depressive, paranoid schizophrenic, radical feminist, tortured genius. As depicted in Mary Harron’s I Shot Andy Warhol, Solanas had no off switch. She was constantly ranting and raving to whoever would listen (or whoever she thought was listening). Her madness drove her to nearly kill Andy Warhol, but her genius helped paved way for an intensely needed feminist movement in America.

There’s virtually no sign of Lili Taylor in this film. She is Valerie Solanas. She’s crass, dirty, and unimpressionable. Taylor is fully on in every scene of the film, and watching her is exhausting (a compliment). I cannot imagine how an actor sustains that level of manic energy through an entire film shoot. If you haven’t seen I Shot Andy Warhol (its director went on to make American Psycho), seek it out. It’s the kind of American ’90s indie gem that gives American ‘90s indie film such a grand reputation.

Other Notable Roles

in The Conjuring

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Dogfight (1991)
Short Cuts (1993)
Household Saints (1993)
Rudy (1993)
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Ready to Wear (1994)
Four Rooms (1995)
Cosas que nunca te dije (1996)
Ransom (1996)
The Imposters (1998)
The Haunting (1999)
High Fidelity (2000)
Live from Baghdad (2002)
Casa de los babys (2003)
Factotum (2005)
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Public Enemies (2009)
Blood Ties (2013)
The Conjuring (2013)
Hemlock Grove (2013-2014)