Natasha Lyonne on child stardom: ‘I was doing the family taxes by the time I was 12’

At 46, Natasha Lyonne boasts the ultimate Hollywood survivor story. If Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll were remarkable returns from a career sideswiped by addiction, her role as trucker-capped clairvoyant Charlie Cale on Rian Johnson’s murder-of-the-week throwback Poker Face is Lyonne-ian utopia, a showcase for the actress at her odd, unfiltered best (hearing her mumble “bullshit” is my happy place).

Ahead of the show’s second season, we caught up with Lyonne over Zoom. I don’t know why I doubted it, but I’m pleased to confirm that she really does speak like a cartoon alley cat from the 1940s.

Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in the new season of Poker Face.Credit: Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK

Hi Natasha, where are you speaking from?
Oh, I have no idea. Some dark room. They just threw me in the trunk of a car and landed me here, so could be anywhere. I might be in Australia.

Have you ever been to Australia?
I think so, yes. In fact, I drove once from Sydney straight to Melbourne. No, Melbourne to Sydney. No, Sydney to Melbourne. Either way, I did visit a graveyard in Melbourne, I remember that. You guys are really f—ing with kangaroos out there, huh?

We’ve got a lot of them. When were you in Australia?
Many more kangaroos than you see in Manhattan, that’s for darn tootin’.

What year were you in Australia?
I want to say 1922. Is that possible?

Sounds right.
No, 2052. Maybe 2002? I’m just picking out numbers.

I wanna discuss the new season of Poker Face, but also when else am I gonna get a chance to talk to Natasha Lyonne.
I’m pretty readily available on Instagram and X.

I was just watching the new Paul Reubens documentary [Max] and you suddenly popped up. I know Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was your first job. What do you remember about it?
Well, it wasn’t my first job, there were some commercials along the way and my very first gig I was an extra in that Nora Ephron and Mike Nichols movie Heartburn, with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. You can see me, I’m a child asleep at a wedding, so that was a real claim to fame. I was a child character actor, not a child star. But I do love Paul Reubens, and I’m glad he got to tell his story. We were pals.

It seems obvious looking back, but did you know they were all just smoking weed in the Pee-Wee’s writers’ room?
Well, I was six years old when I was on that show so it wasn’t a writers’ room I was in. But no, I’m not shocked. The chair’s named Chairry, there’s a dinosaur family that lives in a mouse hole – can’t say I’m shocked it was conceived while ye olde reefer was being toked. It seems like they had the good stuff though, huh?

Lyonne in Orange is the New Black in 2016, the Netflix series that sparked her comeback.Credit: Netflix

Do you believe in child actors?
Eh, no need. I think it’s a weird thing to do. I was doing the family taxes by the time I was 12. At some point we gotta look each other in the eye and say, ‘Hey Jack, so you’ve smelled too much Pine-Sol at a young age and wondered why, or spit up too much Minute Maid concentrate into a weird bucket because it was too disgusting to drink down while your mum told you to enunciate’ – there’s no need for that, is there? We shouldn’t do that to kids.

You’ve been working for over 40 years now. We’re more or less the same age, but I’ve barely worked half that long.
That’s not possible, I’m way too young and hot for that, so your maths must be off. What’s the question?

I don’t remember. On Conan’s show, you once told a great story about working with Marlon Brando on Scary Movie 2. Is that the most bizarre meet-your-hero moment you’ve had?
Oh, I loved it. I really only went there to meet Marlon Brando and I’m so grateful I did. It’s okay that he held on to my boobs while I was dressed in Exorcist makeup, I didn’t mind.

You have some great guests this season on Poker Face – five Cynthia Erivos in the first episode, for example, and also John Mulaney. I assume you know Mulaney back from your time with Fred [Armisen, Lyonne’s ex-partner]. What do you guys talk about on set?
You know, everything. Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, music, life, anything existential, jokes, bits, ruminations of the soul. Eh, we talk about it all. I feel very lucky that we get to be friends. We also have a funny text chain – me, John, Fred and Nick [Kroll]. All three were planned for the show this season, but John was the only one that was able to get childcare. Kudos to John, but it looks like I’m gonna have to find some new nannies for Nick and Fred.

John Mulaney (right) guest stars in season two of Poker Face, alongside star Natasha Lyonne. Credit: Peacock

Whenever I think of John Mulaney, I think of Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz.
You should. He’s a big sort of Sondheim guy. John loves musical theatre more than anybody I understand in this life. I guess so did Elaine Stritch, but we weren’t as close as I wish we were. I also made a movie with her. I doubt she’d remember.

Because she’s dead?
Yes. And John Mulaney has been cleared, his alibi came through, so it wasn’t him.

Who’s the most unexpected person in your phone?
Gosh, there’s people that pop up in there that I’ve never even met. I think because of the early days of email, somebody will pop up from a large reply-all email that maybe somebody wrote and didn’t understand the concept of bcc, so a name will pop up like Barbra Streisand and you say to yourself, ‘Wait, I’ve never met Barbra Streisand?’ I can’t imagine she’s checking her emails anyway, she’s probably got better things to do. I think she has a mall underneath her house, she’s probably shopping.

Lyonne pictured at last week’s Met Gala in New York.Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Or cloning her dogs.
To be clear, I don’t have Barbra Streisand’s number, I was just riffing.

I remember reading that you said you did American Pie for the money. Is that still something you do, take gigs for the money?
Oh, absolutely. Have you seen my work? I’m not too precious about it. I always think of it as, that ship’s sailed. Some people had those choices but, well, thanks to a chequered past, I went more the way of Harry Dean Stanton. I sometimes look at his credits and I see he’s got like 3000 movies on there, so I’m not too precious about it at all. There are some big works I care about, and I always care a fair amount, but there were some I knew wouldn’t make it. I remember being in a film with Michael Madsen where we were in a scene together but we weren’t even filming in the same state. That’s how I knew the movie couldn’t be very good.

I see you’ve got the big Smurfs movie coming up, surely that’s a good paycheck?
I’m not sure, sometimes these animated ones aren’t as much as you think. But Rihanna’s in it, so hopefully it’ll rub off on me by osmosis.

Did you get to meet Rihanna?
Nope, not even, not yet. But we do have scenes together and that’s very cool. I will be starstruck if I’m lucky enough to have it come up. Big fan. Don’t have her number in my phone either.

Rufus Wainwright once wrote a song about you [2003’s Natasha]. Do you like that song?
It makes me cry every time. Such a beautiful song. I’m very moved by it. We were roommates at the time. It might have even been written on my piano that I still have that I bought at a flea market. He helped me walk it up to the room, and then he played it for me. I just sat there listening over and over and crying.

Is that the only song that’s ever been written about you that you’re aware of?
There’s a young people song called Won’t You Break My Heart, Natasha Lyonne that’s charming. And you know that musician Peaches? I get a shout-out on one of hers, which is nice ’cause I’m a fan.

The publicist’s telling me to wrap up, but I’ve got lots more… [publicist interjects furiously so Natasha can’t hear me]. Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby is one of my favourite movies. Do you ever see [co-star] Vincent Gallo around?
Steven Seagal?

Not Steven Seagal, Vincent Gallo.
I do not know Steven Seagal. But look, I’m gonna meet Steven Seagal, Barbra Streisand and Rihanna by the end of the year, and I’m gonna get their numbers and I don’t care if it kills me!

Poker Face (season two) is now streaming on Stan, which is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.

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