Actress Lauren Holly Explores Intrigue, Mystery, and Competition in ‘Tiny Pretty Things’ World of Ballet
Combing the love of ballet, with its competitive nature and a murder mystery makes Lauren Holly’s new Netflix series, Tiny Pretty Things more than a head-turner.
Based on the book by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, Tiny Pretty Things is set in the world of an elite ballet academy — run by Holly’s character Monique DuBois — and charts the rise and fall of young adults who live far from their homes, each standing on the verge of greatness or ruin.
As Chicago’s only elite dance school, the Archer School of Ballet serves as the company school for the city’s renowned professional company: City Works Ballet.
The Archer School is an oasis for an array of dancers: rich and poor, from north and south, and a range of backgrounds. Yet they all share a rare talent and passion for dance, a loyal sense of community… and when it comes to their dreams, no Plan B.
The Suburban Philadelphia-born Holly, whose body of work includes Picket Fences, NCIS, and the movies Dumb and Dumber, Beautiful Girls, Any Given Sunday, and What Women Want.
What attracted you to Tiny Pretty Things, this intriguing show?
Lauren Holly: This world. The writer who brought this to life, Michael MacLennan, is so talented and I had wanted to be in another show he had done years ago and I ended up not getting hired, and I was crushed. So, I was so excited when this came about and just really thrilled. He is everything that I thought he would be. I just think he’s amazing.
Talk about one of the lines in the trailer that really spoke to me was, ‘Ballet is no place for redemption.’ What does that mean to you?
Well, I think in the larger context of playing Monique Dubois is the backstory is that she was a prima ballerina and is now running this academy. When she was a prima ballerina, it was another era. Ballet has a history. I don’t know if you know the Degas statue and what-not and all the stories about the benefactors and the ballerinas and all of that. I think that it was just a world that she’s trying to keep ballet going and keep it relevant and keep herself relevant, I guess. Because she’s not in her prime anymore. And is doing so with the tools that she’s been given that not all of them are good ones because of her past. I think it’s a question of recognizing where you find yourself at any given time.
Were you attracted to the mystery aspect of it?
The mystery’s great. I dare you to try to figure out who did it before it’s revealed. That’s a very good through-line. Tiny Pretty Things feels really timely to me right now because we’ve all been put in this situation. We’re going through this pandemic and we’re all finding out a lot about ourselves. How we sort of handle this adversity, how we react to it.
On the show, you have this group of people that are all in this world, in this building, where they’re all studying and they’re all faced with different adversities or challenges or whatever, and we sort of find out through those characters who they are as well. What happens when your back is against the wall, how do you react.? Are you good? Are you bad? Are you ethical?
How does this relate to what we are going through with COVID-19?
I think that the way we’re all suffering right now, how do you act when all of your social interactions and everything is taken away and your support system and then you’re left to face yourself and fear and all of that? It feels timely. Now, mind you, when we filmed it I had no idea about COVID. But it’s interesting looking back on it now because I think it’s kind of a universal theme.
Were you familiar with the book of the same name?
I wasn’t. I still haven’t read it, because that’s just my process. My character is not in the book and I didn’t want to sort of be informed by that. I wanted to just be informed by the writer, I guess. So, that was just my sort of personal choice. I immediately bought the book and talked to my writer if I should read them or whatever. I made the decision not to, and now I think I’m going to sort of stick to that until the series is done. Then I think I’m going to really enjoy reading them. For now, no. I know they’re wildly popular and whatnot.
Now, where are you in the filming process for Tiny Pretty Things? Is it finished?
Yes, we finished a year ago. It’s been painful waiting. We are have been so excited for it to come out.
Where did you film?
In Toronto. It was one of the few jobs that I got to do where I live. That was pretty cool as well. Everybody else came to the city to live, but I was already here.
We first met many years ago and I have to confess that your (1995) romantic comedy Sabrina (with Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear) is one of my favorites. It’s a lovely movie and everyone lives happily ever after.
Right. We all need a little bit of that. Something from that movie that I’ve carried with me the rest of my life, it was such an honor to work with Sydney Pollack, who directed that movie. I knew then how lucky I was to be there and with all of those people. About two months, three months after we finished, I was driving in my car and the phone rang and it was him. And I was so — I started shaking when he called, I was so excited that he called and I pulled over on the side of the road so I could focus. He said to me, ‘I’m just calling to let you know that you are my cutaway.’
I didn’t understand what he meant. He said, ‘I’m in the editing room, and whenever I get in trouble in a scene that you’re in and I’m looking for something I always go back to your footage because you were just always doing something and I could cut away to you.’
This meant so much to me to have him tell me that, that it’s one of the things in my career that I just feel so blessed for. Had I not been sitting there, had he not kind of put in a good word for me or whatever it wouldn’t have happened. It was so lovely to talk
You’ve been performing in TV and movies for years. To what do you owe your longevity?
I don’t know. I am so fortunate. That is what you strive for in this business and I’ve been able to support myself doing what I love for all of that time in the entertainment industry, which is just crazy. In Tiny Pretty Things a lot of our cast is relative newcomers and I always say to them that’s what you want to strive for. You want to put your head down and do the work because if you do good work you’ll be recognized. This business is a repeat business. You get hired again and again and again, and that’s what you want. You want the longevity, you want to keep going, you want to build those relationships. It all comes from just doing the work.
What does it mean to you when you hear from fans of Picket Fences or your other work?
It means a lot when we hear that.
Would you watch Picket Fences or NCIS or any of your older shows if you saw one of your episodes?
I would probably watch Picket Fences. Not so sure about NCIS. Just it’s procedural. I think I like more of the character stuff. That’s why.
What shows of yours evoke the fondest memories?
Well, Picket Fences was a wonderful memory and I loved it so much, and I felt so privileged to be playing that character at the time. I knew how lucky I was at the time; we felt it. And I loved the cast, and it was just all sort of magical. To be honest, I’m referencing it so much today when I’m talking to all different people because this experience now with Tiny Pretty Things mirrors that very closely, and it’s the first time that that’s happened since then. So, this is another one that just feels sort of special and I just adore everybody on it as well. I love the character that I play and I love the writing that Michael did for me, and so I’m anxious for people to see it.
How have you dealt personally and professionally with COVID-19? Are you in Toronto?
I’m in Toronto, but it’s been hard. I’m not going to lie. I think with everyone it’s been sort of a roller coaster. I feel I’m happy that I’m in Canada because they have handled it much better, but I’m constantly worried about my family in the States. It’s been hard because it’s not easy to see them. I drove once to see my parents because I just couldn’t take it anymore. But I had to do a full quarantine and everything when I came back, which was really difficult because it’s very strict and I wasn’t even allowed to leave my front porch and not walk the dog or anything. They were constantly checking on me, which is good and that’s why Canada did better. But it’s been difficult.
I think I miss hanging out with my friends, I miss hugging somebody. It’s a roller coaster. When it all started, I tried to be really active and had all these plans and I was going to take such advantage of being at home because I’m so used to traveling all the time and get a bunch of projects done. That lasted a little while, then I sort of hit the bottom of the barrel and watched a lot of television. I think I’m dealing with it the same that everybody’s dealing with it. It’s a very difficult time.
Have we learned something from COVID-19?
You know, I hope that we have. I feel like being here in Canada, I think for me personally it puts lots of things in perspective and it’s been very clear who’s important to me, who’s not. Like all of those sorts of things, which I think are lessons that everybody learned.
But I think in the States it’s been harder for people because there’s just so much anxiety over everything and the political situation and have no — there’s no national feeling like we’re in it together like we have in Canada. There’s a national response, the whole country, everyone wanted to support each other, there was never any arguments about wearing masks or doing any of that. I don’t know, I hope at the end of all this that America starts to feel more united again, I guess. I don’t know; it’s just been a very hard time.
When you talk to some of the younger cast members on the new show, what would you say to them to help them through the rough patches of a difficult career that takes a lot of tenacity and perseverance, and guts What would you say to somebody who’s kind of at a crossroads?
I would say take it one day at a time. Give yourself — at least for me I was constantly giving myself boundaries. Okay, I’m going to give myself six months, I’m going to work hard and see what happens and I’ll know in six months if there’s been enough to push me through another six months. That’s what I would say. A lot of its sort of instinctual. You have to rely on yourself. People know deep down if they’re doing the right thing, and if you feel like you’re doing the right thing stick with it.
It’s not all these overnight successes.
The only overnight success is for the audience. Never overnight successes for the performer. We’ve been drilling it out. That’s the thing. It’s very — the true overnight success where someone just goes from one day to the next, that’s so rare. I don’t believe that that even really happens. I think it’s just overnight for the people who overnight became aware of someone, that’s it.
If I gave you a weekend to just chill and do fun things and there weren’t as many restrictions, what would you be doing?
I’d definitely spend a lot of it in the woods on hikes with my dog, which is like my favorite thing in the world to do. Or with a friend or a family member tagging along. Then I dream of big dinners and tables with lots of pasta and wine and laughter. That sounds good to me right now.
What kind of dog?
I have two. I have a little, tiny mutt and I have a Puli, which is a Hungarian sheepdog. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the dogs that get dreadlocks. I don’t let her get dreadlocks, I don’t want to deal with them, but that’s her type of breed.
Are we going to be surprised or shocked by watching your new show?
I hope so. I hope people will be quite enthralled. I don’t know another show like it in which the characters have a whole other superpower and I think the mystery is really good, I think it’s beautiful to look at and there’s a lot of intrigue and things between the characters that can be quite addictive.
Tiny Pretty Things, starring Lauren Holly, is currently streaming on Netflix.
