How long could you survive being trapped indoors? Greta Lee says her new Netflix film “The Last House” will “force you to think about” how you’d fare.
Greta Lee admits she wouldn’t survive ‘The Last House’ in reality
Greta Lee reveals why survival training for Netflix’s “The Last House” left her questioning how long she could last.
It’s not every weekend you get your own double feature.
That’s why Greta Lee’s parents are planning to host a watch party to celebrate her two new summer movies: twisty creature feature “The Last House” (streaming on Netflix Aug. 7) and wry art dramedy “Late Fame” (in select theaters Aug. 7).
“It should make for an interesting night for them,” quips Lee, 43, who’s still puzzling over what exactly to dub her twin bill (“The Last Fame?” “Late House?”). Jokes aside, it’s a meaningful milestone for the Korean-American actress, who was a TV mainstay for more than 15 years before her Golden Globe-nominated breakthrough in 2023’s “Past Lives.”
Since then, the “Russian Doll” star has toplined films including “Tron: Ares” and “House of Dynamite,” and lent her voice to the misunderstood tablet Lilypad in “Toy Story 5.”
“I’m so amazed I get to do this,” Lee says. “As the title ‘Late Fame’ suggests, I’ve experienced my own type of late fame. So getting to work in movies is something I don’t take for granted.”
Why ‘The Last House’ star Greta Lee couldn’t stomach being stuck indoors
“The Last House” is an M. Night Shyamalan-style thriller about parents Ann (Lee) and Jason (Wagner Moura), who on a seemingly ordinary day, are trapped inside their home with their two young kids and no way of getting out. Days tick by with their doors and windows shut fast, and they quickly discover that all their neighbors are sealed in their houses as well.
“I’d get hangry and low blood sugar in – I don’t know – an hour?” Lee says with a laugh. “We talked to actual survivalists, who were teaching us all the methodology behind surviving and it’s unreal. I was like, ‘I am ill-equipped! I’m an actor; I should stay in that zone.’ ”
The family does the best they can to investigate the otherworldly forces keeping them inside. But they also take time out for movie nights, impromptu haircuts and exercise – the latter of which would not be on Lee’s agenda.
“Working out and expending all those valuable calories?” she says with playful disgust. “I’d like to think I’d be doing all sorts of crafts. How cool would it be if I got really into ceramics or something? But that’s what cool about the film: It forces you to think about your own habits and what you would become in that situation.”
The movie couldn’t be more different than “Late Fame,” which follows a fictional, long-forgotten poet named Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe), who learns that his work has been re-evaluated and embraced by a group of young bohemians. One of his fans is the enigmatic Gloria (Lee), a hard-boozing actress and cabaret singer who longs for the glamorous old days of New York parties and culture.
Before filming in Manhattan, “I got a walking tour of SoHo from Willem, who was pointing at every building and talking about where he used to live, whatever argument he was in over there, and who was dating who here,” Lee recalls. “My heart aches hearing things like that because so much is lost. I’m glad we got to do a movie that touches on what happens to all the ghosts of our time.”
Lee is a Broadway veteran, who lists “Miss Saigon” and “A Doll’s House” among her wish-list productions. She modeled Gloria off theater giants including Liza Minnelli, Heather Headley and Marlene Dietrich.
“Gloria is an homage to what I consider to be a capital-D diva,” Lee says. “Women who, arguably, I don’t know if we make ‘em like that anymore.”
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“Late Fame” director Kent Jones was initially floored by the “quiet and simplicity” that Lee brought to “Past Lives,” only to discover her quick wit and rich singing voice as he got to know her.
“She understood Gloria inside and out,” Jones says. “She did something enormously difficult: She was playing a character who was playing a character, and she did it so beautifully that every nuance was exciting. I mean, actors like Greta come along so rarely.”
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An avid home gardener who lives in Los Angeles, Lee has been missing her eggplants as she’s traveled the world promoting her projects this summer, including Disney/Pixar’s billion-dollar hit “Toy Story 5.” After voicing the movie’s ostensible villain, Lilypad, it’s been surreal for Lee to encounter her character’s visage out in the real world.
“Lily is living her best life all across the globe,” Lee says. “I’ve seen her at the airport, on billboards, on buses – it’s wild, but I’m so proud.”
Lee shares two sons, Apollo, 9, and Raphael, 6, with comedy writer husband Russ Armstrong. Both kids have “Toy Story” merch, although they’re not ones to play with Lilypad toys: “They’re very attuned to the fact that, ‘Oh, that’s Mom. We’ve got the real thing at home, so we don’t need the other thing.’ ”
Although, having their mom portray a literal iPad has made them more conscious about screentime: “All I have to do is just turn on the movie, like, ‘Are you sure about that, kiddo? Let’s remember the message of the movie!’ ”
As Gloria remarks in “Late Fame,” “nothing will prepare you” for getting famous. But as Lee looks around at her life right now, she feels as though she has arrived just on time.
“The people who have always been with you are the people who matter,” Lee says. “I don’t think that’s something I really knew until recently. I felt like I had a very full life, and I was fully formed in some way, before my career changed. That lack of anonymity can be jarring if it happens suddenly, but I’m lucky that I have all these people around me who can keep me grounded – and put me in my place if I start acting crazy.”