With her kewpie doll angelic face that has been a firm staple in Hollywood as an iconic symbol of either naivety, purity, sex appeal, or simply love, Samantha Mathis has been utilized for many years by Tinsel Town as the ultimate damsel in distress. Paying her dues in legendary modern classics, the soft-spoken and fair-faced beauty has played a wide variety of women that hold their tongue or need saving, whether that be the demure and lovely Amy in Little Women, who of the March sisters is most dead-set on being someone’s wife, Daisy in Super Mario Bros. or Maria Castle in The Punisher- who obviously both need their fair share of rescuing, the hapless and helpless Courtney in American Psycho that loses herself to the excessiveness of the “me decade,” or even the mild-mannered secretary Janie in The American President. And while she shined brightly in every single role she played, Mathis rarely got to showcase the true feminist power that she had- even though she proved to be more kick-ass than any Disney princess could ever dream when she loaned her voice to Krista in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, and even dyed her hair dark in order to be thought of against type for her role as the radical Nora in Pump Up The Volume.
But, now a little older, a little wiser, and a little less willing to put up with any crap, the captivating actress knows that she doesn’t need to have a head full of raven hued locks to show the world how powerful she is. As Justine Feraldo on The Strain, Mathis throws herself into the role of the driven councilwomen caught up amongst an outbreak of a viral epidemic, giving fiery passion to the politician that she plays. Mathis unleashes years of intensity that were kept blanketed beneath a pretty and demure surface and they come out like beautiful, explosive fireworks that make the show that much more dynamic and powerful to watch with every scene she graces.
But, this is really no surprise as the world always knew that Mathis was an extremely talented actress. Her body of work speaks for itself, as most of her film credits are already considered classics. The actress is far from producing lightning in a bottle, and instead she has managed to become a part of some of the most important films in our societies library- several times over, and audiences have been warmly embracing a renaissance of her and her peers as they dominate television. While Mathis conquers with The Strain, her former colleagues are also making top-rated hits, such as Winona Ryder with Stranger Things, John Travolta in American Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson, and Christian Slater with Mr. Robot- all of whom Mathis has worked with twice or more. The world had long been waiting for these gifted actors to get material worthy of their abilities, and the reception is an obvious nod to not only their appeal- but their talent. They are finally able to break out of the mold of what they were once considered to be and given the freedom to truly act, and in Mathis’ case, she is able to shed that lovely debutante image and put forth a complicated character with many levels that might not be so sweet, and in the case of The Strain, she couldn’t be better.
In the interview below, Mathis talks about shedding the perceptions that Hollywood might have put on her in the early days of career and why Justine is so much fun to play, what else might be expected on The Strain, and what else she would love to do next!
So The Strain is back and fans are already loving how fast paced it is. What scoop can you give fans, if any, going forward for the rest of the season?
Oh, come on, you know better than that! We can’t give any scoop! [Laughs] But, I will say that you will see things become pretty epic and explosive in the coming season. And that’s all I can say!
The Strain really writes some really strong female characters, making them politicians and S.W.A.T captains. How does it feel getting to be in that environment and getting to play such a strong woman?
I love playing Justine. Justine is such a fun character for me. She really is very strong and she doesn’t hold back. She is very unapologetic. She’s put in a very powerful, but also a very compromising position- and she really doesn’t mince words or back down. So, it really is a lot of fun to be able to play her and to be able to get inside of a character that isn’t always biting her tongue and that really isn’t afraid of anything.
What do you think of Justine as a politician and a leader? Fans have really responded well to her as someone in power.
I think she has shortcomings as a leader. I think that she has good intentions, and she’s very fearless and she has some good plans to come out guns-a-blazing and she’s successful to an extent, but she really doesn’t have great foresight toward what she is getting herself into- and that isn’t always a great quality with a politician. But, she has good council, and good people.
Talk about working with your terrific cast and crew. You’re in some pretty good company, particularly your creator; the highly revered Guillermo Del Toro.
Well, as far as working with the cast, that has really been fun for me and I always look forward to working with more of the cast which I get to do now, since as you well know The Strain has kept me separate in the past. So, I have the opportunity of working with Cory [Stroll] this season, and Kevin [Durand], and a few others that I wasn’t able to work with in the second season- and that was really a treat since I respected their work so much. Truth be told, because I started in the second season and just the way the scheduling was, I never got the chance to meet Guillermo. He’s like Waldo! He doesn’t exist to me- but I know he does because he’s obviously the great wizard behind the curtain! But, because of the way I work on the show so far, I have just never met him. But, I hear he’s awesome!
You’ve also have another movie coming out with the amazing Keith Carradine called Ray Meets Helen. What scoop can you give fans about that film?
I’m so thrilled to have been a part of that film. We just finished shooting that in May, so I hear it will be in the festival circuit in the new year. It really has that classic Alan Rudolph filmmaking style, and I’ve been such a fan of his since the 80’s, so when this was presented to me, I simply jumped at the chance to work with Al. And to be able to work with Keith and Sondra Locke as well. Alan is such a unique and visionary filmmaker with such a wonderful perspective on love and romance. I can’t give too much away, but it was one of the most beautiful, sweet, creative experiences that I’ve had on set that I can remember. I have no idea how the film will come out, but I know Al is a real auteur and his very concept is so poetic and I can’t wait to see it.
You have had a phenomenal career and have been in some of the most amazing films of all time, with some of the most amazing people. Is there any type of role yet that you haven’t played that you would love to play? Who would you love to work with that you maybe haven’t had a chance to work with yet, or that you would love to work with again?
I’d love to work with Ellen Burstyn again. I’ve had the opportunity to work with her on several occasions and I relish them, and I would always want to work with her again. I’ve never worked with Meryl Streep, but of course, that’s every actor’s dream. I would love to work with Julianne Moore. There’s so many people! I’ve been very blessed to work with so many incredible actors, and there are so many more that I would love the chance to act next to- the same with roles, there are so many amazing roles. At some point in my life I would love the opportunity to do Shakespeare on stage. I love to work on stage with work that is really challenging. As an actor you want to keep reinventing yourself and challenging yourself and exploring new aspects of a character, and Justine has been so great in that respect since she is such a powerful woman and I feel that she really helps me explore different things with where I am in my life, and that’s really exciting. There was a period of my life where I felt like I was delegated to these sort of wonderfully understanding, sweet, lovely and kind wives, and that’s great and all, but it gets kind of boring after a while. So, to be moving in this kind of more forward territory that is brash and bold is really great. I mean, playing a politician that makes no apologies? That’s really exciting as an actor.
A lot of your frequent former co-stars are also on TV with huge hits this year; Christian Slater with Mr. Robot, John Travolta with American Crime Story, and Winona Ryder with Stranger Things. Do you watch their shows? Any chance you keep in touch and might work with these amazing people again?
I would be thrilled to work with any of them again, and I watched all of them and they are all fantastic shows! I’m obsessed with Mr. Robot! Although, I haven’t gotten to the second season...because I have been busy watching Stranger Things! [Laughs] I love that show too, and I’m so, so thrilled for Winona! It’s just so great to see her out there and on a hit show. And that goes the same for Christian- I’m so happy to see him out there on Mr. Robot. He’s doing fantastic work and I love the show. And I loved American Crime Story, and it was so fun to watch John [Travolta] play Bob Shapiro. And it’s interesting now that you point that out that there’s an interest in actors that were big at a certain time. I mean, John has had a career that has been relevant for a long time. But, for Winona, Christian and I, we started out as young actors, they started out even younger that I was, and we grew up in the industry where we might be initially defined with certain roles and expectations of how audiences might see us. And we were all very blessed with having beautiful careers, but I think there were just some moments where those audiences and the industry didn’t quite know how to receive us as adults, and now that moment is happening. And that’s really great. And that’s when you see real actors who have a passion and a love for the craft continue at it, going with the flow, knowing that the most important thing is to show up and do the work.
You have been a part of some of the most modern classics of our time; Little Women, American Psycho, Broken Arrow, That Thing Called Love, Pump Up The Volume, How To Make An American Quilt, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest,The American President. Is there any particular role or film world you would love to revisit? It would be fun to see if Janie climbed the ranks in politics and is perhaps maybe the president herself, now that you have political practice on The Strain!
[Laughs] If anything ever becomes possible, I can’t claim any ownership over the idea, it’s just that I’ve had fans come up to me recently and say; “Gosh, we would love to see a sequel of ‘Pump Up The Volume’ with both of you all grown up,” and it really got me thinking of what that might look like. So, someone pitched to me the idea of Christian Slater’s character being now married and living in the suburbs and non-radicalized and having maybe compromised himself, and my character Nora comes back in his life- maybe at a high school reunion- and sort of shakes him up and makes him radical again. And I love the idea of that! I don’t know if we would ever get the finances to make it, or if anyone would ever want to see it, but I guess some fans have come to me and said they would. And I would too.
Who wouldn’t? And now that Mathis and Christian Slater are once again the two biggest stars in Hollywood, Pump Up The Volume Again seems like it has to happen! Looks like the internet better make this go viral faster than The Strain is taking over the city!
The Strain continues Sunday nights at 10pm on FX.